Out of Control: Into Your Everything-Chapter 153: Unworthy

What answered him was the busy signal after the call was disconnected.

Scarlett Shaw wasn’t afraid of Julian Ford realizing she secretly followed him to the hospital; she deliberately hung up the phone.

The hospital entrance was chaotic with crowds. She also wanted to see him, hurriedly walking to the gate, but as she lifted her eyes, she glimpsed a familiar figure standing by the street.

Compared to her previous elegant and delicate look, Anna Ford was dressed simply and neatly now, without makeup, but upon closer inspection, her clothes were all from expensive high-end brands.

The woman furrowed her willow-like brows lightly, looking in the direction the ambulance had just been, with a faint worry in her eyes.

"Still in a coma, I heard the situation isn’t good."

A young, calm female voice came from beside her, and Anna suddenly froze, turning her head to meet Scarlett’s almond eyes filled with complex emotions.

"I never thought that after so many years, the first thing I would say to you wouldn’t concern myself, nor be about Dad."

Scarlett’s lips curled into a smile, one laced with mockery.

There was no need for confirmation; between mother and daughter, just a glance could provide the answer.

Anna’s furrowed brows deepened, then quickly relaxed, but her facial expression remained unchanged, almost cold and unfeeling, as she said, "You shouldn’t have investigated me, nor should you have approached me."

Scarlett was stunned.

Hearing her mother’s voice again after so many years, even though it matched the tone in her memory, it was entirely different.

Serena Ford would never have spoken to her in such a tone or manner before.

The Anna standing before her now looked at her as if she were a stranger.

Scarlett thought she had presented herself maturely enough, indifferent enough, yet she never imagined that after ten years, the first words from this woman in front of her would be so distant.

Bitterness surged to her throat in an instant, and she couldn’t help but resentfully say:

"I thought at least you’d ask me if I’ve had a hard time all these years."

"But you didn’t show the slightest concern, and even seemed eager to draw a line between us."

"What, has my appearance disturbed your new life with your husband and kids?"

Scarlett’s voice carried sarcasm, along with an uncontrollable sobbing tone.

She had rehearsed countless reunion scenarios in her mind, what to say, and what expressions to use facing her.

For instance, putting on a nonchalant face, questioning why she abandoned her and Dad back then.

Or questioning whether Dad’s death had anything to do with her.

Or wondering if, after disappearing for so many years, living happily, she had ever thought of her daughter living alone.

But indifference and getting to the bottom of things are inherently paradoxical.

Even though she was the one left behind, standing in front of Anna, she felt more bewildered and flustered.

"Aren’t you doing well now?"

Compared to the brokenness in Scarlett’s almond eyes, Anna’s eyes remained unchanged, as calm as still water.

Yet these light words made anger rise fiercely in Scarlett’s chest:

"Whether I’m doing well or not isn’t something you can use as a cover for abandoning Dad and me! Do you think my doing a little better can prove that what you did as a deserter was right?!"

Anna’s expressionless face turned extremely ugly upon hearing the last sentence.

Her face instantly went pale.

This sudden change was also sharply captured by Scarlett.

As a daughter, upon seeing her mother with such a painful expression, she should have learned to stop.

But Scarlett didn’t want to do that.

She was never truly gentle and good-tempered; she had been fighting alone for too long, and she was weak, often having to choose retreat when facing many things.

Deep within her bones, there resided someone greedy, with a bad temperament, who only cared about herself.

So she intensified her accusations:

"From childhood to adulthood, you know better than I do how much Dad loved you and how good he was to you. But what did you give him? When his body was bloated and decayed, just because his company went bankrupt, you turned away without any conscience!"

"Do you know what I’ve thought about the most over these years? I’ve wondered why it wasn’t you who died back then. If one person had to die, why wasn’t it you!"

Her chest heaved violently due to rapid breathing.

Scarlett felt suffocated.

It wasn’t just because she was abandoned, but also because, in that moment of speaking those words, she fully realized that after so many years, she still was the unruly and willful bad kid who once blamed Benjamin by saying that because of Dad, she couldn’t live in a big house.

She really hadn’t reflected and changed for the better at all.

Anna’s pallor worsened with Scarlett’s unbearable words.

But she didn’t refute Scarlett, just turned her head to avoid Scarlett’s piercing gaze, and said calmly:

"Why should I live a hard life with him?"

"What?"

When Anna spoke, Scarlett almost felt that she must have heard wrong.

But Anna quickly added:

"After his bankruptcy, he was not only broke but also deeply in debt. Since he couldn’t keep his company, he obviously couldn’t provide me with a better life. Why shouldn’t I choose to leave?"

"You and your dad are two of a kind, sometimes naïve to the point of being laughable."

"Scarlett, let me tell you, in this world, no one isn’t selfish. What you and your dad thought was genuine was actually just a mask you wore over your inner ugliness."

Anna spoke with unprecedented frankness and ease.

Finally, she looked into Scarlett’s incredulous eyes and added, "I’m merely more realistic and honest."

"Forgive me for saying this, but I can’t agree with a single word you said."

Scarlett’s feelings of disappointment and sadness were now completely dormant, leaving only numbness and coldness.

"Since you chose to build a family with Dad, you should have had the most basic sense of responsibility. Who doesn’t face unexpected events? Life and death are common. If something happens, shouldn’t the first thought be to face it together?"

"To say something like that, you not only don’t deserve to be a mother, but you don’t deserve to be a wife, or even a human being."

Scarlett’s eyes had frosted over.

Looking at Anna, she saw in her eyes a stranger, ice-cold reflection of herself.

"Now I’m actually relieved that you ran away. Otherwise, if I ended up like you, I’d rather smash my head against tofu and die."

When mother and daughter, bound by blood, argue, their words can often be more hurtful than those aimed at outsiders.

Anna looked at Scarlett and suddenly changed the topic, "Aren’t you with the young master of the Ford family for ulterior motives?"

Scarlett was startled, her delicate brows knitting together.

Anna didn’t give her a chance to refute, merely let out a light chuckle:

"Don’t tell me you’re after neither his money nor his looks, but just for love. I don’t believe you haven’t received any material benefits from him. I’m sure you have, and quite a lot, right?"