A Night of Desire

Chapter 372 - 365: This Is Unfair to Her

Ever since Autumn Shelby had run away from her wedding without a word, Sienna Hale was filled with heartache and bitterness every time she thought of her.

Even if she’d had a case of cold feet, how could she just vanish into thin air without so much as a single word?

For so many years, Sienna had watched Autumn grow up. Even if Seth had been a little cold toward her, she and Theodore had genuinely thought of her as their daughter-in-law.

Sienna, especially, had even treated her like her own daughter.

And she’d been gone for over a year without any news. Now that Seth was married, what was she doing back here?

’Does she regret it?’

But she had made her choices, and this was the path she had chosen. There were no do-overs in life!

Hearing Theodore Quinn’s unhesitating "Hold it," stopping her at the door, and Sienna Hale’s anger-laced "What are you doing here?", Autumn Shelby couldn’t help but bite her lip.

’It seems the Quinn family really does hate me. I disappear for over a year, and when I come back, they don’t even care to ask when I returned.’

’Still, the deeper the love, the deeper the hate. The fact that they hate me this much means I still hold a place in their hearts.’

’That’s better than them not caring about me at all!’

With that thought, Autumn Shelby took another step, crossing the threshold into the main hall.

When Theodore Quinn saw her walk right in, he frowned. "Excuse me, Miss Shelby. The Quinn family is hosting an important guest today. It’s not a convenient time for outsiders."

With that, he instructed, "Mrs. Cheney, see our guest out!"

’An important guest? Isn’t that just Clara Grant? Let’s see if you still treat her like a treasure after you find out about her background!’

That was what Autumn Shelby thought, but what she said was a pitiful cry, "Wait! Uncle Quinn, Aunt Quinn, I came today to explain why I left so suddenly a year ago."

"That won’t be necessary!" Theodore Quinn rejected her before the words were even fully out of her mouth. "It’s been over a year. What’s the point of bringing it up now?"

"Whatever your reasons or hardships were, everything—including you, Seth, and the Quinn family—all of it vanished into thin air the moment the engagement was called off."

"Therefore, anything concerning you has nothing to do with us anymore. Besides, Seth is doing very well for himself now. I hope you will refrain from disturbing us in the future, Miss Shelby."

Hearing Theodore Quinn—who used to call her affectionately by her name, Autumn—now address her so formally as "Miss Shelby," a sharp pain shot through Autumn Shelby’s heart.

No matter what, for the past twenty-some years, she had genuinely treated them as her future parents-in-law.

Although the Shelby Family had gone to great lengths to place her by Seth Quinn’s side for their own ulterior motives, she truly loved Seth. And so, she had treated his parents with genuine affection, no different from how she treated her own.

If not for the incident a year ago, their relationship might have always remained as close as that of a father and mother to their daughter.

’But what happened a year ago... was it really my fault?’

’Perhaps, I was partly to blame.’

’But my only mistake was, in a moment of heartbreak and despair, doing something I would regret for the rest of my life.’

’And Seth’s constant coldness toward me was the main reason that happened in the first place.’

’So they can’t pin all the blame on me. That’s not fair!’

Hearing Theodore Quinn’s order, Mrs. Cheney walked over to Autumn Shelby. Just as she was about to ask her to leave, Autumn dashed to Sienna Hale’s side and grabbed her arm, tears already streaming down her face before she could even speak.

"Uncle Quinn, Aunt Quinn, please listen to my explanation! I had my reasons for leaving back then."