You Want Me Back? Sorry, Request Rejected Chapter 24

You Want Me Back? Sorry, Request Rejected Chapter 24

When the elevator chimed for the tenth floor, Elise had just gotten a text from Jordan saying he would be there soon. Then, her smile froze the second the elevator doors slid open.

“Mom?”

She stared, thrown off by the sight of Helen leading a whole group of people toward her.

Ever since her return from Ravenport, she hadn’t gone to see Helen at all. It had been days. She knew very well Helen didn’t like her—she looked down on her background and blamed her for not being able to help with Calvin’s career.

After Elise and Calvin got married, when she went to Tranquility Estate for the first time as the Fulton family’s daughter-in-law, Helen had forced her to kneel all night in the private chapel, claiming it was part of the family’s rules.

After that, whenever anything upset her in the slightest, she would punish Elise by making her kneel again, even when she was heavily pregnant.

Calvin had never stopped it. On the contrary, he told her to continue enduring the pain, even when her knees hurt so badly she couldn’t stand straight.

“Be good. Mom wouldn’t punish you for no reason,” he’d once said while personally applying medicine to her legs.

Drunk on that rare bit of gentleness, Elise had swallowed all of her grievances. It wasn’t until after Rowan and Regina were born that Helen’s attitude softened a little. She stopped making things hard for Elise so often.

Elise thought that maybe, just maybe, she would finally have a chance to break through Helen’s prejudice. That was why she’d decided to stay in Halston to take care of her when Calvin and the twins went to Ravenport.

But while everyone else was whispering behind her back about how perfectly matched Calvin and Sabrina were, she was the only one still living like some cast-off wife, completely in the dark.

Elise lowered her gaze and dragged herself out of those bleak memories.

Helen came at her like a storm, her brows raised in anger. “Elise Stanton, get on your knees!”

Elise didn’t budge. Her cool eyes met Helen’s furious ones as she asked, “What’s wrong, Mom?”

She didn’t look guilty or nervous. That only infuriated Helen more. She jabbed a finger at Elise’s face and snapped, “How do you have the nerve to ask what’s wrong? As Rowan’s mother, where the hell were you when he was running a sky-high fever?

“How did our family end up with an evil woman like you for a daughter-in-law? Get over here and get on your knees, now! If you don’t give me a proper explanation for your behavior, I’m not letting this matter slide!”

It was clear she’d been way too nice to Elise these past couple of years. She was nothing but a low-born woman from a broken family, yet she’d forgotten who she was. She actually dared to abandon her son and even talk back to her mother-in-law!

Elise didn’t react at all to the threat. The corners of her lips lifted in a faint smile. “Mom, why are you always so quick to make others kneel? Do you think you’re the queen of a country? Am I a miracle pill or a magic cure? With so many people taking care of Rowan, it’s not like one look at me will make his fever break.”

As she spoke, her gaze slid lightly over Rowan, who was clearly waiting to enjoy the show. His eyes were still red and puffy from crying, but as she stared at him, his gaze turned diffident.

He found this weird. Elise had always been afraid of Helen, and she obeyed her every order. Why was she acting like this now?

“What’s with that attitude of yours?” Helen screeched. Her chest heaved with rage at the sarcasm. If she let this slide now, Elise would turn the whole Fulton household upside down!

She went on, “For as long as you’re a Fulton daughter-in-law, I’ll be your mother-in-law! To think I was thinking of treating you like you were my own—is this how you repay me, you heartless witch?”

“Rowan has been lying in that hospital room with a fever for three whole days without any sign of improvement. Even if you’re absolutely useless, are you seriously telling me that you couldn’t even spare the time to come check on him?”

Elise was unmoved by this attempt at emotional blackmail. Instead, she smiled, her eyes glinting meaningfully. “Mom, a good mother raises a good child. Maybe take a look at yourself first. If people hear about this, you’ll be a joke across Halston.”

The sharp crack of a slap split the air. Helen swung her hand with all her strength, slapping Elise hard across the face.

Elise’s head snapped to the side. A bright red handprint bloomed at once on her pale cheek. It all happened so suddenly that everyone was stunned.

“Mom, what are you doing?” Calvin stepped forward and grabbed Helen’s arm.

Rowan and Regina were both stunned speechless. A flash of vicious satisfaction flickered through Sabrina’s eyes.

Elise slowly turned her face back, brushing away the blood that had welled up at the corner of her mouth.