NOVEL WEB Chapter 184: So Who Are You Hiding From?
On the afternoon of the 2nd, while Rita was busy clearing instances, Rick spent the entire day pacing outside his grandmother Eleanor's courtyard.
Earlier that morning, he received a message from Zoey, informing him that the Lopez family had learned of his grandmother Eleanor's exceptionally rare Divine Gift. In B City, her importance was on par with those who possessed S-tier Divine Gifts. Zoey suggested that Rick remain in B City to gather information and try to find out more about Eleanor's abilities.
Although it would be ideal to bring her back to Los Angeles, at the very least, he could see if she would be willing to help her grandson and granddaughter-in-law. As for Rick, Zoey reminded him to return by the 15th.
Rick was speechless. They didn't even invite Eleanor to their wedding…
The reason Rick was hesitant to meet Eleanor was that he always felt she didn't like him. In middle school, Samuel had urged him to secretly reconnect with Eleanor.
At first, Eleanor responded to his messages, but over time, her questions became more difficult and pointed. Sometimes Rick wasn't sure how to reply in a way that preserved his image as a respectful and dutiful grandson while also satisfying Eleanor's expectations, so he would ask Samuel for advice.
Samuel only guided him once. Rick sent the message as instructed, but from that point on, Eleanor never responded again.
Later, when Rick got into college, Samuel had him try to visit Eleanor in person, but she always refused to see him.
Rita never knew about these attempts. She likely believed, as Samuel often said at the dinner table, that Eleanor had found a new family and new grandchildren to care for.
Rick continued pacing until nightfall. Finally, a young man with a buzzcut approached and told him he had to leave.
Rick handed over the gifts he had brought. "Please give these to my parents and grandmother. Thank you."
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With that, he left obediently.
The man, Everett , took the gifts back inside and gathered his teammates. They checked the gifts with their Divine Gift-powered tools to ensure there were no hidden threats, then brought them to Eleanor.
Eleanor didn't even look at the gifts. "Give them to his parents."
The items ended up with Samuel and Scarlett. The two exchanged glances and quietly placed the gifts in a corner.
Later that night, when Samuel was once again suspended from the roof, Eleanor called Scarlett over. Scarlett, being quite carefree, didn't seem nervous at all.
The thing about Eleanor was, if she was willing to speak to you calmly, it meant she didn't dislike you. If she truly disliked someone...well, just look at Samuel up on the roof for comparison.
Sitting in a loose, pale green linen robe, Eleanor gently fanned herself while lounging in a recliner. She asked, "So, why did you two decide to take refuge here?"
Scarlett, rubbing her pregnant belly, sat down slowly on a stool nearby, smiling. "What do you mean by 'taking refuge'?"
Eleanor replied, "Then should I have someone send you home tomorrow?"
Scarlett immediately looked up, alarmed. "Husband! Say something, husband!"
Samuel, from above: "..." So now she remembered she had a husband. But earlier, when she was devouring that delicious beef noodle soup in the kitchen, she seemed to have forgotten all about him.
Eleanor continued, "Why is Rick coming after you two? Where's Rita?"
Scarlett quickly explained, "Rita's busy."
Samuel chimed in to help explain and took the opportunity to throw Rick under the bus. "Rita's very busy, working for the Special Affairs Bureau. Not like Rick, who doesn't care about us at all."
In reality, Rita hadn't done nearly as much for Samuel and Scarlett as Rick had. Even though Rick had eventually cut them off, before that, he had given them generous allowances, arranged for people to help them level up, and provided them with gear, jewelry, and potions.
But thanks to the influence of the **God of the Culinary Arts** skill, both Samuel and Scarlett conveniently forgot how stingy Rita had been, while exaggerating Rick's later retributions.
To them, Rita was the perfect, dutiful daughter, helping them with everything, solving problems for her brother, and even helping Scarlett make money by taking photos of Nivalis. All they could remember were Rita's good deeds.
On the other hand, Rick…well, not so much.
The couple took turns bashing Rick, claiming that since marrying into the Lopez family, he had changed—becoming selfish, uncaring, and unfilial.
Eleanor's expression remained unchanged, but internally, she was shocked by Samuel's starkly different attitudes toward his son and daughter. If it were the other way around, she wouldn't have been surprised. But his clear favoritism toward Rita, along with his disdain for Rick, piqued her curiosity.
She then asked, "Are you planning to stay here until the baby is born?"
Scarlett, cautiously: "Could we?"
Eleanor: "So, who are you hiding from? Rick?"
For as long as Rick had been standing outside, the couple had been on edge—especially Scarlett, who seemed to carry the baby like it was some sort of ticking time bomb, unable to relax.
Both fell silent.
Eleanor pressed on, "You're hiding from him because of the baby, right? He doesn't want you to keep the child?"
Scarlett looked up at the sky, while Samuel shifted against the wall, twisting around mid-air so his back faced Eleanor.
Eleanor chuckled softly to herself. How poetic. Samuel had tried to stop her from remarrying years ago, and now Rick was trying to stop Samuel from having another child…
She asked, "Does Rita know?"
Scarlett, relieved to have a question she could answer, quickly replied, "Yes, she was so happy when she found out."
Samuel, recalling how Rita had foolishly smiled and said, "Mom, Dad, I'm really happy for you," couldn't believe it at first. He even used his truth-checking ability, only to find that when Rita repeated herself, it was the truth. That silly child was genuinely happy for them.
Tearing up, Samuel added, "Yes, Mom, Rita was truly happy for us—so happy. But Rick's different. He wanted Scarlett to abort the baby, and he made it clear that if she didn't go to the hospital, he'd take matters into his own hands. Mom, I know I've made mistakes in the past, but being hurt by my own son made me realize just how wrong I was back then."
Eleanor felt like a key part of this story was missing. Why would Rick go to such lengths to prevent Scarlett from keeping the baby? If Rick had already married into the Lopez family, wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity to use the baby as leverage in a family dispute? Why bother traveling all this way, just to stop Scarlett from having the child?
But she wasn't in a hurry to figure it out. She slowly rose from her seat and left without another word.
The next morning, Scarlett and Samuel woke to find themselves alone in the house.
Eleanor was gone.
Though she didn't particularly dislike Scarlett, she had little patience for Samuel. As far as she was concerned, their unborn child wasn't even fully formed yet—what difference did it make?
Eleanor had only stayed home yesterday to work on a recipe. Today, she had the time to go level up. As for Samuel and Scarlett? She wasn't worried about them—after all, they wouldn't die.