Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex’s "Uncle" - Chapter 595

Chapter 595: The Feeling of Having an Older Brother’s Support

The room fell silent.

Aaron’s smile vanished. “If you insist on using your so-called qualifications as a bargaining chip, then this conversation is meaningless.”

“As everyone knows, my grandfather is Selina’s true elder. Tell me—” Aaron’s voice was phrased as a question, but carried no trace of doubt. “And you are… who, exactly?”

Charles, Aaron’s grandfather, was Selina’s legitimate elder. But Matt? What was he?

Bloodline? None. Matt was an adopted son, the child of the Hill Family’s chauffeur. He shared no blood with Charles, and therefore had no claim of kinship with Charles’s granddaughter.

Without blood ties, what right did Matt have to order Selina around and steal her room?

The air grew heavy, tension sharp as a blade. Matt’s face flushed a sickly green, veins bulging at his temples as he pressed his lips tight, barely restraining himself from exploding.

Aaron wasn’t even pretending anymore. Adopted son, adopted daughter—the phrase hung over Matt like a brand. So what if he wasn’t truly Hill Family? He had schemed and clawed his way into seizing their estate. Why should he give it back now?

Aaron chuckled. If Matt had taken the Hill Family by force, that was proof the family had once lost. But now that Aaron had reclaimed it, wasn’t that proof Matt had lost?

Victory belonged to the stronger hand. Aaron admitted their great-grandfather had misjudged Matt, causing the Hill Family’s collapse. But for Matt—who had left a trail of sins—to then flaunt the title of “elder” and use it to oppress Selina? That kind of hypocritical posturing disgusted him.

“Steward, have someone tear down the tea room and restore Selina’s chamber.”

Then Aaron smiled faintly at Matt. “I’m sure you won’t object. Otherwise, if the news gets out, the consequences will be disastrous. You certainly won’t do something so reckless as to hurt Selina and ruin your own reputation—hurting others and yourself, right?”

Matt’s expression darkened further.

If this spread, he would be branded the “treacherous adopted son.”

And worse, suspicion about Charles’s death had lingered for years. People had whispered, but with no proof. If Matt openly targeted Selina now…

He hadn’t expected Aaron to push back so forcefully. Jaw clenched, he gave a cold snort and stormed off.

Aaron’s tone softened as he turned to Selina. “For now, pick any room you like. Your chamber will be properly restored before the day is over.”

Then he added, almost offhandedly, “Oh, and don’t forget about Ava’s new accommodations. Our Hill Family doesn’t mistreat adopted daughters. Since Ava likes the walk-in closet turned into a room, she can stay there from now on.”

Ava nearly cracked a tooth from grinding it. She had thought her grandfather’s presence would shield her, that she could bluff her way out. But now—damn it, no! She couldn’t live in that place!

Aaron didn’t care in the slightest. He shoved her neatly into the small, gray room. “Convert Ava’s old bedroom into a tea room. If the old man wants tea, he can have it there.”

“Yes, sir,” the steward replied at once.

Selina almost applauded her cousin. What a beautiful move—Matt and Ava would both choke on rage.

Ava, frantic, blurted, “But I’m about to host an art exhibition! That little closet is too cramped, too stifling—”

“Wasn’t that your favorite room? Since you like it, you should live in it longer. Who knows, maybe the confinement will inspire even more creativity.”

Aaron’s smile cut sharp. “Oh, and Ava—your exhibition funds? They come from the Hill Family. Don’t forget that.”

Ava’s face twisted into something hideous. She shot Selina a venomous glare, then burst into tears and fled the room.

Selina clicked her tongue. “I can’t help but feel like, in the end, this whole mess is going to be pinned on me.”

Aaron didn’t comment. “Everything’s arranged. I need to head back to the company, so I’ll leave you two here. Mr. Reid, make yourself at home.”

“Oh, right, Selina—when the time comes, I’ll make sure you’re officially listed in the Hill Family records. Every direct family member must hold shares. We can’t let outsiders profit. You don’t have to show up to every meeting, but the shares must be in your hands. That’s the rule.”

Selina nodded. The Hill Family had nearly been torn apart and destroyed under an adopted son’s control. So when Jeff returned, he had acted with ruthless efficiency, reclaiming power and distributing nearly all the shares to their own bloodline.

After Aaron left, Selina turned to Logan, who had been silent for a while. “What’s on your mind?”

“Something doesn’t add up.” Logan’s tone was calm, but edged with thought. “Hannah seems awfully concerned about Ava. But what about her real daughter?”

Selina froze for a second before remembering—Angela.

Angela had appeared only to impersonate Selina, to take over her life. But after the Morris Family collapsed, Joe went to prison, and Hannah hastily divorced into freedom, Angela vanished.

Did Hannah really feel no concern for her own daughter?

Her biological child was out there somewhere, still wearing Selina’s stolen face—living without her own name, without her own identity. Pretending to be Selina was nothing but a delusion now. And Hannah? She didn’t care whether her daughter was alive or dead, only fussed over a foster girl like Ava.

Selina frowned. “Have you looked into Angela?”

“Sent abroad,” Logan said flatly. “After that, no trace.”

Selina’s lashes fluttered. “Sent abroad… then could she have come back under another identity?”

But she shook her head almost immediately. “No. With that face? If she returned, it would be far too obvious.”

Still, something felt wrong. Was Hannah truly so heartless toward her own child?

Angela was useful once, so she was called a daughter. But once her use ran out, she was shipped overseas and abandoned. Hannah never asked how her child lived while carrying Selina’s face, never wondered how she survived while being hunted and despised. Instead, Hannah poured her energy into coddling Ava.

And there was another thing Selina couldn’t shake—

“As far as I know, Angela’s only obsession in life was pretending to be me, replacing me. She had no self, no goals of her own. She never went to school like other kids, never had friends, never had a social life. She wasn’t allowed personal hobbies. Everything she did had to revolve around my existence.”

“Can a mother really be that cruel to her own child? To strip her of even a name? ‘Selina’ was the identity she stole when impersonating me. ‘Angela’ was the name Joe gave her when she was pretending to be my sister. But before that—what was she called?”

“What did Hannah, or anyone else, ever call her?”

Angela had no name. Her life had no purpose, no worth. She wasn’t a daughter; she was Hannah’s possession.

And when Selina thought about it that way, she felt a strange pang of pity.

If Angela ever found out that her mother had returned to the Hill Family, doting on another girl because Ava brought her benefits, while abandoning her own flesh and blood—

Selina’s eyes narrowed, a glint of cold resolve in them. “I’ll have to find the right time to test Hannah.”