Kneeling for a Second Chance Novel

---- Chapter 364 Valeria pulled the blanket around herself, shut her eyes, and murmured, "Honey, it's late. Let's sleep." Even with her eyes closed, she could still feel Sebastian's gaze on her. She pretended to be asleep, unmoving. A few minutes later, that burning stare faded. He pulled her into his arms, his voice low and hoarse, a helpless laugh slipping out. " Alright. Let's sleep." The next morning, Wendy showed up again at 10:00 am. Valeria had just stepped out to take out the trash when she saw Wendy's car parked at the gate.

The moment Wendy got out, the pretense dropped, and the fake smile was gone. Valeria didn't bother with pleasantries. "What do you want?" "That's what I should be asking you. What are you trying to do? Are you trying to get back at me? You know full well I'm Sebastian's sister -in-law, and yet you married him. Are you trying to destroy me?" "When Granny was gravely ill, lying in the hospital waiting for surgery, where were you? You took five million to buy your way out of being my mother.

You weren't my mom then, and you never will be." Valeria's fingers clenched tight, her knuckles turning white as she stepped up to Wendy. ---- "What really eats at you is having to look at me as your equal. Inyour eyes, someone from my kind of background could never measure up to the Grant family. "Did I really destroy you, Wendy? Don't flatter yourself. I've never cared about the Grant family's influence. All I want is to be with the man I love." "So much for love." Wendy scoffed.

"Can you honestly say there isn't any ulterior motive in your feelings for Sebastian?" "You and Melvin ruined years of my life. Your dear father is still locked up. He was crippled over gambling debts, two fingers gone, and he'll spend the rest of his life in a cell. And Thomas and Jennifer are nothing but leeches, bleeding me dry. I despise your whole family." She suddenly grabbed Valeria's arm, her nails digging in, fury burning in her eyes.

"If it weren't for giving birth to you and nearly bleeding to death, I wouldn't be left without a child of my own with the man I love." That was why Nicholas and Martha had always looked down on Wendy. She and Alexander had tried everything to conceive. She took medicine after medicine, until she was bloated and sick, and still she couldn't get pregnant. And now Nicholas had even put Sebastian straight into the Grant Group, taking the reins out of his hands. And what was ---- worse was that Sebastian had even married Valeria. "Me?

Marrying Sebastian just to get back at you?" Valeria found Wendy's words absurd. She frowned, speechless. Then, she added, "What makes you think you're worth all that effort?" Wendy snapped, "At worst, I'll take you down with me. You can hide this from your grandmother for a while, but not forever. If you're keeping it from Nicholas and Martha, then fine. Let's see how they will react when they find out that the daughter-in-law they adore is actually my daughter." Wendy had been part of the Grant family for 30 years. She knew exactly what Nicholas was like.

He was stern, unyielding , the kind of man who never let a single mistake slide. Even now, age had mellowed him only a little. And Martha, on the other hand, might look kind and gracious, but that was only because no one had ever crossed the Grants! bottom line. Once people found out the truth-that the mother and daughter were both married into the Grant family as sisters - in-law-the headlines would explode, and Grant Group's shares would plummet. "And as for Mr. Bond... He's lived his whole life in glory, decorated with honors. Tell me, when he finds out, won't it kill him on the spot?

Sebastian was raised under his care. ---- "And because of Sebastian's marriage and his wife, he'd be the one to drive the grandfather he loves most to his grave. That would be the headline of the year in Slate City." She spoke with a cold, cutting edge, her expression twisted with spite. Valeria had never imagined that her own mother could smile at her with such venom, her expression almost deranged. "and your grandmother, you love her so much, don't you? You wouldn't want her to know. She's only three years out from her lung cancer surgery.

If she suddenly found out the truth, do you really think her body could handle it?" Wendy said. She studied Valeria's pale face. Now that Valeria had lost weight, there was a faint resemblance between them. But in this moment of silence, with her eyes cast down, Wendy was struck by something unsettling. She caught a glimpse of Alexander in her.