?Chapter 1672:
Barbara continued, filling her in with a steady stream of details. “Here’s the thing. My uncle always refused to get married, and that drove Tamara up the wall. She kept hounding him to settle down and start a family. But he wouldn’t budge, no matter how much she nagged. Finally, he got so fed up that he went to an orphanage, adopted a child, and passed her off as his own. He handed the kid over to Tamara to raise. That kid was Zaria. Tamara raised her.”
“So that’s how it is,” Belinda murmured, a spark of understanding lighting up her delicate features.
Talking about it seemed to open a floodgate for Barbara, and she kept going. “I’ve never liked Zaria, ever since we were kids. It’s not just that she always brushed me off, but I could tell she was two-faced. In front of the family or strangers, she yed the perfect daughter—poised, serene, rational. But I once caught her doing something awful. She was torturing a kitten! She didn’t stop until the poor thing was dead. I wanted to scream, but a servant grabbed me, covered my mouth, and led me away.”
She sighed. “Later, I told my mom and Mrs. Wright about it, but they wouldn’t believe me. They said I must have been mistaken, that Zaria couldn’t possibly do something like that.”
Barbara’s lips pursed in frustration. “I was so shaken back then. I thought Zaria was downright cruel! I had nightmares for days, reying that horrible scene of her hurting the kitten. So, I can’t stand her. She makes my skin crawl.”
Belinda’s face registered shock once more. She trusted Barbara’s ount over Zaria’s polished facade. From the moment she met Zaria, she had sensed a disconnect, an unease she couldn’t shake. It seemed her instincts had been right all along.
“If she rubs you the wrong way, just steer clear of her from now on,” Belinda advised.
Barbara gave a firm nod, her voice brimming with conviction. “Absolutely, that’s my stance. I’m not going out of my way for someone who isn’t even family.”
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Belinda’s lips curved into a…
small smile touched Belinda’s lips at Barbara’s resolve. But then a thought struck her, and she tilted her head. “So, your uncle has stayed single this whole time? He has never been married?”
Barbara nodded. “Yes! My uncle has always been single.”
After a pause, she continued, “I once overheard my dad talking to my mom about my uncle. He said my uncle must be head over heels for a woman he can’t get—why else would he stay single all these years?”
Belinda nodded, her interest piqued. “That makes sense.”
“It’s just that, regarding my uncle’s beloved, the entire Wright family seems to treat it as a taboo subject. Nobody ever talks about it. So, I’mpletely in the dark about who she could be,” Barbara said.
Belinda’s gaze flickered when she heard that.
.
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