Torn Between Love and Hate

Chapter 204 Deborah Looks So Much Like Her

Evelyn was sitting comfortably on the sofa in the living room downstairs, leisurely eating peanuts while browsing through shows on her phone.

She spent this year at Moxley Manor, as her parents had gone abroad for a business trip. Originally, she was supposed to spend the New Year at her uncle's house.

But Joseph said that if she came to Richmond and played this role, pulling Adrian away from Deborah, he would give her a year-end bonus.

The year-end bonus still has some remaining balance unpaid. Joseph promised that after the fifteenth day of New Year, he would settle the amount for her.

The elders of the Moxley family treated her very well, so it didn't really matter if she stayed here to celebrate the New

Year.

While watching a show, I was thinking that once I get my year-end bonus, I could combine it with the money I have saved and invest in a couple of small guesthouses. That way, I could experience the joy of being a boss.

Suddenly, Adrian rushed down from upstairs and yelled at her, "Get up!"

Evelyn was caught off guard and startled, instinctively standing up quickly. The phone in her hand almost slipped and fell to the ground.

Upon hearing the commotion, Donna immediately came over and scolded Adrian in a displeased manner.

"You rebellious brat, why are you being so fierce towards Eve? If you scare her, the Moore family will come after you!"

Adrian let out a couple of cold laughs. "She could be scared by me? Haha, she could be scared by me? This is in my own house, and she dared to get me so drunk that I couldn't get up the whole night. Do you guys know, last night

Deborah..."

Evelyn's eyes lit up immediately, "What happened last night?"

Taking into consideration the presence of so many elders, Adrian didn't continue speaking.

Evelyn's curiosity was piqued, and she couldn't help but get up and urge him, "What happened to Deborah last night?

Come on, tell me more.

Don't just stop halfway, do you know something? Did she do something with my boss last night?"

Donna's hearing wasn't very good, so she didn't know what they were talking about animatedly.

Seeing that Evelyn wasn't angry, Donna relaxed and continued to discuss the important lifelong matters of the two brothers, Steven and Norman.

Evelyn anxiously tugged at Adrian, urging him, "Come on, keep talking! What happened next?"

Suddenly, Adrian swung his hand around and grabbed her outstretched wrist.

Evelyn was momentarily caught off guard and couldn't regain her composure.

Before this, it was not only impossible for Adrian to touch her, but even when standing together, he would habitually maintain a distance of more than three feet. Evelyn thought she was experiencing an illusion. As she slowly lowered her gaze, she saw that Adrian's hand was gripping her wrist through the sleeve of her coat.

She stared blankly for a moment, then angrily pushed him away. "What are you doing!"

Adrian was pushed away by her, looking at her thoughtfully. "Why do I find you stranger the more I look at you? With your thick skin, you got me drunk last night, took me back to my bedroom, and surprisingly, you didn't do anything?"

Evelyn coughed loudly a few times, her gaze darting around nervously.

Adrian's gaze fell directly on her as he spoke, word by word.

"Are you getting close to me for some other purpose?"

Nora sat not far away, looking quite pleased as she watched the scene unfold. She laughed and said, "It seems that Adrian and Ms. Moore have been getting along quite well these past few days. You appear to be having a delightful

conversation."

Evelyn snapped back to reality, her face blushing shyly. "Are you starting to take an interest in me? You never used to ask me these questions, not caring about me at all.

Nothing really happened last night, did it? You must be quite disappointed. How about tonight, then? I-I'm actually okay with it!"

Adrian's face stiffened, and he almost choked on his own saliva.

He must have really lost his mind to doubt that this woman, who was head over heels for him every day, could have any other motives.

Adrian took a few steps back, cautiously increasing the distance between them. "Enough, no need to say more. Don't even think about it tonight. I'll lock the door from the inside."

Evelyn's face fell, and Adrian turned away, avoiding her as if she were a venomous snake. In just a few steps, he had put some distance between them.

He looked toward the doorway, waiting for Deborah to arrive.

The thought of what happened between Deborah and Joseph last night filled him with an extraordinary sense of anger and indignation, as he couldn't stand the idea of Joseph taking advantage of her. He was feeling indignant in his mind when Deborah walked in from outside.

The staff in Moxley Manor had already prepared lunch, with all the dishes set on the table, just waiting for Deborah to

arrive.

Moxley Manor was bustling with people, and today, a few more guests arrived - they were Rebecca's parents.

As soon as Nora saw Deborah come in, she immediately got up with a smile and said, "Debby's here! Hurry up and wash your hands to get ready for dinner. Alyssa has been talking about you for quite some time now."

Deborah apologized with a smile, "I'm sorry, there was a bit of traffic on the way. I'm sorry to have kept you all

waiting."

Nora pretended to be serious and said, "From now on, you're not allowed to say these polite words. You and Alyssa should treat this place like your own home, don't be distant, understand?"

Nora felt a strong connection to Deborah ever since the day she returned from Christmas. From the moment she first laid eyes on Deborah, she inexplicably took a special liking to her.

She was naturally quite aloof, not really getting close to others.

But for Deborah, she didn't hide her fondness at all.

Just like when I first saw Alyssa, at first glance, I felt as if she were my own child.

Chapter 20350

Looks So

Like Her

2/4

So Initially, when Adrian brought Alyssa back, rumors circulated outside that Alyssa was Adrian's illegitimate daughter.

Nora wasn't the least bit angry; instead, she particularly liked Alyssa.

Deborah followed Nora to the dining table and sat down. Nora enthusiastically introduced her, "You haven't met these two before.

This is Rebecca's father, Mathias Fuller, and this is her mother, Cassandra Moxley. We're all family here, so there's no need to be formal."

Deborah immediately greeted them, "Mr. Fuller, Ms. Moxley."

Cassandra laughed and gave Deborah an extra glance, her eyes looking a bit peculiar.

also

It was as if he was looking at her, yet also looking through her, as if recalling something and gazing at something

else.

This kind of gaze made Deborah feel uneasy.

Mathias' gaze was even stranger,

He stared at Deborah for quite a while before suddenly laughing and saying, "Ms, Shepherd really does resemble Nora. No wonder even Mom said she wanted to consider Ms. Shepherd as her granddaughter."

There was no issue with this statement; it was just a half-joking remark.

Deborah couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something about the way this man spoke to her, his tone and his smiling demeanor, that made her inexplicably uncomfortable.

She responded perfunctorily for a bit before the elderly lady spoke up, "Alright, let's eat first. We shouldn't keep Ms. Shepherd and Alyssa waiting. We can chat more after we finish eating." Mathias looked at Cassandra with a strange expression and smiled. "You see, our mom only cares about Ms. Shepherd and Alyssa now."

Cassandra's complexion appeared somewhat pale, and upon hearing the words, she let out a laugh. Her laughter was even more difficult to look at than her crying, extremely stiff and unnatural. Rebecca frowned and whispered from the side, "Dad, please say less."

Mathias wore an innocent expression, "Look at this child, not even giving me, their father, any respect. Did I say something wrong?"

This meal had a noticeably stranger atmosphere than usual.

From time to time, Mathias would speak up, and as the conversation went on, others stopped chiming in. It was just him, drinking and talking by himself.

After finishing their meal, Cassandra quickly spoke up, "Mom, we have some things to take care of, so maybe Mathias and I should head back first." Deborah could tell that the Moxley family didn't like Mathias very much, and neither did Donna.

Cassandra said she wanted to leave, and although Donna verbally disagreed, she didn't seem particularly intent on persuading her to stay.

It seemed that they were being cautious because Deborah, an outsider, was present. There were some things they didn't want to discuss in front of her.

As for Mathias, he clearly had no filter, saying whatever came to his mind.

Nora's face turned pale, and she appeared to be in low spirits.

Cassandra greeted and stood up, pulling Mathias to leave.

Mathias, slightly tipsy, reluctantly pulled away from her grasp. "Today is the second day of New Year, and we're here to visit my mom. We just finished eating, it wouldn't be polite to leave so soon. Let's stay a bit longer."

Donna was older and had a good temperament, but she still cared about maintaining her family's reputation and social standing.

Seeing Deborah nearby, Mathias, who had drunk too much, was unwilling to leave and kept glancing at her. Donna spoke up, "Cassandra, why don't you help Mathias upstairs to rest? I'll have the housekeeper bring up some hangover soup later. We don't want any trouble during the festive season."

Cassandra immediately nodded in agreement, and Mathias, somewhat reluctantly, allowed her to help him as they headed upstairs.

Mathias said something incomprehensible, which Deborah didn't understand, but Nora's mood clearly worsened.

Once Mathias went upstairs, the Moxley family members all comforted Nora's emotions."

Deborah, being an outsider, didn't want to interrupt, and she didn't know what was going on.

She then said she was going to take a break and went upstairs with Alyssa.

As soon as they went upstairs and walked down the hallway towards Alyssa's bedroom, a sudden "bang" came from the adjacent room, as if something had been smashed.

Alyssa was startled, and Deborah immediately hugged her.

In the bedroom, Mathias, who had drunk too much, raised his voice and said, "What, are you still afraid that the ghostly baby girl will come back to haunt you?"