The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 239

“Brianna! Get out!” Winnie screamed, unable to bear it any longer.

Jotham tried to pull Brianna away, but she refused to leave. “Your daughter started it! I came here with the best intentions to see Dad. If anyone should leave, it should be her!”

“Brianna!” Jotham snapped, his patience gone. “Just stop it! Dad is right here. Even if you feel wronged, can’t you just let it go for a minute?”

“Why should I be the one to let it go…” she retorted, digging in her heels.

“Let go of me!” Eulalia shrieked, struggling against Flynn’s hold. Fearing a public scene, he forcibly half-carried her out of the room.

Once they were gone, Jotham finally released Brianna, but not before giving her a harsh, warning look.

Brianna, though still seething, was at least more composed than Eulalia and managed to regain some semblance of normality.

She said no more, placing the gifts she had brought on a nearby table and speaking softly to Griffin. “Dad, don’t worry. Jotham and I are here. You just focus on getting better.”

Griffin’s eyes moved, and his breathing grew heavier. He seemed to want to say something, but he couldn’t open his mouth. He was clearly lucid; his hand had been trembling on the bedspread during the fight. His expression now was one of sheer distress.

Brianna’s words, though sincere, sounded bitterly ironic in the current circumstances.

“What a disgrace to this family!” Liliane sighed heavily. Unable to watch any longer, she had someone help her out of the room. As she passed Jotham, she shot him a cold look. He couldn’t meet her eyes.

The past few days had taken their toll on the matriarch. She had barely eaten or slept, relying on medication to keep going. She had lost weight and looked frail. Seeing her son lying helpless in that bed, she couldn't help but think about her own bleak future. A disgraceful family, unfilial children and grandchildren. What a mess.

Winnie and Liliane had never gotten along, but seeing the older woman so defeated, stripped of her usual authority, Winnie felt a pang of despair.

Was this really the end of the Holt family?

After Liliane left, the room fell silent. Winnie, who despised Brianna, sat coldly in a corner. Jotham gestured for Brianna to try to make peace with his mother, but she ignored him, sitting down and calmly peeling an apple.

“I didn’t say anything,” Winnie sneered.

“You think Ramona is better? The woman who destroyed this family? Jotham and the Holts were good to her, and how did she repay you? She was vicious, merciless! You think she’s better?” Brianna’s greatest trigger was praise for Ramona. She had suffered so much because of her, had given everything for Jotham and his family, only to be compared to her nemesis.

Jotham’s face contorted with rage. He grabbed Brianna’s arm, his grip like iron. Before she could react, he was dragging her out of the room.

“Jotham!”

He was hurting her, but he didn’t care. He pulled her from the room, down the crowded hallway, and all the way to the hospital entrance, ignoring her struggles and cries.

Outside, he threw his car keys at her. “Go home. And don’t come back. You’re not needed here.”

“Jotham! Are you taking their side against me? Your mother and sister were bullying me, didn’t you see?”