"What happened later on?" Michelle pressed for more answers impatiently. She couldn't believe what
she was hearing.
The more she learned about what that Sherry did, the more her dislike for the woman grew.
"Your mother became so haggard and stressed because of losing contact with your father for a long
time.You had just been born and she had to raise you alone.Belinda stood her ground and didn't go
home to admit her mistakes, nor did she even want to get a glimpse of the Mills family's house.I guess
deep in her heart she was hoping your father would come back and she'd know the reason why he took
off without a word."
It was Angie who spoke this time after she gained a bit of energy from resting.
"Then why didn't dad tell mom about what happened even through a simple phone call? Mom would
definitely understand and wait for him, right?"
Michelle reasoned out as she tried to make sense of the complicated story that was unfolding before
her.
"Chelle, if your father had told your mother about it, things would not have turned out the way it did,"
Claire replied affectionately.
Seeing as her niece's hand began to tremble, she held onto it to extend comfort.
"But my parents died in a car accident when I was five, didn't they?"
Shaking her head, Michelle grew more confused as the stories piled up.She wasn't sure how to catch
up anymore.
"Yes, they did.Your father eventually came back and lived with you and your mother again.We're not
sure what happened in those two years he lived with Sherry.We didn't even know if they really got
divorced or not because your mother refused to speak with us.We're clueless about everything until the
car accident took their lives," Elliot filled in.
Though he didn't know much about the car accident because he was away for a business trip at the
time, his gut told him something was out of place.
And as much as he'd like to have it investigated again, there was no new evidence to warrant the case
to be reopened.
What was more, Michelle was living a happy life now despite all of the hardships she endured.
That was Elliot's biggest wish for her and he couldn't have asked for a better outcome.
As for how the Greenwoods treated her, the Mills family would neither forgive nor forget.
Now that they were by Michelle's side, they wouldn't let this slide.
‘'One way or another, we will make them pay for how they treated Michelle" Elliot clenched his fist as
he thought vengefully.
"Grandma, I'm still puzzled.I can't wrap my head around this twisted past,"
Michelle complained as her forehead creased deeper in confusion.She had a lot of questions left
unanswered, so many thoughts she couldn't express.
Seeing her granddaughter in distress, Angie hugged Michelle and comforted her.
"Honey, let's stop here for the meantime.We have all the time in the world to make sense of the
past.Let's deal with the present and have dinner first, okay? Jane cooked your favorite food."
While stroking Michelle's hair, Angie winked at Claire to signal her to get going.
Claire stood up promptly and pulled Michelle from the seat.
"Chelle, there's no need to rush.We're with you every step of the way.What's more important is to take
care of your health," she reminded her niece gently.
Michelle knew that Angie and Claire only wanted what was best for her so she nodded obediently.
Inside her mind was a different story though.
Thoughts overlapped and raced in her head.
'Was the divorce agreement between Sherry and my father finalized? Did my mother Belinda pass
away as the legal Mrs.Greenwood or was she still the other woman until her last breath?’' Michelle kept
mulling over these questions and she didn't know if she would ever find the right answers.
Michelle was lost in a sea of her own thoughts when she went to the dinner table.
Angie saw that pain and confusion were still etched on Michelle's face so she took her granddaughter's
hand, hoping to ward off any negative thoughts.
She guided her to sit next to David and exclaimed, "Michelle, it's about time that you call him
grandpa.We've been looking forward to this day for a decade already!"
Michelle raised her head slowly with tears brimming her eyes.
After some encouragement from Angie, she turned to look at David who was in tears himself.
Acceptance and forgiveness were reflected in his damp eyes.
Michelle rose from her seat and stretched out her arms to embrace her grandfather.
She finally had the chance to utter what should have been said all those years ago.
In Michelle's voice was a silent apology as she whispered emotionally, "Grandpa..."
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