Hearing this, seeing the hint of remorse on her father’s face, Janelle was really moved.

At the same time, she also felt very regretful.

If her father hadn’t remarried, she really, truly hoped her dad and mom could get back together. In Janelle’s eyes, they were such a perfect match.

Back then they didn’t split up because they stopped loving each other, it was just that they were both too worked up.

Otherwise, why would they keep thinking about each other all this time?

Father and daughter drank their coffee and casually chatted about everyday things. Seeing how his daughter had grown up in a blink, now so graceful and elegant, the father was deeply gratified.

"Don’t stay at a hotel anymore. I have an empty apartment—take your mother there. Your fingerprint’s already recorded in the lock." Nathan Mills extended his most sincere invitation.

Janelle had stayed in that apartment before.

"Let’s talk about this later. Mom definitely won’t accept it right now. When the time is right, you can invite her yourself."

"Alright."

Father and daughter walked out of the café together. A gust of evening wind blew past, and when Janelle turned her eyes, she caught sight of the wrinkles on her father’s face, which stirred her feelings.

Yet whenever he faced her, Nathan Mills was always full of guilt, always wearing a kindly expression.

They said a brief goodbye. The daughter watched her father’s car drive off into the distance, and just then Carlotta Sterling’s call came through.

Janelle glanced at the caller ID and hurried to pick up. "Mom."

"How long does it take you to eat one meal?" The displeased voice of a middle‑aged woman came over the line. "Do you not care about my feelings at all?"

"I’m downstairs at the hotel, I’ll be up right away." With that, the girl hung up.

She knew her mother was a woman who seemed tough on the outside but was soft inside. Plus, their mother‑daughter relationship had always been good, so she wanted to first try handling this in her own way and see if she could fix it. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Thinking it over, she headed toward the elevator.

In a certain room upstairs, Carlotta Sterling sat on the sofa, staring at an enlarged photo of Trevor on her tablet, when she suddenly recalled a detail—

The night her daughter was at Darcy Manor, during that video call, she had seen Trevor!

Yes, that man was Trevor!

So... they were already together back then?

If so, then it was possible they were already living together. If a man and a woman have already been physically intimate, it’s not easy to break them up.

Was she really going to make things tense between mother and daughter again because of Nathan Mills?

In fact, the kind‑hearted Carlotta felt a bit hesitant inside. Just then, the door beeped and swung open, and her daughter walked in.

Carlotta turned her eyes to glance over, and she snapped back to herself.

Janelle walked toward her mother without looking at her mother’s expression. When she reached her, she dropped straight to her knees. "Mom, please don’t make things hard for Trevor, okay?"

Her daughter’s action left Carlotta utterly stunned!

Janelle had always been carefree and bold, never one to yield when something happened. She rarely even called her "Mom," always "Sister Sterling, Sister Sterling." Yet today... she actually knelt down for that man??

Carlotta rose from the sofa, her steps seeming to freeze in place as she looked down at her. Inside, she was shaken to the core!

"Janelle Mills, get up this instant!" Carlotta’s emotions surged. "Who gave you permission to kneel?!"

The girl lifted her eyes, tears firm and unwavering in them. "I like him. From childhood till now, there’s never been a man who could catch my eye like he does. Never. And there never will be another. Please bless us!"

Hearing this, Carlotta was somewhat infuriated. "Are you crazy? Kneeling for him? Do you not want your dignity anymore?"

"So what if I love him humbly?" Janelle’s nose stung. "I want to walk through the rest of my life hand in hand with him! I don’t want him to get hurt!"

"The more you like him, the less you’ll be valued in this relationship!" Carlotta was about to be driven mad by her daughter. "Get up, now!" she shouted, reaching out to pull her up.

Janelle was yanked to her feet by her mother. "Mom, everyone’s feelings and marriages are different. Just because you stumbled doesn’t mean I will. And even if I do, I’ll accept it! This is my life!"