Reborn Heiress: Taking Back What Is Rightfully Hers!
Chapter 547: Despicable

Chapter 547: Despicable

For the next two days, Eric remained composed, showing no visible change in his demeanor.

But Ella knew—his internal struggles hadn’t been resolved. The weight of his suppressed emotions would only grow heavier. She was growing anxious, subtly hinting to Richard and the others to talk to him.

While Eric gathered with his friends, Ella joined a few women for some casual gossip.

She finally got to see Aurora again, but Aurora seemed a bit worn out. From their conversation, Ella could tell she was desperately trying to mend things with Alexander. Unfortunately, he was convinced she had climbed her way up by getting involved with Everett, and no matter how she explained, he refused to believe her.

So, Aurora gave up. The stress of it had taken a toll on her, and her lack of sleep these past few days made her look visibly exhausted.

Amelia, however, was completely baffled. "Aurora, you’re LXL Entertainment’s rising star now. Why are you still so hung up on your ex? If you ask me, a man who doesn’t trust you isn’t worth your time. The mistake was Everett’s, but instead of trying to understand the situation, Alexander just blamed everything on you? That’s just self-sabotage. If he’s going to pin every little misunderstanding on you in the future, is that even a life worth living?"

Ella agreed. Amelia and Richard had their fair share of fights, both big and small, and the words she spoke now came from experience.

Her reasoning was sound, but how many people could truly let go so easily?

Aurora forced a weak smile, but her eyes were filled with loneliness.

At that moment, Ella suddenly understood—no matter how successful some people were in their careers, if they suffered heartbreak, it was as if they had lost their very soul.

And Eric... If he continued to be haunted by the pain of his past, how much longer could he truly be okay?

That night, Eric drank too much and passed out. John and Michael had to carry him home.

But being drunk didn’t mean he was at peace. Once again, he dreamt of Victoria’s tragic fall—her suicide flashing before his eyes in horrifying detail, tearing through him like a fresh wound.

He woke up with a start, his forehead drenched in sweat.

Breathing heavily, he found Ella anxiously watching him, shaking his hand.

"Eric, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Did you have another nightmare?"

Because of her pregnancy, Ella had become a light sleeper. Any movement from Eric immediately woke her up.

Eric slowly regained his composure, but an overwhelming sadness settled in his heart. He took a deep breath.

"It’s nothing... Just a bad dream."

Ella nestled against him without saying anything more, her hand gently caressing his face.

"If... If people could time travel, I wish I could go back to when I was six or seven... and save my mother." Eric sighed, regret and pain evident on his handsome face.

Ella sat up. "Didn’t you say you weren’t feeling that bad? Why don’t you see a psychologist?"

"...Yeah. I’ve already started looking into it, seeing which psychologist might be the right fit for me," Eric admitted softly.

Only then did Ella finally breathe a sigh of relief.

This was a good step forward—at least she wouldn’t have to keep pushing him anymore.

For the sake of their family, he needed to take care of himself. If he ever fell into true depression, he might never escape from it.

News of Eric seeking psychological help slowly started spreading within his company. Eventually, newspapers and news websites picked up on it, reporting the story to the public.

On the last day before returning to the country, Samantha came across one of those reports.

"The last time I saw him, he was perfectly fine. How did things end up like this?" Samantha was deeply confused, pacing barefoot across the floor after getting out of bed.

She had spent the past few days locked inside, watching movies, TV shows, or reading novels—losing herself in fictional stories just to escape from her own messy reality.

She hadn’t stepped outside for days, and it hadn’t bothered her at all.

But now, seeing this news, she felt the need to dig deeper into it.

Her stomach grumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten. As she walked barefoot across the floor and opened the door, she overheard Nicholas on the phone in the hallway.

"...Are you absolutely sure? He’s really seeing a psychologist?"

"Hmm... very good. Looks like those photos worked after all. It was worth spending half a million to get them. That bastard—he was blind not to see what was in front of him and dared to make my sister sad..."

Nicholas exhaled deeply, feeling a sense of satisfaction. The frustration he had been holding in finally eased, and he felt much better.

"Brother, what are you talking about? What exactly did you do to him?"

Samantha’s sharp voice interrupted his call. He turned around, shocked, to see his sister glaring at him with anger burning in her eyes.

Nicholas felt a bit guilty. He was, after all, a grown man, yet he had resorted to such disgraceful tactics to deal with Eric. It felt especially shameful now that his sister—who had always respected him—had overheard everything.

"Samantha... I was just trying to get some justice for you. You’ve held onto your feelings for him for so many years, and it’s only caused you suffering and illness..."

Nicholas murmured, but Samantha’s expression remained furious.

"Brother! My persistence, my feelings—those were all my own choices. They have nothing to do with Eric! If Eric had ever promised to wait for me, then maybe you’d have the right to blame him. But... but he never had feelings for me! How could you do this to him?"

Nicholas lowered his head, saying nothing.

"And now look what you’ve done! You’ve pushed him to the point of seeing a psychologist! Do you have any idea how much trauma his mother’s death caused him? How deep that wound is? And you... you actually used such despicable tactics against him!"

Samantha’s voice trembled with emotion, her eyes turning red.

If Eric truly fell into depression because of this, then she would be the one to blame.

If she had never come back to Country S, he wouldn’t have had to go through this ordeal.

"It’s not that serious. Who knows? Maybe he’s just pretending, trying to get sympathy from us!" Nicholas protested stubbornly.

Samantha’s face flushed with anger.

"Brother, look at your mindset! Our family has been stuck in mediocrity in Y Country for years—don’t you realize it’s because of this narrow-mindedness? I... I have nothing more to say to you!"

Nicholas’s expression darkened. Samantha had never spoken to him like this before.

"If you still intend to harm him in any way, then don’t call me your sister anymore!"

With that, she turned on her heels, slammed the door shut, and locked herself in her room.

Nicholas stood there staring at the closed door, frowning helplessly, his mood sinking.

She was right. He had been too impulsive, too rash—he wasn’t cut out for great things.

Back in her room, Samantha picked up her phone and called Eric.

The phone rang for a long time before he finally answered.

"Eric, it’s Samantha. I’m really sorry... I didn’t know my brother would send you those photos. If you want to blame someone, blame me. I’m sorry..."

Guilt weighed heavily on her.

Eric pressed his lips together and replied calmly, "There’s no need to apologize. I understand his reasoning... He didn’t want me to live so happily, knowing how much you suffered because of me."

"I’m sorry, Eric... I never wanted this to happen. From now on... I won’t bother you anymore."

Before Eric could say anything, Samantha hung up.

She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back the tears.

She had come all the way back, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she could be with him.

But standing before him again, she finally realized how naive she had been.

It was time to wake up from this childish dream.

She had thought about fighting for him, about trying to take him back.

But stealing another woman’s husband—it was disgraceful.

And with Ella pregnant, there was no way she could bring herself to interfere.

Samantha curled up on the bed, burying her face in the blankets, sobbing quietly.

On the other end, Eric frowned.

He had known all along that Nicholas was behind this.