Chapter 51

Paul was frightened. He quickly responded, "Got it, Mr. Martin!"

Jacky looked at Paul with a half-smile. "I haven't seen you in a few days, and you've become more timid? You weren't injured in the accident, but did it make you a coward?"

"Shut up!" Paul hissed.

Jacky always launched unexpected attacks. Of all the people in Jipsburg City, Paul hated Jacky the most. Jacky was currently offering him a perfunctory smile.

Joe, used to their bickering, took out a cigarette and smoked it slowly. He'd wanted to help Skylar that day because he didn't want this to affect Gloria. It was a pity Skylar hadn't asked him for help. He decided to wait and see.

Traffic in Jipsburg City was still heavy around 7:00 p.m. Skylar could have arrived at the Yancey Residence in half an hour, but it took her forty-five minutes.

When she entered the house, she saw three people sitting on the living room couch, waiting for her.

"Skye!" Janine, Charles, and Steven called out in unison, rising to their feet.

After dinner, the trio had been sitting on the couch, browsing their phones. Much online discussion about Skylar contained nasty things. The trio were so angry they wished they could track down everyone spreading the rumors.

What did they know? What right did they have to disparage Skylar?

Did the Williamses have any conscience? They had hurt Skylar unconscionably. Where was their bottom line?

Even if the Williamses didn't care about Skylar, they did. They empathized with her.

As Skylar looked at them, warmth filled her heart, and her eyes welled up. She knew they would always support her.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Steven and Charles."

"I know everything, Skye," Janine sighed. "How could Christopher treat you like that? He will face the consequences of his actions." Janine wiped away her tears. Earlier, she'd told herself not to cry, but the betrayal tugged at her heartstrings.

Chapter 51

Skylar hugged Janine. "Don't cry, Mom. I found out a long time ago. It's not worth crying over a jerk. I've learned to let it go. These things can't hurt me."

Steven and Charles stood beside them. Her words made them uneasy; they felt Skylar was holding back, afraid to worry them.

When Skylar had returned to the Williamses, they'd assumed she'd be treated as before, cared for by them. The Williams family's destructive actions revealed the truth. They had no idea what Skylar experienced with them.

Skylar consoled Janine before she went to bed. Then, she discussed the situation with Steven and Charles.

"Besides the photos, I have videos proving Christopher's affair with Maisy. I'll reveal them tomorrow morning."

She showed them surveillance footage from the mall. The videos were very clear.

As Steven and Charles watched, their tense expressions eased.

"The Williamses… they're really—" Charles started to curse but stopped himself. They were Skylar's biological family; she must be hurting inside. Steven looked at Charles, frowned, and asked, "Were you ill-treated by the Williamses, Skye?"

Chapter 52

Changes Made:

• Improved sentence structure and flow: Many sentences were restructured for clarity and conciseness.
• Consistent punctuation: Commas, hyphens, and quotation marks were corrected for grammatical accuracy.
• Word choice: Replaced some words with stronger, more precise alternatives (e.g., "disparage" instead of "diss").
• Paragraph breaks: Added paragraph breaks to improve readability.
• Italics for emphasis: Used italics instead of excessive capitalization for emphasis.
• Hyphenation: Corrected inconsistent hyphenation (e.g., half-smile).
• Number consistency: Used numerals for times and ages where appropriate, and spelled out numbers at the beginning of sentences.
• Removed redundancy: Eliminated repetitive phrasing.

The cleaned-up text is more polished and easier to read. The italicized sections retain the emotional impact of the original while improving the overall style.