Reborn Heiress: Taking Back What Is Rightfully Hers!
Chapter 245: Careless Mistakes

Chapter 245: Careless Mistakes

"Are you serious? Throw it away?"

"Why would you toss out perfectly good chocolate?"

"Ella... I actually know who sent it," Zoey, one of her dormmates, whispered hesitantly.

Zoey had a baby face and a sweet, gentle personality. Right now, she was looking at Ella with a bit of nervousness.

"Who sent it?"

Zoey leaned in closer to Ella’s ear. "It... it was senior Henry. He asked me not to tell anyone, but I figured it was okay to let you know."

Ella frowned in irritation, remembering the strange encounter when she had bitten his shoulder. The thought of it still made her feel uneasy.

"You guys willing to eat this? Aren’t you worried it’s poisoned?" Ella had no intention of eating it and threw the box of chocolates to the floor.

"I’ll eat it! I’ll eat it!" Zoey immediately picked up the box, and the other two girls in the dorm eagerly gathered around, excitedly helping themselves.

"Give me one..."

"Me too! Ahhh, it must be from some senior admirer!"

Zoey and the others ate the chocolates without any worry, and when nothing happened, Ella sighed in relief. Henry wouldn’t have been so blatant as to poison something in such an obvious way, she thought.

Thinking ahead to Grace’s housewarming party in six days, Ella felt uneasy. She didn’t want to go, but Eric had already arranged for her dress and insisted that she accompany him.

The idea of seeing Henry again, especially those eyes filled with an emotion he tried to hide, made her feel uncomfortable. But if she refused to go, Eric would certainly suspect something was wrong, so she knew she would inevitably run into Henry.

It wasn’t as if she had any feelings for Henry, but her aversion to facing him amused her. Trying to clear her mind, she played some games before eventually falling asleep for her afternoon nap.

In just a few days, the real drama would begin.

That afternoon, after class, Lauren came over to Ella and whispered, "Hey, by the way, what’s up with Rachel? She’s stopped bothering you lately."

Ella raised an eyebrow. Lauren mentioning Rachel reminded her that she hadn’t thought about her in a while.

Rachel had indeed stopped being a nuisance for the past couple of weeks.

But from Ella’s experience, that probably meant Rachel had something up her sleeve and no longer needed to cozy up to her.

"Who cares? As long as she’s not around to annoy me, I’m fine with it."

"Where are you and your husband heading tonight?" Lauren teased with a mischievous smile.

Ella raised an eyebrow, "What, you want to be the third wheel?"

"No, I’m just jealous... When will I ever find a boyfriend like that?" Lauren sighed wistfully. She didn’t have the looks or the body to attract someone exceptional, and she knew it would be difficult for her.

As they were talking, Ella received a message. She glanced at her phone—it was a private message on Twitter.

Eric: Meet me at the back hill.

Ella’s eyes lit up. Was he planning to recreate the romantic moments from last year? The back hill of the campus had beautiful scenery, though it could get a bit crowded.

Still, she figured Eric might have arranged for some privacy.

Excited, Ella rushed off toward the back hill without taking a closer look. In her excitement, she didn’t notice that the account wasn’t verified.

In her haste, she saw only the name "Eric" and missed the fact that there was no verification badge next to it!

Ella rushed to the back hill, thinking that since Mia and Owen were off that day, and considering the recent tension, it was unlikely anyone would act recklessly. Because of that, she hadn’t informed Eric about her plans.

But when she saw who was standing at the pavilion, her heart dropped. It was Henry. Panicking, she quickly turned and tried to run away.

Damn it! How could it be Henry? Ella couldn’t figure out where things had gone wrong. But she was no match for Henry in terms of speed or strength. He played sports and ran regularly. Within moments, he had caught up and blocked her path.

Ella’s expression hardened, her voice cold and sharp. "Move!"

Henry felt a pang in his chest. Maybe fate was fair, he thought bitterly. Over twenty years ago, Grace had stolen James away, and now, two decades later, Eric had won Ella’s heart while Henry was left drowning in the pain of unrequited love.

He hadn’t expected that Ella wouldn’t question his fake message. Henry had purposely changed his name on social media, hoping to trick Ella into meeting him alone.

"Ella, I... I won’t let my mom hurt you or Eric!" Henry mustered the courage to speak, his gaze filled with desperate longing and an edge of madness.

Ella’s heart raced. She feared Henry might do something reckless.

"Don’t come any closer! Henry, I’m your sister-in-law!" Ella’s voice was firm. "Eric and I are legally married!"

Henry stood there, frozen, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. He had always known that Ella and Eric’s relationship was as close as that of a married couple. But deep down, he had still harbored some hope, some small sliver of a chance that something might change.

But Ella’s words snapped him back to reality. The gulf between his fantasies and the harshness of reality was as vast as the distance between heaven and earth.

"I’m sorry... I didn’t mean anything by it. I just... wanted to tell you that I won’t let her hurt my brother anymore. If anything happens, I’ll let you know," Henry said, breathing heavily. After getting the words out, he cast one last glance at Ella before turning and running away.

Ella stood there, stunned. She hadn’t expected Henry to leave without doing anything inappropriate.

What did his words mean?

Feeling overwhelmed, Ella shook her head in frustration and pulled out her phone. Sure enough, when she checked the message, she realized that there was no verification badge next to the name "Eric." It had been Henry pretending to be Eric, and she had been too careless to notice the missing badge.

"Ugh, Ella, you need to fix this bad habit of yours. What a careless mistake..."

...

Grace had been in a great mood these past few days. Soon, she and her family would be moving into their new mansion, and she would no longer have to live in the house that still bore Victoria’s name.

At 7 p.m. that evening, Grace was on her way to the L Beauty Salon. As she stepped out of the car, a small girl suddenly knelt in front of her, crying, "Auntie, please help me! I can’t find my mommy!"

Grace paused for a moment. This time, she had brought two bodyguards with her, so she wasn’t afraid the little girl was trying to scam her.

While Grace wasn’t from the lower class, she watched the news daily. She had seen stories about criminals using children to lure unsuspecting women into dangerous situations.

However, with her two bodyguards standing nearby, she wasn’t overly concerned.

The little girl looked to be about seven or eight, wearing a tattered vest and a skirt full of holes. Her hair was dirty, and she looked utterly pitiful, almost like something out of a tragic story.