Goodbye My Arrogant Ex (Marguerite and Leonard) novel Chapter 233

“Even if your father and I never truly loved each other, your presence brought me so much joy. It gave me the strength to stay in this family, because I knew that as long as I endured, your future would be brighter.”

All these years, everything she’d given up, all her quiet endurance, had really been for Leonard.

Leonard understood this well. He knew his mother and father had never had much affection for each other, but she had never once treated him unfairly. She was always clear-headed and never burdened him with her own troubles. From childhood, she’d never forced him to do anything he didn’t want to do.

“Mom, I know you did all this for me,” Leonard said quietly. “All these years, you’ve made so many sacrifices…”

The truth was, Leonard’s father had lived abroad for years. He’d started a new family there, but Leonard’s grandmother refused to acknowledge them. His father had found a new woman and had a child with her—one around Leonard’s age. But the whole situation felt strangely balanced; no one really blamed anyone else. They were all just playing their parts.

His grandmother had laid down the law long ago: if his father chose that woman, he was never to set foot in their family home again. And he never did.

For years, the elderly Mrs. Murphy never spoke of it, forbidding anyone in the house from mentioning her son’s name.

Marguerite had never known any of this. Leonard’s mother, wanting to spare her children any emotional burden, had kept it all to herself.

No wonder Marguerite had never heard anyone mention Leonard’s father. The marriage had ended long ago in all but name, and each had found solace elsewhere.

“If there’s anything I can do to help, I want to face it with you. We’re a family—always.”

She spoke with unwavering conviction.

“Thank you, Marguerite,” Leonard’s mother murmured. “I knew you’d never give up on him.”

Meanwhile, Edith worked quickly. Word spread like wildfire: Leonard wasn’t a true Murphy. The entire company erupted with speculation, and the board of directors immediately convened to debate what to do next.