The Billionaire’s Secret Quartet novel Chapter 1084

Susan was absent for a full 24 hours. When she finally arrived home at 9PM, her demeanor was downcast, and she walked unsteadily due to intoxication.

Clutching the door frame for support, she fumbled with her shoes in the foyer. The sound of stifled sobs from the living room caught her attention, and she looked up to find Lucy, her eyes red and swollen from tears, turning toward her with a glimmer of hope.

Expecting to share the day’s family troubles with her daughter, Lucy was taken aback by the strong scent of alcohol enveloping Susan. Her maternal concern took precedence as she approached her wayward daughter.

"Susan, honey, who were you out drinking with now? You've got to take it easy with the booze, you know," Lucy chided gently.

Susan, shoes finally exchanged for comfortable slippers, glanced at Lucy through bleary eyes and managed a wry chuckle. "What, you think girls can't hold their liquor? I can drink most guys under the table."

Lucy's face was a mix of exasperation and concern. "That's not the point, sweetheart. It's dangerous for a girl to be out drunk like that. And you've always been so keen on snagging a man like Lysander. If you're not careful, if you lose... you know, your first time, Lysander might look down on you."

Lucy's voice held the weight of experience, her advice coming from a place both protective and conservative.

Ever since Susan was little, Lucy ingrained in her the importance of self-preservation, particularly when it came to matters of the heart and body.

"Guard yourself," Lucy would advise, "especially from those boys who only have one thing on their minds. Aim high, catch the eye of someone with real prospects."

Lucy's worldview held a strong belief in a man valuing a woman’s first time, and she never hesitated to impress this upon Susan. "Save yourself for someone like Lysander; it's the key to winning his affection and his sense of responsibility toward you."

Susan's simmering emotions boiled over at her mother's words. She glared at Lucy with fiery indignation. "I'm sick of hearing this, Mom! Twenty years of the same old speech! Who says Lysander would despise me if I'm not his first? Look at Thalassa—she was with Leopold for two years before she met Lysander. She wasn't 'new,' and Lysander didn't care one bit!"

Her voice was a crescendo of bitterness and resentment. "As long as I am beautiful, as long as Lysander finds me attractive, nothing else should matter. I'm done being shackled by your outdated beliefs!"

Thalassa's past relationship with Leopold was no secret to those at Starhaven College. Their campus romance had been the talk of their generation. Susan, in her quest to win over Lysander, had made it her business to know Thalassa's history.

Learning that Thalassa had been with another man before Lysander, yet still held a special place in his heart, stirred a toxic blend of anger and envy within Susan.

Despite listening to her mother, abstaining from love and intimacy in anticipation of a wealthy suitor, her advances towards Lysander had been coldly rebuffed—not once, but twice.

What did she lack compared to Thalassa? Why was she treated differently?

Overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy and jealousy, Susan spiraled into despair.

Her outburst, loud and piercing, left Lucy stunned. Lucy, already burdened with her own sorrows, had sought comfort from Susan, only to be met with her daughter's fury.

Shaken, Lucy's emotions spilled over, and she broke into heart-wrenching sobs. "What have I done to deserve this?" she wailed. "My husband wants a divorce, and now my daughter turns against me too! I've slaved over this family, and this is the thanks I get? Why is my life filled with such misery?"