Ex Cried as I Wed a Tycoon novel Chapter 221

Shepard stood outside the door, listening as every word of Effie's conversation with her grandmother drifted through the thin, battered wood. His weathered face was so dark with anger, it looked as if a storm might break across it at any moment.

He was still standing out here—did they think he was invisible? Dead?

Taking a deep breath, Shepard forced himself to knock again, voice straining for composure. “Mom, it's me. I came to see you… Mom?”

At the sound of his shout, the smile instantly vanished from the old woman's face.

Effie yanked open the door, glaring at him. “Shepard, what is wrong with you? Who said you could stand out here yelling like that?”

The moment he saw her, Shepard's gaze turned cold, a flash of irritation darkening his eyes. His voice was icy. “Effie, who taught you to be so rude?”

She arched an eyebrow, her look making it perfectly clear—wasn't it you?

“Sorry, I was born with a father, but never raised by one. That's just how it is.”

Shepard bit down hard in frustration. This damn girl—every time they met, she managed to drive him up the wall.

He drew in another breath, fighting to swallow his anger. He hadn't come here to get into another shouting match with Effie.

He tried again. “Effie, I told you before—you could have stayed with the Bagnold family, but you refused. You insisted on leaving with your grandmother. That's not my fault.”

Effie knew all too well how much Shepard and Vera had resented her back then. Even if she had stayed with the Bagnolds, life wouldn't have been any better. She'd rather live a modest life with her grandmother than be worked to death like some Cinderella—slaving away for her stepmother and stepsister while being bullied in her own father's house.