Hiding Behind Her Superficiality

Chapter 716

Chapter 716 Returning to the Harley Family

Despite being unkind to the man before her, Yelena remained polite to his mother, Ms. Balkan. She could refuse him, but she couldn't reject Ms. Balkan, who was kindhearted and very fond of her.

"I wasn't blackmailing you. If you don't believe me, I can show you the text messages she sent me on my phone. She really asked me to bring you home for dinner."

Yelena let out a snort. "So, you mean you only came to me because Ms. Balkan wanted to invite me to dinner? If it weren't for her, you wouldn't have come looking for me, right?"

Hank smiled helplessly. "No, that's not what I meant."

Seeing that her act was almost done, Yelena folded her arms across her chest without even batting an eye. "Lead the way."

He walked ahead, but she didn't hurry to catch up with him. Instead, she turned around and said goodbye to Elspeth. "Elspeth, Ms. Balkan invited me to dinner, and I can't refuse, so I gotta go first."

Elspeth opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she could only let out a helpless sigh in the end. "Okay, then. Go on."

"Uh-huh."

After Yelena had left, Blake heaved a sigh of relief.

"What's wrong? Why did you react so strongly?" asked Elspeth. This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

Blake replied with a sigh, "You have no idea. Because I'm married and she's not, she keeps picking on me every single day."

Elspeth's mouth twitched slightly. "She keeps picking on you? How?"

"She makes up some salacious gossip about me, then Lisa would argue with me while she watches from the sidelines."

Elspeth's mouth twitched uncontrollably at his words. "Perhaps that's her only source of amusement during these difficult years."

Blake was close to tears. "Why do I always end up getting hurt?"

"Alright, just take good care of your wife here. I still have a lot of people to catch up with during this trip back home," replied Elspeth.

Callum gently took her hand in his, after which he said with a hint of gentleness, "Mom said she wants to see you."

Naturally, the 'mom' he referred to was Helia, Elspeth's mother.

At the thought of how many years had passed since she last saw Helia, Elspeth had a conflicted feeling. She couldn't imagine how heartbroken Helia must have been when she heard the news of her disappearance. "In that case, let's go visit her now."

Callum nodded and held her hand as they walked outside. "Let me take you there."

Before long, they arrived at a secluded estate with mansion-style architecture.

Looking at this place, Elspeth found it increasingly familiar. "Why does this place look kind of familiar to me?" she asked. Suddenly, she seemed to recall something, and her eyes widened at once. "Isn't this the Harley Family's home?"

Callum smiled. "You're right. This is the Harley Residence."

Elspeth fell into a trance, recalling how she had been to the same place years ago to meet Welson. But aren't we supposed to meet my mom? Why would we end up here instead? Don't tell me…

As her mind started to race, she didn't notice a woman running toward her from a distance. When she looked up again, the woman hugged her tightly and burst into sobs. "My dear Elspeth…"

Elspeth looked at the woman in front of her, whose hair now showed some streaks of silver. For a moment, she found herself at a loss for what to feel. "Mom."

Helia held her for a long time before finally letting go. "You're back at last! Do you know how hard I've been waiting for you? I almost thought you were really gone."

"How could that be? I'm now standing perfectly fine in front of you, no?" explained Elspeth with a smile. Then, she looked at the mansion in the distance, asking, "Mom, why are you here?"

A faint shade of pink tinted Helia's cheeks. Elspeth almost figured out the truth without her explaining much. "Are you two back together again?"

Helia cleared her throat. "Ahem… Well, he said he'd loved me for a long time, and it was he who saved my life back then. After jumping off the building, I lost my memory and spent some happy days with him, which led to me getting pregnant with you. Unfortunately, my memory was restored later. I forgot about him and ran away in secret, making him search for me for a long time," she said. "I'll tell you something that even I didn't expect. In fact, we even registered our marriage back then. I was shocked when he showed me our marriage certificates."

Elspeth didn't expect the truth behind the story to be so incredible. However, since everything had ended well, she didn't dwell on it and simply smiled to express her best wishes.

"Alright, let me take you inside to meet your dad," said Helia. After saying that, she suddenly felt uneasy and looked up nervously at her daughter. I didn't tell her about my being with Welson, and now I'm about to introduce him as her father. She might have a hard time accepting it.

Elspeth saw through her worries at a glance. "Mom, don't overthink it. You have the right to pursue your own happiness without worrying too much about others. You're first and foremost yourself and then my mother."

Helia couldn't believe she was actually hearing such moving words. In an instant, tears streamed down her cheeks. "I went through a lot of internal struggles before I chose to be with him. I was afraid you'd have a hard time accepting it."

"Why would I? As long as you're happy, I'm getting what I wished for." Elspeth smiled before pointing at the entrance. "Let's go inside. Otherwise, someone might get anxious."

With a smile exchanged between them, they walked hand in hand toward the house.

Upon entering the house, Elspeth immediately saw Welson pacing back and forth at the center of the living room with a hint of anxiety. The moment he noticed her coming in, he stopped in his tracks and looked at her from a short distance. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was at a loss for words.

In the end, Elspeth approached him with a smile and broke the silence. "Why are you standing here, Dad?"

Just the word alone caused the man, who was usually high-handed and reluctant to express his feelings, to become teary-eyed at once. "What did you just call me? Was I hearing things?"

"Dad."

Welson instantly broke into hearty laughter. "Hey! My daughter, you really know how to make someone happy."

At the sight of the father and daughter burying the hatchet with a smile, Helia was finally free of her worries.

They took their seats and began chatting.

Elspeth noticed that both Welson and Helia were looking at her with loving gazes, as if they couldn't get enough of it. This made her feel rather embarrassed. "Dad, Mom, please don't keep staring at me like that. It feels quite awkward."

Helia smiled and replied, "There's nothing to feel awkward about. Why feel awkward about being

looked at by your own parents? You're really shy, my child."

Noticing Elspeth's shyness, Welson withdrew his gaze and asked a serious question. "I already knew about everything you'd been through abroad. Don't worry. Now that you're back in the country, I have to make it up to you properly. How about I hand over the Harley Family's businesses to you?"