Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 21

Amber still took a cab to the hospital. She was simply too curious to see what kind of "back injury" Lucian's calculating, greedy mother was faking to string her father along.

The moment she stepped into the hospital room, Amber let out a dry, incredulous laugh. So it was all about the money.

She knew it—how could a notorious penny-pincher like Grace willingly fork over that much cash for Lucian to buy Joanne luxury goods?

He had stolen it.

True love, right? In her past life, he hadn't hesitated to kill her for Joanne; in this life, he was stealing from his own mother for her.

What a piece of work.

Amber's hands curled into tight fists against her school uniform pants. Just how blind had she been to love a man like that for so many years?

"What did you say? Say it again! Lucian, are you trying to disown me? Are you going to go get that money back tomorrow or not? Even if it was technically your money, I'm your legal guardian, and I have every right to demand it back!"

Grace's voice boomed with terrifying energy. If you didn't look closely, you would never guess she was supposedly bedridden with a thrown-out back.

Arthur knew Grace had a fiery temper and immediately stepped forward to comfort her. "Alright, alright, the damage is done. Didn't we agree to handle this calmly? Look at you, stuck in a hospital bed with a bad back, and you're still working yourself into a fit."

At that, Grace burst into dramatic sobs. "Arthur, why is my life so miserable? I raised him single-handedly since he was six, and now that he's all grown up, he wants to abandon me. He has the nerve to say it's his money and I have no say over it. Oh, how could he be so heartless?"

Amber rolled her eyes. Just as Arthur, unable to bear the sight, reached out to pat Grace's back, Amber stepped in smoothly, pushing her father behind her. "Grace, my dad is right. The damage is done, and getting angry won't pay the hospital bill. Didn't you already call the cops? Let the police handle it. Like you said, you're his guardian, and recovering your assets is your right. I fully support you."

Lucian's face immediately darkened. "Amber."

"This really isn't my business anyway, which means it isn't my dad's business either. Come on, Dad, let's go. Since Lucian is bold enough to make decisions about Grace's money, I'm sure he's perfectly capable of taking care of her in the hospital. Even as a good neighbor, you've done more than enough. You're not family, so let's avoid the gossip. Let's go."

"Amber, why are you talking like this again?"

Once Grace's back healed, she didn't offer a single word of thanks. Worse, she silently pocketed all the profits Arthur had made running her diner. When Amber rushed back on the train, Grace had simply said, "Amber, why did you come back? Arthur's leg is fine. He didn't want to distract you from your studies, that's why he didn't call."

Her dad was too soft. From the moment he met Grace, he had always hoped she would offer him a little maternal warmth. Amber had hoped for the same back then, but she had been furious. "Grace, I get that you were busy running the diner during the day to pay for Lucian's living expenses, but how could you not visit the hospital even once at night?"

Facing her confrontation, Grace had sobbed hysterically. "I wanted to visit! But I'm running the diner all by myself, and my back is barely healed! I wanted to hire a nurse for him, but your dad said he didn't want to waste the money since we had no income while he was taking care of me. He said he'd just hold it in and asked me to buy him adult diapers so he wouldn't be a burden until his coworkers came to help!"

"Amber, it's not that I didn't want to help, but your dad and I never officially tied the knot. I'm a woman on my own, it's just not proper. What was I supposed to do? Let Lucian starve? Let the diner go bankrupt?"

Thinking back, it made Amber sick to her stomach. When her dad was wiping Grace down and emptying her bedpans, Grace didn't seem to care that they "never tied the knot" or needed to "keep things proper."

But when it was her turn to take care of him, she found every excuse to do absolutely nothing. Mother and son were cut from the exact same cloth.

Lucian was willing to drop thirty grand on luxury goods for Joanne, but couldn't spare a dime for a nurse, expecting to guilt-trip her dad into free servitude again? Over her dead body!