The Bride He Took For Granted novel Chapter 65

The Bride He Took for Granted

Chapter 65

That night, Lafitte Estates felt unbearably empty.

Joan hadn’t lived there for long, but somehow, the house already felt different without her.

The floor lamp she had picked out was still in the living room. Her toothbrush was still in the bathroom. Her slippers were by the door, and the dish towel she always used was still hanging in the kitchen.

Somewhere along the way, she had become part of his everyday life without him even realizing it.

Restless, Landon drove out and called a few friends to meet him

for drinks.

Ethan and several of the guys showed up.

Jason didn’t.

When Ethan heard that Landon and Joan had broken up, he was actually relieved.

“You should’ve ended it a long time ago. You never should’ve gotten involved with her in the first place.”

The others immediately chimed in.

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Chapter 65

“Seriously. There are plenty of women out there. What do you even see in her?”

“I’ll give Joan this-she never made things easy for him. She even had a kid with Landon, and somehow he still never really won her over.”

“Maybe we had her wrong. Maybe she really does love Landon and doesn’t care about his money.”

The more they talked, the more restless Landon became.

A petite waitress passed their table carrying a tray, and for some reason, his thoughts went straight back to Joan.

Does she even have somewhere to stay?

What if someone gives her trouble? With that temper, she’ll never just take it.

What if something happens to her?

“Come on, Landon.”

Ethan raised his glass. “Pull yourself together. Once Elise finds out you and Joan are done, she’ll come back.”

“Of course she will. Elise loves Landon like crazy. She didn’t

yen flinch with a gun pointed at her head. Me? I wou I’ve 13:11

Chapter 65

One of the guys laughed. “You might want to get that checked.”

The table erupted in laughter

Landon wanted to stop thinking about Joan too.

But no matter how hard he tried, his mind kept circling back to

her.

So he kept drinking, hoping the alcohol would finally shut his brain off.

******

Elise slept in the same bed as Jane, just like she had when she was little.

For the first time in a long while, she felt completely safe.

Jane rested a hand on her back and gently patted her. “Daisy,

your parents don’t treat you very well, do they?”

Elise had never told Jane about the bad things.

She only shared the good news.

And when there wasn’t any, she made something up.

They… think Landon comes from a good family. They believe:11

Chapter 65

I’ll have a better life if I marry him.”

“But Landon cheated on you.”

The thought of it made Jane’s heart ache.

How could they still expect Daisy to marry a man who treated

her like that?

Elise tightened her arms around Jane’s waist.

“Mom, please don’t worry about me. I won’t marry Landon… I just need a little more time to deal with my parents.”

Curled up in Jane’s arms, Elise felt as though none of her problems were quite so overwhelming anymore.

Finally relaxed, she soon fell into a deep sleep.

Jane carefully slipped out of bed.

As she pulled the covers over Elise, she noticed the scars on her ankle and calf.

Her heart lurched.

Then she thought of the bruise on Elise’s face.

Daisy… what happened to you?

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Chapter 65

Moving as gently as she could, Jane unbuttoned Elise’s dress.

There were more scars across her shoulders and thighs-long, raised marks that looked as though they had been left by a

switch.

Tears filled Jane’s eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

Who did this to my little girl?

Heartbroken, Jane lay awake for the rest of the night. ·

The next morning, Elise went to Firefly Glow to organize her notes from the previous day’s meeting and revise the proposal.

Chloe volunteered to keep Jane company and show her around Los Angeles.

But Jane wasn’t in the mood for sightseeing.

After hesitating for a while, she finally asked, “Do Daisy’s parents… treat her badly?”

Badly was putting it mildly.

Chloe was usually blunt, but this was one truth she couldn’t bring herself to tell Jane.

Hould break her heart.

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Chapter 65

So Chloe tried to brush it off. “No. They… they care about her.”

Technically, the Whites were capable of caring.

Just not about Elise.

Sometimes Chloe wondered how they could possibly treat their own daughter that way.

Jane still looked troubled. She let out a quiet sigh.

“Then why won’t they let Daisy end the engagement? And why did they hit her?”

Her voice began to tremble. “She has so many injuries. She must have been in so much pain.”

Tears slipped silently down her cheeks.

Jane was talking about the slap Leonard had given Elise.

She still had no idea where the other scars on Elise’s body had

come from.

But Chloe misunderstood. Her expression changed immediately.

“You already know?”

She hurriedly grabbed some tissues and awkwardly wiped 13:12

Chapter 65

“Jane, please don’t get too upset. What Leonard and Sharon did to Elise was horrible. They’ll get what’s coming to them. Please don’t cry.”

Jane froze.

“What… what did they do to her?”

Chloe realized too late that something was wrong.

But there was no taking the words back now.

She hesitated, then said quietly, “They abused her.”

The word made Jane go cold.

“They’re not fit to be parents.”

Chloe had been holding the same anger in for years.

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