Chapter 1028

Grace raised her into uselessness—that way, she’d never be a threat to Aurora.

Tessa’s gaze darkened. So, this was what Grace truly thought of her?

But she didn’t say a word. She simply buried a seed of hatred deep in her heart…

Grace, unaware, believed she’d made the perfect arrangement.

After all, her eldest daughter was in poor health.

Earning money every month without lifting a finger—wasn’t that the kind of life most people could only dream of?

What she failed to consider was Tessa’s ambition.

For someone like Tessa, being confined at home was worse than death.

She had dreams. She had hunger.

She wasn’t someone who could be satisfied with scraps. She refused to be ordinary. She refused to surrender.

But clearly, Grace didn’t see that. She thought she was giving her the best.

Somewhere along the way, Grace had become controlling.

She liked things done her way. She had her own rhythm, her own rules, and expected everyone to fall in line. She hated disruptions.

For years, only Aurora had ever strayed off script—that one gamble years ago.

But Aurora lost utterly and completely, just as Grace had planned.

After making her promise, Grace leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes for a nap. The past few weeks had taken their toll.

But in the end, things had gone her way. As long as Julian was locked up, everything would fall into place.

But beside her, Tessa’s gaze grew colder and deeper…

Meanwhile, at the hospital.

Joseph lay on the hospital bed while the caretaker quietly laid out the dishes on the table.

Once everything was in place, he finally sat up.

The moment he saw the familiar dishes, something stirred in his chest.

He quickly grabbed the caretaker’s arm and demanded, “Who told you to make these?”

He remembered clearly—just yesterday, when she’d asked what he wanted to eat, he’d casually replied, “Whatever.”

Lying in bed these past few days, with no way to get back at Aurora and the others, had left him irritable and bored.

And to make matters worse, Judy hadn’t shown up once.

That thought alone left a bitter ache in his chest.

His grip on the caretaker’s arm tightened.

She gasped in pain, letting out a cry. “Mr. Hunt, please let go! That really hurts.

“Let go and I’ll tell you…”

She couldn’t take it anymore.

This man was utterly impossible to serve.

If that woman hadn’t offered such a generous payment, she never would’ve taken the job.

He was always snapping for no reason.

Seeing her like that, Joseph realized he might’ve gone too far.

He quickly let go, awkwardly muttering, “Sorry, I got a little carried away.”

The caretaker rubbed her sore wrist without a word.

Then she finally answered his question. “The woman who hired me told me what you liked.

“She said if you didn’t have much of an appetite, these meals might help.”

After saying that, she honestly wanted to scream—she didn’t want this job anymore.