CHAPTER 54: 054: FATHER AND DAUGHTER FINALLY BREAK UP 2 (SECOND OF TWO UPDATES)

"That belonged to my maternal grandfather," Ning Guiwan said, looking at her father, her expression surprisingly calm.

Yet, within that calmness, disappointment and indifference were rife.

Her voice was soft, devoid of hysterical roaring, yet her words cut to the bone. "Everything you possess now was given to you by my maternal grandfather. Without his support and help, where would your wealth and status be today? And you? You had an affair during your marriage, brazenly raising your mistress and illegitimate daughter right under my mother’s nose...

"You humiliated her for over twenty years, masquerading as a good husband and father, deceiving her so cruelly...

"And now you actually want to use what my maternal grandfather left behind to pay for your illegitimate daughter’s wedding? How can you be so ungrateful? Do you think you’re worthy of Grandfather’s kindness?"

"Shut up!" Ning Honghua raised his hand and slapped Ning Guiwan across the face.

Ning Guiwan’s face turned to one side, her fair skin swelling instantly.

Lai Yang exclaimed, "Xiaowan!"

Yun Shu was also startled. She hurriedly put down the towel, rose, and walked over. Guiltily, she raised her hand to touch Ning Guiwan’s cheek. "Are you okay?"

Ning Guiwan coldly swatted away Yun Shu’s hand, her gaze piercing through her and Lai Yang to land on the furious Ning Honghua.

Slowly, a sneer spread across her lips.

Ning Honghua, as if provoked, grew even more irate. He pointed angrily at Ning Guiwan. "Let me tell you, Ning Guiwan, in this family, I call the shots! Whether it’s fifteen percent or all of it given to Qinghan, you have no say in the matter!"

In that moment, Ning Guiwan suddenly realized that no matter what she did, the man before her could never become the father he once was.

They say a broken mirror can never be made whole again; even if mended, the cracks remain.

And Ning Honghua wasn’t even willing to give them a chance to mend it.

The last vestiges of hope for fatherly love that Ning Guiwan held in her heart finally shattered.

She could tolerate Ning Rongyue and Ning Qinghan usurping her father and her home. She could even endure the slander from the outside world. But the things that belonged to her maternal grandfather and her mother—those two were not to touch them!

Ignoring the pain in her numbed cheek, she stared fixedly at Ning Honghua. After a long moment, she slowly began to smile. Her strikingly clear eyes filled with a deathly, ash-gray color, yet the corners of her eyes and the tips of her brows flowed with a dazzling allure.

There was a hint of nonchalance about her, yet also something that stung.

"Better to be a shattered jade than an intact tile," she said, her tone light as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Since Chairman Ning has made his stance so absolute, then you can’t blame me for fighting to the bitter end."

"From now on, I no longer have you as a father."

From now on, I have no father.

"I have no such shameless and venomous daughter! Get out!"

It was a scene replaying itself. Only, four years later, it was Ning Guiwan who severed ties.

After a brief silence, Ning Honghua angrily kicked the wide-open door of the hospital room.

A loud BANG reverberated, shaking the entire floor.

"If you leave, don’t ever come back!"

In the hallway, Ning Guiwan walked on without stopping. Lai Yang followed worriedly behind her. "Xiaowan, I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have spoken so rashly and provoked Chen Qinghan. If I hadn’t, she wouldn’t have attempted suicide, your dad wouldn’t have given her the company shares, and you..."

"It has nothing to do with you."

At the elevator entrance, Ning Guiwan raised her hand and pressed the ’down’ button, cutting Lai Yang’s rambling short.

Lai Yang looked at her.

Ning Guiwan’s thick eyelashes were lowered, hiding the emotions in her eyes, but Lai Yang could feel an endless chill emanating from her.

"Xiaowan..." Lai Yang, having never seen Ning Guiwan like this before, couldn’t help but grasp her hand. "Are you okay?"

Ning Guiwan lifted her lashes and turned her head to look at her.

The corners of her mouth slowly curved into a smile.

But that smile was superficial.

"You head back first. I have a few things to take care of."

"Xiaowan..."

"Just go back first."