I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 126

Zoe could hardly believe that the vicious woman was the same Aunt Rhonda she remembered. Was that really the warm, caring aunt from her childhood?

At the mention of Rhonda, Grandmother Eleanor's expression hardened in disgust.

"Ignore her. Treat everything she says like garbage. The only reason they treated you so well back then was because I promised them that if they raised you properly, I'd transfer my shares to them.

But your uncle is completely useless. He might have a bit of business sense, but he can't shake his gambling addiction.

How could I possibly trust him with the rest of the Lynd family's shares? If he got desperate at the poker table, he'd gamble our entire legacy away.

Your grandfather and great-grandfather built this empire from the ground up, and your father worked himself into an early grave trying to protect it. I will never hand it over to him."

Grandmother Eleanor looked at Zoe with an unshakable determination.

"Zoe, you have to stand tall for me. From now on, the future of the Lynd family is entirely in your hands. Whatever you do, you cannot let our legacy fall into the hands of those greedy parasites."

Zoe swayed slightly, struggling to process the sheer weight of what she was hearing.

Five years. Not only had her closest friends turned into strangers, but the people who had supposedly loved her the most were only acting out of greed.

She looked at her grandmother, a chaotic storm of emotions swirling in her chest.

After finally steadying herself, Zoe made a firm promise.

"Grandma, don't worry. I will protect everything that belongs to the Lynd family, and I will take back everything that is rightfully mine. I'm not going to leave you in this place alone. I'll take you home to live with me. You won't have to look at anyone else's scowling face, and I promise, I will never let anyone bully you again."

The memory of Rhonda's vicious, snarling face felt like a nightmare.

To realize that the gentle, loving woman from her childhood was actually a two-faced hypocrite was a reality that was incredibly difficult to accept.

"I believe you," Grandmother Eleanor said, crying tears of relief.

Zoe stayed by her grandmother's side a little longer before finally leaving.

Cherry was completely done with Zoe's nonsense.

She had already made up her mind—she was quitting at the end of the month.

No matter how high the salary was, she refused to risk her own sanity and physical health dealing with a boss who possessed sheer commercial brilliance but was completely, hopelessly blinded by love.

She'd rather just go get married.

Even if the guy turned out to be a jerk, she could at least yell at him to blow off steam.

But when it came to a boss who paid the bills, Cherry couldn't even afford to unleash her full rage.

Zoe was slightly taken aback by the outburst. Cherry braced herself to be fired, but instead, Zoe responded with an impressive calm and utmost respect.

"Relax. Talking to me is part of your job. If you can double my revenue, I'll bump your base salary to millions of dollars, plus commission. Cherry, I know my past behavior meant your talents were completely wasted on me. Let's meet up. What do you say?"