176


    Chapter 176 Witnessinvg Ashton Coughing Up Blood


    At this moment, Donna heard it clearly and, with a smile, patted Deborah’s hand.


    “It truly is fate, the mother-inw and daughter-inw look alike, destined to be a family.”


    Adrian’s gaze towards Deborah began to grow more affectionate.


    Deborah noticed that things were gradually going off track, while Adrian’s attitude waspletely


    stirring up trouble.


    She had no choice but to exin earnestly to the elderly woman, “Mrs. Donna, please listen to me. I


    am not familiar with Mr. Adrian, and we are definitely not in a romantic rtionship.


    I am Alyssa’s mother, and I came here today to personally express my gratitude to your family for


    taking such good care of Alyssa all these years.”


    Deborah is now sitting right next to Donna, deliberately raising her voice and speaking clearly and


    slowly.


    Donna listened carefully, looking incredulously at Deborah, then at Adrian, who wore a smug grin on


    his face.


    Donna asked Deborah, “Are you Alyssa’s mom, Ms. Shepherd?”


    Deborah, Alyssa’s mother, is nning to visit during the uing Christmas. Donna has been aware


    of this for quite some time.


    Deborah nodded, “Yes, Mrs. Donna, I am Deborah.”


    Adrian immediately thought of getting up and running away, but Donna was so angry that she raised


    her cane to hit him. “You little rascal, you’re getting more and more out of line! Can you just make jokes


    like this? I must teach you a lesson today!”


    Deborah saw the elderly Mrs. Donna struggling to stand up and immediately reached out to help and


    stop her. “Mrs. Donna, please be careful with your health.”


    Donna scolded Adrian a few times before sitting down and continuing her conversation with Deborah.


    Just after a few


    sentences, the conversation veered off topic again. “I heard that Alyssa is the child of Ms. Shepherd


    and her ex-husband, Mr. Mullen. Ms. Shepherd, have you remarried or started dating someone new?”


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    Despite being over 80 years old, the elderly man had spent many years abroad, which made him


    exceptionally open-minded.


    She knew that Deborah and Ashton had divorced, and now Ashton was even dating Reba. All of


    this was just a normal part of life.


    Deborah dating and getting married is just as normal as anything else.


    Deborah replied, “I’m not married yet, but…”


    Donnaughed and said, “Don’t be frightened by my little grandson, he’s always been unreliable.


    Grandma said to you, Grandma has two more grandsons, both of them are very reliable. One is a


    doctor and the other manages apany. Would you like to meet them? How about Grandma invites


    them over tonight?”


    Deborah said, “Mrs. Donna, I’m not married yet, but I already have someone I’m lond of.”


    Donna’s face showed great disappointment, and she remained silent for a while. Reluctantly, she


    patted Deborah’s hand.


    “Such a lovely girl. Sigh. If you’re looking for someone in the future, don’t forget about your grandma


    here.”


    Adrian sighed, “Grandma, can you please not try to sell us off to everyone you meet? Rumors are


    going around in our circle that the three of us brothers must have some hidden issues, since you’re


    always trying to get rid of us like we’re cheap street stall goods.”


    Donna said angrily. “You three brothers are almost as worthless as stuff from street vendors. One of


    you is always messing around, and the other two are already over 30. If grandma doesn’t promote you,


    who would even want you?”


    Adrian gave Deborah a pained look, pretended to answer a phone call, and quickly got up and left.


    After chatting with Deborah for quite some time and having dinner, Donna grew tired. She instructed


    the housekeeper to take good care of


    Deborah and her daughter before heading off to bed.


    Alyssa has her own bedroom upstairs, but she has to sleep with Deborah.


    The housekeeper didn’t bother to arrange another room, allowing Deborah to stay in Alyssa’s bedroom.


    Alyssa was in a great mood and went upstairs to tidy up her room.


    Deborah carried a ss of water from the kitchen and was about to go upstairs when she heard a


    hall.


    She turned around to look, momentarily stunned.


    Reba supported a wobbly Ashton as they walked in from outside, bringing with them a strong smell


    of alcohol.


    Upon seeing the situation, the housekeepers hurried over to help. Ashton, with a wave of his hand,


    knocked over an ornament on the


    cab.


    Something fell to the ground with a thudding sound.


    Reba supported him as they entered, both of them sweating profusely.


    She instructed the housekeeper, “Go make a bowl of hangover soup and bring it here. There’s no need


    for so many of you to help.”


    She sounded a bit annoyed, as she was struggling to support Ashton while bending over, not noticing


    Deborah standing at the staircase


    entrance.


    As they were about to go upstairs, she said in a serious tone. “Don’t you know your own body? Your


    lungs are already in terrible shape, yet


    you still smoke and drink.”


    Deborah took two steps back, making room for them to go upstairs.


    Reba waspletely focused on Ashton, and with the numerous housekeepers in the living room,


    she didn’t even notice Deborah as


    she walked past her.


    As Ashton was about to climb the stairs, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.


    He tilted his head, looking at Deborah.


    After drinking too much, his vision became blurry, and he couldn’t see clearly. Squinting, he looked


    more closely.


    In a daze, it felt as if Deborah’s face was swaying before his eyes.


    Reba tugged at him somewhat irritably, “Are you going or not? If you don’t, you might as well sleep


    on the floor…”


    As soon as she finished speaking, she followed Ashton’s gaze and saw Deborah.


    Reba’s expression froze for a moment, and her face quickly turned from red to white and back


    again.


    She didn’t know how Deborah had ended up here, but when she thought of Alyssa and the recent news


    she had learned, it all made sense.


    Ashton stared at Deborah without moving or making a sound, as if he had turned into wood.


    Reba suddenly felt a deep sense of embarrassment, for no apparent reason, as if she had been


    greatly humiliated.


    She suddenly pushed Ashton towards Deborah and said, “He’s had too much to drink. You deal with it;


    it’s not my problem.”


    Deborah’s expression remained unchanged as she watched Ashton turn towards her.


    She stepped aside, and then watched as he fell t on his face with a thudding sound on the ground.


    Reba pushed Ashton away and headed straight upstairs.


    Upon climbing just two flights of stairs, a sudden noise was heard from behind.


    She suddenly turned around and saw that Ashton was already on the ground.


    ”


    Deborah stood there, still showing no reaction.


    The housekeeper was in aplete mess, letting out a cry of surprise, and immediately helped Ashton


    up.


    Deborah calmly looked at Reba and said, “Ms. Moxley, I’m not sure what you meant just now, but


    that was quite rude.”


    Reba must be aware of her divorce from Ashton.


    Reba’s face looked terrible as Deborah passed by her and went upstairs.


    Perhaps it’s not a good idea to stay here overnight tonight.


    She didn’t know why, buttely, it seemed like she would always bump into Ashton wherever she went.


    I still need to find a good house as soon as possible. Whether I buy or rent, it’s not like we’ll run into


    each other again, right? Deborah pondered whether to discuss with Alyssa about staying out tonight.


    Upon opening the bedroom door, she saw Alyssa with a flushed face, having already arranged the


    room beautifully.


    The pink bedsidemp illuminated the room, and Alyssa looked at Deborah with anticipation. “Mommy,


    do you like it?”


    Alyssa doesn’t really like pink that much anymore, but she still remembers that three years ago, when


    she was with Deborah, Deborah loved buying her pink things.


    Deborah hesitated for a moment, considering howte it was. She thought that if she were to take


    Alyssa away now, it wouldn’t be easy to exin the situation to Donna.


    Deborah suppressed her difort and walked over with a smile, “Yes, Mom really likes it.”


    After washing up, Alyssa slept next to Deborah, feeling very at ease.


    Deborah couldn’t fall asleep, and somehow, she suddenly thought of Joseph.


    It seemed like they hadn’t had a proper conversation in a long time.


    I wonder where he is now, and if he’s asleep.


    The more she thought about it, the harder it was for her to fall asleep. So, she carefully and quietly got


    up, grabbed her phone, and left the


    bedroom.


    At this point, it wasn’t toote, and she was considering whether or not to send a message to Joseph.


    In the bedroom next door, the sudden sound of something shattering could be heard, somewhat


    piercing to the ears.


    Deborah was suddenly startled and nced sideways to see that the bedroom door next to her was


    slightly ajar, not fully closed.


    Inside, the noise was quite loud, with Reba’s excited voice clearlying through.


    “Why are you coughing up blood?! Ashton, you better exin yourself, or I’ll go get Deborah right now!”