Chapter 8
The cookies were Alex’s peace offering, his attempt to smooth things over with Haley. But when she turned him down, he simply ditched them.
Thinking back to the caring look in Alex’s eyes when he’d offered her the cake, Ellie now felt the bitterness of the moment—like a bad aftertaste, a heaviness in her chest that made it hard to breathe.
That afternoon, while Alex was off somewhere, Ellie slipped out of the hospital. Back at her apartment, she felt a mix of relief and unease. There was a time when just a glance from him was enough to make her day. But now? Now, she couldn’t face him—not with his careless looks and stories about Haley that she’d rather not hear.
When Alex found out she’d checked herself out, he called, his voice a mix of anger and worry. He demanded to know where she was, ready to come get her. But Ellie stayed silent, refusing to give away her hideout. He ended the call with a promise to leave her be, but she knew better than to believe it.
Aaron came over later, shaking his head at her latest stunt. After giving her a good talking-to, he went straight to work in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Over the meal, he told her the law firm had called the whole mess a “misunderstanding.” They’d even thrown in a settlement to make it go away, but Aaron had turned it down, choosing instead to walk away from the job.
Ellie stayed mostly silent, not wanting to stir the pot any further. She didn’t need to add to the pressure Aaron already felt.
A few days later, with her foot almost back to normal, Ellie and Aaron headed to their old family home in the poor village.
The house was simple: three small rooms with clay-tiled roofs, a big yard with a wooden gate, and a pigpen out front. It wasn’t much, but it was home.
When they arrived, their dad was in the yard, whittling away at a broom, his old wooden crutch propped up nearby. When he looked up and saw them, he froze for a moment, then his eyes got watery. His weathered face, marked by years of hard work, lit up with joy.
Their mom heard the commotion and came out from the main house. Seeing them, she quickly turned and went back inside, probably to wipe away her tears.
After a home-cooked dinner, they all sat in the yard to catch the cool evening air. Ellie checked her dad’s leg, which was still healing, while Aaron took over the broom, trying to convince their dad to take it easy.
“Dad, Ellie and I are all grown up now. Just take your meds, and when we start making money, we’ll get you and Mom a place in the city,” Aaron said, his voice hopeful.
Ellie watched her dad, his head down as he smoked his cheap cigarettes. The sound of each drag was a sad reminder of their situation.
It wasn’t easy, but everyone wanted to live—including her father. The constant medical care was a heavy burden on the family, one they could hardly afford.
Aaron, with a warm smile, looked at his dad. “Dad, when things settle down, I’ll bring my girlfriend over. You two need to take care of yourselves. Don’t you want to see my children one day?” he said, his voice full of love and expectation.
Ellie stayed quiet by her dad’s side, seeing a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Her father, a retired veteran with a stubborn streak, was a man of few words, but he always listened to Aaron.
Their mom, Joanna, came over and offered some peanuts. “It’s not easy for the kids to come back. Let’s not make it harder. We’ll do what our son says,” she said softly. “With all their schoolwork, they should head back tomorrow.”
The harshness of reality was something their family had learned through experience. Even their mother, who couldn’t read, knew that for children from a poor family, education was the key to a better future.
Ellie and Aaron were ready to leave after their night at the old house. Their mom, with a hand on their dad’s arm as he leaned on his cane, walked them to the end of the road—a ritual that always tugged at Ellie’s heart.
Joanna was in her element, chatting with the neighbors. “My kids are back in town,” she’d say, her voice brimming with pride.
“Ellie’s a lawyer now, and Aaron’s a doctor,” she’d tell anyone who’d listen. Ellie had never seen her mom so full of joy, so eager to show them off.
As they pulled away, the look on their parents’ faces was hard to bear. It was a mix of love and sadness that Ellie couldn’t shake. She turned away, her vision blurring with tears.
Growing up, she’d left this place behind, moving to the city to live with the high-society Warren family. She’d known her status then, but as the years passed, her small-town roots had begun to feel like a distant memory.
This trip home was a splash of cold water, a wake-up call to the reality she had been living in. For someone from her background, love was a bonus, a cherry on top. What really mattered was dignity—the core of her existence.
