Chapter 523

When Barrett returned to Valor Estate, the maid had separated the two women. However, Serena and Viola were in terrible condition—their hair disheveled, clothes torn, and faces marked with scratches and handprints. They looked as if they had been in a street brawl.

Rebecca sat on a chair, gasping for breath and glaring fiercely at Viola. "Serena is about to debut into society! How can she face anyone with her face so marred?"

Viola sat on the floor, crying inconsolably. Her sobs were filled with deep frustration and helplessness.

Barrett strode in, helped Viola to her feet, and handed her a stack of banknotes. "The ruby tiara has been returned. Take this money back with you."

"Are you out of your mind, Barrett?" Rebecca snapped, rising angrily. "Returning the jewelry we bought—what's left of our family's dignity?"

"Bring it back! I won't return it!" Serena, having caught her breath, rushed at him, pounding his chest in an unseemly tantrum.

Barrett endured her blows stoically, his face impassive. He was weary of this life and utterly exhausted.

Viola, stunned, held the banknotes in a daze, momentarily forgetting her tears.

After striking Barrett for a while, Serena tried to snatch the banknotes from Viola, who quickly hid them and stepped back.

"What are you trying to do?"

"That was a gift you bought for me! You insisted on buying it," Serena said, her voice hoarse with bitterness.

"I regret it," Viola said blankly.

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Chapter 523

Was she regretting the purchase of the ruby tiara, or something else? She wasn't sure of her own feelings. This was not the life she wanted. The Warren family felt like a rotting, festering cesspool into which she had plunged headlong.

However, she had no say in this marriage. It had been arranged by Natalie, a matchmaker. Her mother had explained the reasons; rejecting it would have been detrimental to her eldest brother's prospects. Moreover, she had been very lonely and wanted someone who understood her, someone who would make her feel as she had felt with Thomas.

She had thought Barrett would be like Thomas, but he wasn't. The Warren family was a far cry from the Farrell family. The Farrells were easy to get along with; Alice treated her like a beloved daughter, sparing her from daily duties. In contrast, the Warren family was full of difficult people, constantly filled with insults, shouts, and cries.

Suddenly, she felt a deep sense of weariness. Holding the banknotes, she left, sitting listlessly in the side hall.

By evening, Viola's crying had stopped. She leaned back on the chaise, tears still quietly falling. She felt aggrieved. Even Barrett's comfort would have eased her heart a little. But Barrett didn't stay at Grace Mansion. After Rebecca and Serena left, Yvonne reported, "Mr. Warren has gone to Madam Aurora."

Viola buried her face in her hands and cried bitterly.

Chapter 123

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What had she done wrong? Why was she being treated this way? She would have preferred he had stayed in the study rather than going to Aurora's side. She felt deeply hurt; Barrett didn't stay with her but went to Aurora instead. Did he care about her at all? Aurora, disfigured and having lost an ear, looked like a monster. Barrett would rather be with a monster-like figure than stay with her.

Barrett sat in Aurora's room, having nowhere else to go. He had stayed in the study for several days. The quiet solitude of the late night terrified him. He was plagued by memories of past mistakes, his heart weighed down by regret. As if to prove to himself that he hadn't made those mistakes in vain, he came to Aurora. But as he sat across from her, her cruel actions replayed in his mind, making him nauseous.

"You really do despise me," Aurora said coldly, her eyes fixed on him since he entered.

Since returning from the battlefield, he hadn't sought her out unless she made a fuss. Aurora enjoyed watching the chaos and seeing others flounder. Look, she hadn't done anything, yet Barrett had come to her of his own accord.