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Chapter <b>225 </b>
During dinner, the atmosphere at the table was unusually strange.
Reba nced back and forth at the three of them. She’d overheard part of their conversation, and Sebastian’s line, “You forced her to abort that child a long time ago,” hit her especially hard.
Her impression of Ryan only got worse because of that.
Ryan waspletely clueless about any of this.
At the dinner table, the three family elders were busy scheming against each other. Sometimes, Sebastian couldn’t stand Ryan, and other times, Sebastian and Ryan would join forces to look down on Jeffrey.
They took turns sniping at each other, every word loaded with unspoken sarcasm.
“This is a family dinner, not some business negotiation,” Reba couldn’t help but speak up. “If you want topete for who’s got the better mouth, feel free to schedule another meeting and go all out there.”
All three immediately quieted down.
Not another word was said.
Amelia had specifically hired a chef for Reba’s birthday, hoping to make it special. But even that didn’t stop them from treating it like some corporate dinner, so it was no surprise Reba had to step in.
Reba noticed the te in front of Jeffrey piled with food that he really shouldn’t be eating, and couldn’t help but frown.
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Jeffrey caught her look and quickly said, “Hey, me Mr. Guzman and Mr. Quinn–they shoved all this onto my te. None of it was my choice.”
Sebastian was speechless.
Ryan was speechless.
Reba swallowed her feelings and kept quiet.
For the next hour or so, everyone just ate in peace, no more drama.
It wasn’t like the three suddenly turned into goody–goodies; it’s just that Sebastian and Ryan didn’t want to get caught in Jeffrey’s tricks again. Once burned, twice shy.
Dinner was over.
Sebastian and Ryan lingered at the table, both itching to say something but hesitating, clearly hoping to stick around–yet worried that Reba and Amelia would show them to the door at any minute.
Jeffrey had Samuel as his golden ticket to stay as long as he wanted, but what about them? ‘Lucky guy, thought Ryan, a bit annoyed.
14:10 <b>Sat</b><b>, </b>Oct 4
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“Mommy! Happy birthday!” Samuel came downstairs, clutching the cake he’d helped make, his big eyes shining with excitement. “Mr. Hanson and I put this birthday cake together just for you!”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Reba said, epting the cake and softly mussing up his hair, her gaze filled with affection.
With a gentle smile, Jeffrey lit the candles.
Then, with a touch of ceremony, he ced the custom golden crown onto Reba’s head.
As Reba closed her eyes to make a wish, Samuel tugged on Jeffrey’s sleeve. “Aren’t you going to say something, Mr. Hanson?”
Jeffrey pretended not to get it. “Say what?”
“You always used to ask Mommy what she wished for,” Samuel said, his little face full of cuteness. “And you’d tell her you were her wishing tree, that you’d help make all her wishese true.”
Jeffrey pressed his lips together and said nothing.
He already knew exactly what Reba was wishing for.
Reba’s birthday wish? Oh, just to finally get that divorce from him.
Sebastian didn’t miss a beat. “Reba, what did you wish for? Let your Grandpa Richard handle it–consider it done!”
Ryan jumped in right after, throwing down, “Whatever it is, it’s Dad’s job to make it happen!”
Amelia stared at them, utterly lost.
Then she blurted out, “Dad?”
“I know you still me me for what happened before,” Ryan said quietly, looking Amelia in the eye. “But by blood, Reba is my daughter.”
Amelia was about to speak.
But Reba cut her off. “I’m not.”
Ryan’s brows knitted together. “Reba.”
Reba met his gaze, her face set and serious. “The child you and my mother had? That child was gone because of you–over twenty years ago, you forced her to have an abortion.”
Amelia went silent, caughtpletely off guard.
Ryan was stunned.
Neither of them had any idea Reba already knew the truth.
14:10 <b>Sat</b>, <b>Oct </b>4
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“You wanted to know my birthday wish?” Reba said, her tone icy–she couldn’t feel anything for this so- called father. “I wished for you to never bother me or my mom again. Whatever you’ve been doing for the past twenty years, just keep doing it. Leave us out of it.”
“I’m sorry for everything that happened in the past,” Ryan said, his heart growing heavier with every word. “But I really want to make it up to you, to show you how much I regret it.”
Nobody wants to see their own child looking at them with that kind of hatred.
When Ryan discovered Reba was his and Amelia’s daughter, it was like his empty, lifeless existence of thest twenty years was suddenly jolted awake–he’d finally felt alive again.
He even went back to the Guzman family and pulled out all the stops, just hoping he could finally bring her home.
“No need,” Reba replied, voice like ice–sharp and direct. “If you genuinely felt guilty for what you did to my mom, you wouldn’t have waited more than twenty years to finally apologize.”
As soon as she said that, the air froze for a moment. <fn09b8> ?????? ???? fin?novel</fn09b8>
Sebastian, who’d been watching the drama like it was a show, suddenly looked a little uneasy.
‘Funny,‘ Reba thought, ‘he did pretty much the same thing as Ryan back then.‘
“Amelia,” Ryan tried to reach out, hoping she’d back him up and help break the ice.
“Reba’s wish is my wish,” Amelia said, her tone ice–cold and totally uninterested. Whatever she used to feel for Ryan had long since faded–twenty years and everything he’d done back then had left nothing behind. “Have some cake and then please leave.”
Ryan’s eyes wentpletely dark.
After a while, he finally muttered, “No matter what, she’s still my daughter.”
Amelia just rolled her eyes, totally indifferent. “Where’s your proof?”
Ryan could only stare in silence.
With Jeffrey always running interference, Ryan couldn’t even get a paternity test done with Reba. Just thinking about it made him re at Jeffrey with even more irritation.
Jeffrey didn’t even blink.
Amelia and Reba were the only ones he cared about anyway.
As for Ryan, the so–called father–inw nobody cared to recognize, Jeffrey couldn’t be bothered if he upset him. Even if Ryan shamelessly managed to win back Reba and Amelia’s forgiveness somehow, his ce in this family would at best be flimsy and easily swept aside.
After that bit of drama, Reba cut the cake and started handing out slices.
<b>14:10 </b><b>Sat</b>, Oct 4
When things finally wrapped up, Sebastian–who’d kept quiet all along–came over to Reba and Amelia “You two free for a minute? Need to talk.”
The four of them went upstairs to the study.
Seeing Reba and Amelia acting so distant, Sebastian just felt weird inside. He really didn’t know what to say to close that gap.
“So, what do you want to talk about?” Reba asked, straight to the point<b>. </b>
Sebastian shot a look at Oliver.
Oliver reached into his bag and pulled out a share transfer agreement, setting it down <b>in </b>front of <b>them</b><b>. </b>He locked eyes with Amelia. “This is the same contract you signed back then. All the terms are still valid
In other words, if they wanted, they could buy back their shares in Quinn Group <b>at </b>the same price they sold
them for.
If they wanted, they could buy back their shares in Quinn Group for the original selling price.
“I know,” Amelia said, not bothering to hide anything. “I was actually nning to have Reba buy them back.”
“My eldest son might not be too happy about it,” Sebastian said, his voice rough with age. “But don’t worry<b>. </b>I’ll talk to him as soon as I get home.”
Amelia just nodded.
Seeing how distant Amelia was, Sebastian felt the weight of that barrier between them–he wanted to say something, but the words just wouldn’te.
Amelia used to have such a sharp edge, but now she seemed much gentler than before.
“If you ever decide toe back, there’s always a ce for both of you in this family,” Sebastian finally said after a long, heavy silence. “But if you’d rather not, I’ll respect whatever choice you make.”
Amelia looked at him calmly. “You really have changed.”
Deep down, Sebastian couldn’t hide his regret. ‘When you lose your best kid, you can’t help but start questioning everything about yourself!
Amelia didn’t say anything.
Honestly, Sebastian making this change would only make it easier for Reba to <i>take </i>over the shares.
Sebastian started to say something-“Amelia…“–but hesitated.
Amelia cut him off, her tone icy and formal. “We’re not close enough for you to call me that. Just call me Amelia from now on.”
Sebastian fell silent for a moment, then finally nodded.
<b>14:10 </b>Sat, <b>Oct </b>4
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With everything discussed and settled, Amelia didn’t hesitate to signal for someone to see them off.
Amelia had someone promptly escort them out.
After seeing them out, Amelia couldn’t care less–her heart didn’t even flutter. She nced sideways at Reba, her eyes soft but clear: “You’ve always wanted to know what happened to me with the Quinn family, right?”
Reba shook her head, genuine concern crossing her face. “Mom, seriously, if you don’t feel like talking about it, just skip it. I don’t want you digging up those old wounds.”
Amelia answered, voice smooth and rxed–as if all those scars healed ages ago. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. Some things you absolutely need to know. Otherwise, when it’s time to reim those shares, if someone starts throwing shade or talking nonsense, you’ll be caught off guard.”
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