Love Me Or Leave Me

CHAPTER 228

It was challenging for Gwen to continue carrying the children once they began struggling as they had grown considerably. Thus, Stacey restrained them, forbidding them from squirming at once.

Debra chuckled as well. “Let’s head out for now. Well discuss this further in the car.” True enough, the car was parked at the entrance when their entire family headed out. Everyone felt instantly relieved once they got in. Debra had arranged for two vehicles to pick them up; one for Becky, the children, and herself while the other was for Gwen and Marie.

Upon reaching home, Stacey couldn’t help inquiring Debra at the thought of Adrian, Isabella, and Damian, “Mom, how are Isabella and Damian? Have you visited them?”

“Oh yes, I have. You have no idea how incredibly adorable Damian is, Becky. He resembles Adrian when he was a child down to a tee. I can’t believe a father and son can resemble each other so much!” Debra nodded hurriedly, visibly ecstatic. “Here are the photos I took of them.” She excitedly whipped out her phone and showed Stacey the photos she’d secretly taken of Damian and Isabella in her gallery.

Stacey glanced at them. The photos were much more natural than the ones taken by Adrian previously. Debra even intentionally displayed Adrian’s childhood photos side by side as a comparison. Stacey was overwhelmed with cuteness as she took them in.

At the same time, Lillian and Kevin scooted closer, their curiosity piqued as they gazed intently at Damian’s photos. The sense of fondness they had toward him was growing with each moment.

“Damian is so cute!” Kevin commented sincerely.

“It’s a shame he can’t play with us yet. If only he could…” Lillian lamented.

The siblings had seen plenty of Damian’s photos recently due to Debra’s elated state ever since meeting him. She would frequently admire his photos and patiently introduce Damian to the siblings time and again. Lillian and Kevin were astonished at how much Damian resembled Adrian in the photos and would make a fuss to see him.

Alas, the timing wasn’t right yet. Debra would always be filled with regret whenever she recalled the incident. It was late by the time Stacey finished looking through the photos, and Debra hurriedly urged her to head upstairs and shower to catch up on some sleep once she came to.

“I’m still not tired, Mom,” Stacey replied helplessly.

“Either way, you still need to rest. Do you know how important sufficient rest is for women? Accelerated aging, mood swings, and poor skin condition are just some of the symptoms of over- exhaustion,” Debra pointed out seriously. Isabella came to her mind then, and she thought, ‘What a miserable life she’s living. My heart breaks even further for the sisters the more I come to understand them. Yet, I still can’t openly donate money for them to have a better quality of life. It’s especially so for Isabella’s elder ister…

Carly’s tragic state deeply saddened Debra, and she would have cast Carly’s scum of a husband aside on her behalf if she could. If a couple couldn’t maintain a healthy relationship, they might as

well part ways. It was exhausting watching them torture one another as they refused to divorce and seek better options. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t do for her to poke her nose in others‘ private affairs.

Nonetheless, Debra couldn’t help feeling relieved when her thoughts of them inevitably led to Stacey. She was immensely grateful that Stacey wasn’t one to shortchange herself and had decisively split with her husband when their relationship was at the end of the road. ‘Aren’t they much happier, their future so much brighter, now that they’ve separated? Good thing they didn’t remain together for the children’s sake,‘ she mused,

In Debra’s opinion, a whole but unharmonious family with parents who argued and fought daily as they refused to put aside their grudges was more traumatizing to a child than being brought up by a single parent.

Since Stacey couldn’t refute her mother, she had no choice but to do as told and went upstairs to shower and rest.

Although Lillian and Kevin subsequently planned to go with their mother, Debra held them back. “Lily, Kev, your mom has just reached home and is exhausted. Let’s not disturb her and let her rest for her bit, all right?”

“I won’t bother Mommy,” Kevin promised instantly.

“Me too,” Lillian added.

Debra was rendered speechless as she thought, ‘Only fools would trust a child’s words. Despite that, her attempt at keeping the children away from Stacey failed as they had been apart from her for too long and missed her dearly. Thus, they climbed into bed with Stacey once she was done, whining about wanting to sleep together. Since Stacey happened to be wide awake, she grabbed a storybook and read to them while teaching them to identify the animals in the illustrations.

Debra crept upstairs to sneak a peek at them. Feelings of joy and powerlessness warred within her as she observed Stacey sharing a peaceful moment with her children. ‘Perhaps she’d be suffering

through her marriage like Isabella’s sister if she hadn’t divorced that scumbag for good‘ Debra pondered, once again relieved at her daughter’s choice to separate from her ex–husband.

“Is something wrong, Mom?” Stacey ventured after a moment’s hesitation, her hands still holding the storybook. The odd manner in which Debra regarded her the entire day hadn’t gone unnoticed by Stacey.

At once, Debra snapped back to herself and shook her head. “It’s nothing. Aren’t you tired at all?” she queried.

Nonplussed, Stacey uttered, “Nope.”

Ultimately, Debra decided to enter the room and sit at Stacey’s bedside. She could no longer keep Carly’s circumstances to herself and spilled the beans to Stacey. While Stacey had been vaguely aware of what happened in Isabella’s household, she was never in on the details. Hence, it came as a surprise for her to hear about Carly’s destitute state. Even so, she couldn’t intervene when the married couple themselves refused to divorce.

“Becky, you can’t possibly get back together with Theodore. Understand?” Debra voiced her

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concern after concluding her words. She then gazed toward Lillian and Kevin, regarding them with a hint of sympathy.

“I know.” Stacey nodded.

Debra stared at her intently, then advised, “Becky, I believe a loving environment filled with warmth is of more import than an irresponsible father’s love. Imagine how much it would hurt a child if their parents stayed together in a loveless marriage, both unable to see past the other’s shortcomings. Each day would be filled with arguments and fights as they begrudged one another. A toxic environment like that would be far worse than having a single parent.”