Chapter 338 So naive

Alana explained, “Her boyfriend is too busy; he doesn’t have time to spend with her.”

Stephan retorted, “Is it that he’s too busy, or that her boyfriend doesn’t love her enough?”

Alana was momentarily speechless.

She hadn’t thought of that.

“Maybe he really doesn’t have time.”

Stephan reached out and pinched Alana’s cheek. “Tell your best friend not to be so naive. No matter how busy a man is, he’d never just leave his woman hanging.”

She wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

After all, her best friend was only with her boyfriend for the money. She didn’t feel comfortable asking about the nature of their private relationship.

Besides, unlike Eve, she wasn’t one to pry into other people’s private affairs.

It was just that sometimes she couldn’t help but ask a question or two.

Stephan stopped there and didn’t say anything more. Of course, by bringing it up like that, he didn’t have any good intentions.

He pinched her cheek again. “Come with me next time. If your best friend has it, I want it too.”

Alana immediately nodded. “Mm-hmm, got it. I’ll definitely go with you!”

Stephan immediately wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Let’s go back. I’m hungry.”

This kind of hunger was not the same as that other kind.

Alana sighed.

Seriously, he won’t even let her get a moment’s rest.

*********

Agnes returned home with her son and saw Darla sitting on the sofa.

Darla seemed to have been waiting for her on purpose; the moment she walked in, Darla looked over.

Sure enough, the very next second, Darla said to Jamin, “Jamin, go back to your room and play by yourself. I need to talk to your mom about something.”

Jamin gave a little “Oh” and scampered upstairs,

He didn’t dare to defy this older sister.

Because he sensed that his older sister didn’t really like him.

Mom had told him to listen to his sister, so he’d just do as he was told, after all, there was no harm in being well-behaved.

Seeing her son go upstairs, Agnes walked over to Darla and asked gently,

“Darla, what did you need me for?”

Darla glanced at Agnes and got straight to the point. “Aunt Agnes, have you finished the task I asked you to do for me?”

Upon hearing this, Agnes looked troubled.

“Darla, I’m sorry. I called her, but she refused. If she won’t agree, there’s nothing I can do.” She couldn’t very well threaten that girl to stop pursuing the man Darla liked, could she?

That wouldn’t be ethical. Without knowing the full story, she couldn’t bring herself to do something so unconscionable.

Darla smiled, a hint of coldness in her expression.

“Is it that she refused, or that you simply didn’t care about my situation at all?”

Agnes choked on her words and couldn’t help but explain, “I didn’t. I just... haven’t figured out how to handle it yet.”

“Darla, Aunt Agnes sincerely advises you: why don’t you just find another man to like? That guy has already been snatched up by another girl, which proves he doesn’t have you in his heart. ou should cut your losses and stay away from men like that.”

Darla’s eyes darkened. “Aunt Agnes, are you lecturing me?”

Agnes sighed. “Darla, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not lecturing you, I’m just concerned about you.”

Having spent so many years with Darla, she had come to regard her as her own daughter and didn’t want to see her so tormented by love. “Concerned about me?”

Darla snorted derisively. What a hypocritical woman, making her concern sound so noble!

Did she really think she’d believe that?

“Aunt Agnes, do you know who the man I like is? It’s Stephan Hudson, the CEO of the Hudson Group and the Hudson family’s first heir, a man at the very top of the pyramid!”

“With a man so outstanding and capable, isn’t it only natural that I’ve fallen for him?As my family, you should be supporting me, not opposing our relationship!”

Agnes knew the man Darla liked was exceptional, but...

“But he doesn’t like you. Why force yourself on him?”

Darla let out another cold laugh. “How do you know he won’t like me? Maybe someone else is preventing him from liking me? If it weren’t for her, the one he’d fall for would be me. Don’t you understand something as simple as that?”

Agnes frowned. “Darla, how can you think that way...”

Was the Darla standing before her really the same girl she’d known for over a decade, the one she’d treated like her own daughter?

Why did she look so unfamiliar?

Did she even find her frightening?

Darla smiled and asked in return, “Aunt Agnes, what’s wrong with me thinking this way? Wasn’t it because you saw my mother die that you were able to be with my father in the first place? If my mother hadn’t died, what business would you have had with us?”

Agnes was taken aback and immediately denied it, “No, that’s not how it was...”

By the time she got together with Henry, Agnes’ mother had already died in a car accident...

Moreover, Henry’s relationship with Agnes’ mother had been an arranged marriage between the families; the two had no emotional connection whatsoever.

But she couldn’t let Darla know this, after all, Darla was already pitiful enough having lost her mother.

She didn’t want Darla to know that her parents hadn’t loved each other from the start.

Darla grew impatient. “Agnes, that’s enough! Just tell me, will you help me or not?”

Since Agnes was Alana’s mother, she needed her help.

Of course, if Agnes refused to help, she had other options.

Agnes shook her head. “Darla, I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I can’t let you get dragged deeper into this.”

She felt that Darla had become obsessed with a man, no longer acting like herself.

Darla ignored her and asked with a smile, “Aunt Agnes, did you call that woman today... the one who stole the man I liked? Didn’t you realize anything?”

She had assumed that when Agnes made that call, she would recognize her biological daughter on the other end.

But she never expected that Agnes wouldn’t even recognize her own daughter. How ridiculous!

Agnes was confused. “Darla, what do you mean by that?”

Darla suddenly gave a sinister smile and pulled out her phone. “Here, let me show you exactly who that slut is who stole my man. You’ll definitely be interested, because just like you, she loves stealing other people’s men.”

What Darla pulled out was a photo.

This photo, posted by Cynthia on her social media, showed Alana and Stephan looking very much in love together.

She simply handed it to Agnes to look at.

The moment Agnes saw the photo, her pupils contracted instantly.

And she finally understood why Darla had asked her such a baffling question.

It turned out that the woman who had stolen the man Darla loved was none other than her own biological daughter, Alana, the very daughter she had once heartlessly abandoned!

She couldn’t even begin to fathom why Alana would be with a man like Stephan. Her head was buzzing, and her mind went completely blank.

Her biological daughter and the adopted daughter she’d raised for over a decade had actually fallen for the same man?!

To her, this was utterly shocking and unbelievable.

She couldn’t even bring herself to accept it!

Seeing Agnes’ stunned and bewildered reaction, Darla smiled. “You see now? The one stealing my man is your biological daughter, Alana!”

“Even if you haven’t seen your biological daughter in over a decade, surely you must

recognize her, right?”

“After all, she looks quite a lot like you, even I could tell. As her biological mother, surely you must have noticed.”

“Darla!” Agnes was losing control. “What exactly are you trying to do?!”

Darla spoke up, “What I want is simple: I want you, as her mother, to make sure your daughter stays well away from my Stephan!”

Agnes instinctively refused, “No!”