After His Sweetheart Moved In, He Came Home Every Night-Chapter 141: She Was in a Car Accident

As it happened, her grandfather’s surname was also Vaughn.

She was eight when she left with Mindy Vaughn. She had often heard her grandmother call him Old Vaughn, but she’d never made the connection. It was only much later that she realized it was the same "Vaughn" as in her mother’s name.

Furthermore, Mindy Vaughn hadn’t come back to see the old couple in all these years, but they never seemed to complain. Instead, they would always ask her for an update, concerned about how she was doing with the Sterlings.

Not wanting to worry them, Alice always cherry-picked the good news to share.

"Come on, let’s head inside."

The old man turned to get their things from the car.

After sitting down on a stool in the main room, Alice York surveyed the home’s furnishings. It had been renovated once and was quite neat, clean inside and out.

The old woman brought over a bowl of rice water and handed it to Alice. "Here, Little Girl. It’s not too hot."

Alice took it, cradling the bowl in her hands. "Grandma, I haven’t had this in so long."

The old woman smiled. "We have plenty of it here."

With that, the old woman’s gaze shifted to Mindy Vaughn, who was standing in the doorway. Perhaps because it had been so long since she’d returned, or perhaps because she’d grown accustomed to a life of luxury, Mindy looked upon her surroundings with a hint of disdain, refusing to take a seat.

Even after the old man took a clean cloth and wiped the stool over and over, Mindy still wouldn’t sit. She furrowed her delicate brows and said, "There’s no need for that. I’ll just stand for a bit before I go."

The old man looked like he wanted to say something, but held his tongue.

"You haven’t eaten yet. Why don’t you stay for a meal before you leave?" the old woman suggested timidly.

Mindy’s tone was cold. "I’m not eating. I don’t have an appetite."

The old man and woman had no choice but to quietly retreat.

Alice couldn’t stand it any longer. Cradling her bowl, she walked over and asked, "Why are you being so cold to them? Can’t you see how happy they are that you’re back?"

Mindy Vaughn said nothing.

Alice couldn’t stop herself from repeating, "If you’re going to act like this, why did you bother coming back with me at all?"

Mindy revealed her purpose. "I didn’t come back with you to see them. I have something I need to do."

"What is it?" Alice asked.

Of course, Mindy wasn’t about to tell Alice. She stepped out and went to the kitchen.

Less than two minutes later, the old man and woman came over. They led Mindy into an inner room, rummaged through a cabinet, and pulled out a booklet, which they handed to her.

Mindy dusted off the booklet with a look of distaste and flipped through a few pages.

Curious, Alice followed to get a better look. Just as she drew near, she heard a sharp SNAP. Mindy had slammed the booklet shut.

"..."

Mindy tucked the booklet under her arm. "You two go ahead and eat. I’m leaving."

Alice wasn’t curious about the booklet, but she couldn’t just watch Mindy leave like that. She grabbed her arm. "Can’t you just stay and eat with them before you go?"

Mindy pulled her hand away. "I’m not used to this environment. I can’t eat. I’ll take the car and wait for you in Rhovan."

With that, Mindy left without another word.

The old man and woman followed to see her off.

Alice didn’t go see her off. Watching the old couple’s retreating figures as they hurried after Mindy, she suddenly regretted bringing her mother back. When she turned around, she noticed the cabinet in the inner room was still open—the same cabinet the old woman had just taken the booklet from for Mindy.

Alice walked over to close the cabinet, but her hand froze when she saw the household register.

The register was ancient, its cover so worn that it was peeling away. As she picked it up, the cover separated from the inner pages, nearly falling to pieces in her hand.

After quickly catching the loose pages, Alice slowly opened the booklet.

Head of Household: Keith Vaughn

The name on the next page was Erin Leigh. Relationship to Head of Household: Spouse.

The name on the following page was Mindy Vaughn. Relationship to Head of Household: Daughter.

Alice kept flipping, but there were no more pages.

This household register listed only three people: her grandfather, her grandmother, and Mindy Vaughn. The name Noah York was missing, as was hers, of course.

’Why...?’

Alice couldn’t understand it. ’Why is Mom, who should be their daughter-in-law, listed as their daughter? And why isn’t Dad, who should be their only son, on the register at all?’

’Why?’

"Little Girl."

Hearing the voice, Alice’s hand, still holding the register, trembled. She looked up to see her grandmother standing in the doorway, watching her.

Their eyes met for a moment before the old woman walked slowly into the room.

"So you’ve seen the household register?" The old woman reached for the booklet in Alice’s hand.

Alice didn’t let go. "Why does the register list Mom as Grandpa’s daughter? What happened all those years ago?"

The old woman sighed. Instead of explaining, she simply pulled the register from Alice’s grasp, placed it back in the drawer, and shut it.

Once that was done, she turned back to Alice. "Your grandfather said we are never to speak of this. You’re all living good lives now, so let’s just leave it in the past."

Alice frowned. "But—"

"Little Girl, please don’t make this hard for your grandma." The old woman looked at Alice beseechingly, tears welling in her cloudy eyes.

Alice had no choice but to drop the subject.

She stayed and had a peaceful lunch with the old couple. No one mentioned Mindy Vaughn. Afterward, Alice helped them clean up, and the atmosphere was pleasant enough.

The afternoon sun was pleasant. Only after she had finished her chores did Alice remember she hadn’t checked her phone. The moment she picked it up and it connected to the network, her phone began to BUZZ incessantly as a flood of messages poured in.

There were messages from Zoe Jenson.

And from Seraphina Sheridan.

Mindy Vaughn had also sent a message. Alice hadn’t had a chance to read any of them yet. The first thing she did was call Wyatt Sterling back.

’Thirteen missed calls...’

’I am so dead!’

When she called him back, he picked up, but there was a long silence on the other end. Alice ventured cautiously, "Third Uncle?"

A cool voice came through the line. "So you have time to look at your phone now?"

Alice gave a dry laugh.

"What were you so busy with?" he asked.

Alice answered immediately, "Cleaning the house."

The man scoffed. "You went back to Rhovan without a single word. Alice York, am I just invisible to you?"

"..."

’I’m doomed. This trip was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and I never told Wyatt about it. I didn’t say a single word, even when we slept together last night.’

Fearing his wrath when she returned, she quickly tried to sweet-talk him, but it was useless. He hung up on her.

Listening to the dial tone, Alice lowered her phone, her face a mask of constipated grief.

"Little Girl, who was that on the phone? You look so unhappy now that you’ve hung up," her grandmother asked, walking over.

Alice forced a smile. "Just a... friend."

Her grandmother stated bluntly, "You should stay away from friends who make you unhappy. Just ignore them."

Alice nodded.

After her grandmother went to attend to other things, Alice unlocked her phone, hesitating over whether she should try calling him again.

But just as she decided to call Wyatt again, her screen lit up with an incoming call from Mindy Vaughn.

’Mom should be on her way to the city by now. Why is she calling me all of a sudden?’

’Did something happen?’

"Excuse me, are you Mindy Vaughn’s daughter?" The voice on the other end was frantic.

A pulse hammered in Alice’s temple. "Who is this?" she asked.

The person replied, "I’m a doctor. Your mother has been in a car accident. Please come to the hospital as soon as you can. The address is..."