He Threw Me Out At Six And Came Back Twenty Years Later To Marry Into My Family Chapter 01

My father couldn’t stand sharing my mother’s attention. Not even with their own daughter.

Whenever my mother spent too much time with me, my father would arrange for me to stay with relatives or at our country house. He always found a reason to keep us apart.

“Stop clinging to her,” he’d say. “She’s my wife, not your nanny.”

My mom thought that was proof of how much he loved her. My mother seemed to find his jealousy romantic. Whenever I came home, she’d shower me with affection in front of him, knowing exactly how he would react.

When I was six, my father found me sitting in the front passenger seat beside my mother. His expression darkened, and he ordered me out of the parked car.

“If you want her attention so badly, stay here,” he snapped. “I’m not taking you with us.”

I waited for someone to come back for me. No one did. Before long, I had wandered too far to recognize the way home.

That was when five brothers from one of the country’s wealthiest families found me and helped me get to safety.

Twenty years later, I took over Voss Consolidated.

The day Ronan brought his girlfriend home, I ended my meeting early and headed back to the manor.

The moment I pushed open the front door, I heard a voice I would never forget.

“The kids are steady together. The sooner we settle the engagement, the better.”

I froze in the doorway.

The man speaking was my biological father.

And the girl sitting beside him—the one my biological mother was holding and soothing—was the daughter they’d had after me.

Ronan saw me first. He stood. “Elowen. You’re back.”

Every eye in the living room shifted to me.

Matriarch Clara Voss sat in the main seat and waved me over.

“Elowen. Come sit by me.”

I walked over and sat beside her.

My father’s gaze landed on my face for half a second, then slid away.

“And this is?”

Elias answered coolly. “My daughter. Elowen Voss.”

My father’s brow twitched.

He probably hadn’t expected the person at the true center of the Voss family to be an adopted daughter.

My mother studied me too, then smiled her elder’s smile.

“Miss Voss has such presence. To be raised by the Voss family—what a fortunate girl.”

I looked at her and said nothing.

Liora, for her part, stood up and walked over to me.

“Elowen. Hi. I’m Liora.”

She smiled sweetly, a diamond bracelet glinting on her wrist.

My mother saw her standing too long and immediately spoke up. “Liora, don’t stand too long. Didn’t you say your ankle was sore last night?”

My father turned to a servant. “Move that vase of lilies farther away. Liora gets uncomfortable if she smells them too long.”

So attentive.

So considerate.

They remembered Liora’s pollen allergy. They remembered her sore ankle. They remembered her tea couldn’t be too hot.

But they didn’t remember that the six-year-old girl they left in traffic had been scared, too.

My father quickly steered the conversation back.

“Mr. Voss, Matriarch, we came today in good faith to settle things between the kids.”

He looked at Ronan, his smile deepening.

“Ronan is steady. Liora genuinely cares for him. The Hale and Voss families are well-matched in standing and legacy. Settling it early saves everyone from ugly speculation.”

My mother chimed in softly.

“A girl’s reputation suffers if things drag on. Liora grew up sheltered. We can’t bear to see her hurt.”

Liora blushed.

She looked at Ronan, eyes full of hope.

Ronan didn’t answer right away. He looked at me.

Matriarch Clara looked at me too.

Elias and Maeve said nothing either.

The three Hales finally sensed something was off.