You Looked Down on Me Once, Now You Look Up. novel Chapter 42

“No, don’t read too much into it,” he said. How was he supposed to explain any of this? That his own mother tried to manipulate someone, only to get outplayed and end up with scandalous photos as blackmail material?

“We just reached an understanding, that’s all. Patricia doesn’t want to drag things out either.”

Grandma sighed, heavy and tired. “If only her legs could get better.” Her feelings about Patricia were always complicated—a mix of admiration for her brains and resilience, and resentment over those legs that would never walk again.

People are just like that. Always wanting everything, never satisfied. Wanting all the good things in the world to land in their lap.

“As for the Martins, let’s not make a scene. Since we’ve agreed on terms, we shouldn’t be too ruthless. That girl…” Grandma’s voice softened, full of sympathy. “She’s had it rough.”

Her parents had died young.

Her uncles had picked the family fortune apart like vultures.

She’d been born a rich heiress, only to end up with nothing.

Life really isn’t fair.

“I know,” Theo said, keeping his head down.

He had no intention of arguing. If the Martins realized Patricia no longer had the Newtons behind her, at worst, they’d just gossip and push her around a bit. But if Patricia ever got desperate and exposed what she knew, the fallout for the Newtons would be catastrophic.

In the dining room, Kelly was about to step out, but froze when she caught a snippet of conversation from the living room.

…

“Well, it’s finally over,” Marian muttered as she packed up her things. “If I’d known the Newtons cared so much about appearances, I would’ve done this ages ago and saved us a month of drama.”

“I bet the divorce papers aren’t even cold and the mistress is already moving in.”

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