From His Wife to His Uncle's Wife novel Chapter 198

Eleanor paused, lost in thought. “Jared, you should head home for now.”

She said nothing about what she planned to do next.

“Do you have enough money on you? Just eat at the school cafeteria for the next few days. For dinner, I’ll have someone bring you something.”

Jared, who lived in the dorms, shook his head right away. “No need. We’re only allowed off campus on weekends anyway.”

He hesitated for a second, then seemed to make up his mind. “But when the time comes, I want to visit Mom.”

Their mother had always treated Eleanor terribly, but with Jared, she acted like he was her entire world. Jared looked torn, but this was the only choice he felt he could make.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Eleanor replied, brushing him off.

After sending Jared home, Eleanor stayed where she was, deep in her own thoughts. She figured Max had already left, but then he came back carrying a food container. So, he’d gone to get her something to eat?

“The doctor said you should eat something light today. Just try this for now.”

Eleanor barely seemed to hear him. “Mr. Clarkson…”

Max glanced up. The look in his eyes said clearly that the formal title didn’t fit anymore.

She pressed her lips together and started over. “...Max? I want to see my mom. Can I do that now?”

Max nodded. “You can. But eat first. After you finish, I’ll take you.”

Eleanor stared at her mother, once so intimidating, now trembling with fear. She wasn’t even sure what she felt. She walked closer, step by step. “Patrick ran away. So tell me, should I hand you over to the police?”

“No, please!” Juliana’s voice cracked. “Eleanor, I’m sorry. I never should’ve done this to you. But I had no choice. That man, he came to me. He said if I didn’t get money from you, he’d go after Jared.”

“Eleanor, you know how much Jared has suffered all these years. He’s only just started to get better, finally has a shot at a normal life. I’m begging you, it was him who forced me.”

“Enough.” Eleanor cut her off. She didn’t want to hear another empty apology. Forced? If that was true, why hadn’t Juliana called the police? No, she’d always seen Eleanor as nothing but a burden, someone to use up and toss aside when she was done.

If Eleanor had a choice, she would never have wanted to be Juliana’s daughter. Sometimes, she wished she’d never even been born. But she’d never had a say in any of it.

A bitter smile tugged at her lips. “I’m giving you two choices. First, I can call the police right now and have you sent to jail. Maybe you won’t get a long sentence, but you’ll have a record, and that’ll ruin Jared’s future too.”