Chapter 84 Regret
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Joshua was mentally calculating his next move, but outwardly, he wore a mask of concern.
He softened his tone as much as possible to sound gentle. “Barnett, don’t panic. I’ll send someone to find Aurora right away. She doesn’t have any money on her, so she can’t have gone far.”
But Barnett didn’t respond. He simply had no strength left to say anything.
His mind was consumed entirely by the image of Aurora. Every memory of her kindness now transformed into sharp needles, repeatedly piercing through his heart.
He regretted not trusting her more back then. Why hadn’t he stood up for her when she needed him most?
If only he’d treated her better after she got out of prison, maybe she wouldn’t have run away.
And then there was the unbearable thought that she’d spent five years in jail for no reason at all.
Her body was permanently damaged, never to recover fully. The guilt crushed him like an iron weight, suffocating him with every breath.
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Curling up on the couch, Barnett clutched a throw pillow tightly, burying his face deep into it.
His shoulders trembled faintly, and muffled sobs escaped from his throat.
The raw pain etched across his features lore at Celeste’s heart.
Yet beneath her pity, resentment simmered.
SWhat’s the big deal? It’s just a little hardship. Why does Aurora have to run off like this?
To her, Aurora was deliberately making their family miserable.
She even regretted allowing Aurora back into their lives eight
years ago.
Ever since her return, nothing but chaos followed. She bullied Bertha and stirred up trouble, turning our once–peaceful home upside down.
Five years in prison should’ve straightened her out, but clearly, it didn’t.
Perhaps the guards have gone easy on her because she is the daughter of our family? That will explain her growing arrogance. How could I have raised such an unruly, ungrateful child?
It gave her a headache just thinking about it.
Chapter 84 Regret
And now, because of Aurora, Barnett’s stomach issues were flaring up again. If this setback broke him completely, Celeste swore she’d never forgive Aurora.
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Despite her anger, Celeste gently patted her son’s back, trying to soothe him.
“Don’t worry, your father will find Aurora soon. In the
meantime, let me get someone to make you something bland to settle your stomach. Eat it and rest. You need to take care of yourself.”
After comforting Barnett, she pulled Joshua aside and left the
room.
About half an hour later, a maid entered quietly with oatmeal.
“Mr. Elvador,” she murmured softly, “here’s some warm oatmeal for your stomach.”
The familiar scent reached Barnett’s nose, rousing him enough to sit up despite his exhaustion.
Weakly, he took a spoonful and immediately spat it back into the plate.
“Why does it taste different?” he asked hoarsely.
The maid blinked, confused.
Then she heard his weak explanation. “It’s not the same I used to eat.”
eas
what
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She paused, glancing at the oatmeal before realization dawned.
“Mr. Elvador, the oatmeal you’re used to is made by Daisy herself. She always simmers it over low heat for more than two hours. Only then does it become thick and nourishing for the stomach.”
“And…” she added hesitantly, “Ms. Elvador taught her that.”
Aurora, who grew up in an orphanage, shouldn’t have known how to cook oatmeal so well.
But the orphanage director was kind and cared deeply for the children’s health.
Knowing they couldn’t afford nutritious meals, the director devised a way to keep them strong by preparing stomach–soothing oatmeal daily.
Though cheap, it required patience to prepare properly. Thanks to this, Aurora rarely fell ill during her fifteen years at the orphanage.
Her stomach problems began only after returning to the Elvador Villa, where meals were unstable.
Those harsh winters were especially brutal for her. If it weren’t for Daisy discovering her vomiting late at night due to severe stomach cramps and feeding her easily digestible foods, Aurora might not have survived.
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Even so, naive and selfless as ever, she still worried about Barnett’s stomach condition and shared the recipe for the oatmeal with Daisy, hoping Daisy would use it to care for him. when she wasn’t around.
After Aurora went to prison, Daisy continued using her method to prepare oatmeal for Barnett.
But Daisy was getting older, and without Aurora around to frequently remind her, Barnett ended up going ten days, event half a month, without the oatmeal.
Over time, his stomach issues flared up again.
As the maid recounted these details, Barnett’s expression. darkened.
“Then go make it exactly like before!” he demanded.
The maid hesitated, visibly troubled.
“Mr. Elvador, I’m sorry, but it takes over two hours of constant attention to make it right. You have to stir it frequently to prevent sticking, and honestly, I don’t know the exact process Daisy uses.”
No one watched Daisy cook for hours.
What’s more, the maid was reluctant to take on the task because Daisy had sacrificed her own rest time to make it, and no one was willing to put in the same effort without extra pay.
Chapter 84 Regret
Bitterness flooded Barnett. Clearly, the oatmeal was out of
reach.
“Fine, bring me my stomach medicine instead.”
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The maid winced apologetically. “Mr. Elvador, we don’t know where you keep your medication or which pills you take. Daisy always handled that.”
At this, another wave of excruciating pain crashed over Barnell, each pulse sharper than the last.
Helplessly, he curled back onto the couch, clutching his abdomen. His face contorted in agony.
With a heavy sigh, the maid picked up the oatmeal and exited the room, leaving behind an oppressive silence.
Barnett remained curled up on the couch with a hollow and lost gaze.
Time dragged on endlessly as he endured wave after wave of torment. Eventually, the pain subsided slightly, though night had already fallen.
Dragging himself downstairs, he found the villa eerily quiet. His parents were long asleep.
He shuffled to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water.
As the liquid trickled down his throat and into his stomach, a fleeting sense of relief washed over him.
Chapter 84 Regret
Lost in thought, he lingered for a moment before moving, not toward his bedroom but to the storage room.
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When he pushed open the door, a musty, humid smell greeted him, laced with the scent of decay.
Wrinkling his nose, Barnett stepped inside, letting his eyes adjust. They landed on an old desk tucked in the corner.
The desk was worn and battered, utterly out of place with the luxurious villa. Books piled high covered its surface, all of them textbooks from Aurora’s high school years.
Slowly, he sat down and began flipping through them. Every page was filled with her meticulous notes, which were blurred under the dim light yet painfully stabbed at his heart.
In his mind, he could see her sitting there, pen in hand, pouring her hopes and dreams onto those pages.
On the day she returned home from prison, she’d proudly declared herself the top student of Orley High School.
Back then, she believed wholeheartedly that education could change her fate. Yet, all those sacrifices and effort were wasted because of her imprisonment.
