Chapter 753 - 749: What’s the Difference Between This and a Ghost Story?

Leaving the hotel, Cecilia couldn’t help but let out another long sigh.

Estelle Goodman’s mood was also heavy. The little princess, who had grown up in a perfect, happy family, had never seen such a miserable girl in real life.

That’s right, the adjective that came to Estelle’s mind was "miserable."

She had only ever seen such things on TV. She knew that backward ideas like favoring sons over daughters still existed in some places in real life, but seeing it with her own eyes still shocked her greatly.

"Darling, your cousin is so pitiful. Later, I’ll bring over all the clothes I don’t wear anymore for her."

Estelle thought for a moment, then added, "But does she need money more right now? Let me give her some. It’ll be on me."

As she spoke, she started to pull out her phone.

Cecilia stopped her, shaking her head. "Don’t. It’s not necessary."

"Why are you being so formal with me? Your cousin is my cousin. And I really feel for her."

Cecilia sighed softly and explained in a low voice, "That’s not what I mean. I feel for her too, but I can’t just give her money directly."

"She has a sense of independence right now, which is incredibly difficult for a girl in her situation. I can help her to a certain extent, but if I completely support her financially, I won’t be helping her—I’ll be hurting her."

"Besides, even though she’s my maternal uncle’s daughter, I’m not obligated to support her to that extent."

"She wants to rely on herself, and she’s willing to do so. I admire and support that. That’s the most important reason I’m willing to help her, not just because I feel sorry for her."

Melinda had grown up in an unjust environment devoid of love, but she had the will to break free and escape. That was what was most precious.

If she were just a pitiful person who had accepted her fate, Cecilia wouldn’t have found a reason to feel such compassion.

It slowly dawned on Estelle what Cecilia meant, but she couldn’t help worrying. "But she only has a high school education. In Lorcain, any decent job requires at least a bachelor’s degree. She’s strong, but reality won’t sympathize with her or take pity on her. The hardest part is yet to come."

"We’ll figure out what comes next later. Right now, I need to explain Mindy’s situation to my mom." Cecilia glanced at the time, then turned to Estelle. "Thank you for today. Those clothes weren’t cheap, but I won’t be falsely polite with you."

"They’re all things I don’t wear. They were just taking up space. You’re actually doing me a favor."

Cecilia smiled. "Alright, I’m going to head over to my mom’s place then."

"Okay. If you need any more help later, just let me know."

After they parted ways, Cecilia drove directly to Cleanscape. Her mother was at the branch location today.

In the office, Yvonne Sterling had also just learned from her sister that Melinda had secretly flown from their hometown to Lorcain early this morning.

"What? Did Cecilia pick her up?"

"She did. She said she was taking her to eat first and would come over after getting her settled." Jasmine Sterling sighed as she spoke. "Mindy was definitely mistreated at home. We know that just from thinking back to our own childhoods."

Yvonne Sterling fell silent as well.

When they were young, they were still in the countryside of Fornan. Girls were looked down upon even more, and it wasn’t uncommon for people in the village to sell off their daughters.

Her older sister had run away from their hometown to Veridia to work when she was fifteen, and later brought her along too. They had left home early, escaping that cage, but they would probably never forget the hardships and mistreatment they endured growing up.

This was the main reason the two sisters weren’t close to their relatives back home.

And Mindy probably had it even worse than them. Not to mention, after twenty years, she also had three younger brothers. It was unimaginable...

Cecilia arrived shortly after. The moment she walked in, Jasmine Sterling eagerly asked her daughter, "Where’s Mindy? How is she?"

"I got her settled in a hotel to rest." Cecilia looked at her mother and aunt, shaking her head with a helpless expression. "You have no idea. She came here wearing just a single jacket and thin shoes. If we hadn’t known she was coming, she would have frozen numb after ten minutes on the streets of Lorcain."

"So she really did run away?" Yvonne asked.

Cecilia nodded. "She was dragging a huge suitcase. Said she packed all her things."

The two sisters couldn’t help but exchange worried glances. Yvonne said, "Sis, if we don’t send her back, can we really take responsibility if something happens?"

Jasmine had also promised the old lady that she would send Mindy back as soon as she picked her up, at most letting her stay and have fun in Lorcain for a couple of days.

But at this moment, Cecilia spoke with great seriousness. "Mom, Aunt Yvonne, Mindy can’t go back. If she goes back, it’s over for her."

"What’s wrong? What happened?"

Cecilia then relayed to them everything Mindy had told her, word for word.

The earlier experiences of being neglected were all within the sisters’ expectations. As girls in the family, they had gone through the same things in their childhood, and Mindy’s situation was surely even worse.

But when they heard about the college entrance exams, their expressions turned grim.

Yvonne slammed the table in anger. "How could they do that? That’s a child’s entire future at stake!"

Jasmine added, "From what the old lady said, I thought Mindy just didn’t get in because of bad grades. I never expected this was what happened. It’s just too much."

"Too much? It gets worse." Cecilia couldn’t help but sneer. "Grandma wants to marry Mindy off. She says he’s some business owner from back home, a divorcé in his thirties."

"What?" the two exclaimed in unison, their eyes wide with disbelief.

"Has the old lady lost her mind? How old is Mindy!" Yvonne was dumbfounded, her lips trembling with such anger that she couldn’t get another word out.

Jasmine, however, had been a direct victim of the old lady’s matchmaking. She knew her grandmother’s personality all too well: as long as there was money, everything else was fine.

"Mom, Aunt Yvonne." Cecilia suppressed her anger, softened her tone, and looked at the two of them. "Mindy is an adult. She has her own independent personality. She must have run away because she couldn’t bear to accept such a fate. That must have taken immense courage for her."

"If we send her back now, we’ll be the very hands that push her back into the abyss. Then there will be no one in this world on her side. She’ll spend her whole life fighting the entire world alone."

Jasmine and Yvonne couldn’t help but exchange a look.

If they were the ones to send Mindy back, the whole situation would be horrifying.

Two people who knew the misery of their original family and had escaped from it, personally sending another girl who also wanted to escape right back into it.

’How is that any different from a ghost story?’

The mere thought sent a chill down the sisters’ spines.

"What do we tell the old lady?" Yvonne asked in a low voice.

But Cecilia said, "We don’t need to explain anything. Mindy is an adult. She’s choosing her own path. Why does she have to explain herself to anyone?"

"After everything she’s experienced and suffered her whole life, who has ever given her an explanation?"