Chapter 13 Mom\u2019s Here Too\u00a0<\/p>\n
(46)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
After setting her wine glass down, Scarlett didn\u2019t spare Vincent a single glance. To her, he might as well have been a stranger at the next table-someone she\u2019d never met, let alone married.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, a peeled shrimp landed in her bowl. She looked up to find Marvin Winslet, one of the school\u2019s math teachers, smiling at her. Marvin had a soft, bookish charm; when he smiled, his eyes crinkled at the corners, warm and sincere. They\u2019d gotten to know each other over the two months, chatting about the kids or sharing lunch on quiet afternoons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks, Marvin,\u201d Scarlett said, returning his smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marcus, ever observant, perked up. \u201cDr. Theron, are you married?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett didn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cYeah, I am. I have a daughter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
past\u00a0<\/p>\n
Across the table, Vincent\u2019s jaw tightened. He\u2019d watched Marvin pass Scarlett the shrimp, watched her smile at him like he meant something-and for a split second, he felt a strange, unfamiliar twinge in his chest. When he heard her say she was married, that twinge faded into something like relief. He even noticed Marvin\u2019s smile falter, his shoulders slumping slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But then Scarlett added, \u201cWe\u2019re getting divorced, though.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent missed that part. His phone had started ringing-a video call from Vanessa. He answered it right there, not bothering to step outside. The table went quiet as everyone glanced over, curious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, where are you?\u201d Vanessa\u2019s sweet voice came through the screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent\u2019s face softened, a look Scarlett hadn\u2019t seen in years. \u201cI\u2019m working in a small town. I\u2019ll be home tomorrow. Sabrina\u2019s coming over tonight to stay with you, okay? You can sleep with her if you want.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t help but sneak a look at Scarlett. She was talking to Marvin, a faint smile on her lips -like she hadn\u2019t even heard him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, Dad,\u201d Vanessa said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, out of nowhere, Vincent said, \u201cMom\u2019s here too. Do you want to say hi?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room went even quieter. Everyone turned to look around-there were three women at the table, two of whom were married. The only single one was Scarlett, but she was sitting as far from Vincent as possible. No one dared ask, but the curiosity hung thick in the air.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vanessa\u2019s voice turned petulant. \u201cNo! I don\u2019t want to talk to her. I\u2019m still mad. She has to say sorry first, or I won\u2019t forgive her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:29 Sat, Jan 3 \u2191\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 13 Mom\u2019s Here Too\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
46\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her words were loud enough for everyone to hear. Scarlett didn\u2019t look up. She just kept eating, like Vanessa\u2019s anger was nothing more than background noise. What did she do wrong? She fed her, clothed her, stayed up with her when she was sick. But Vanessa hated her because she didn\u2019t let Sabrina take over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent glanced at her again. She was so calm-too calm. Once, she would\u2019ve cried if Vanessa so much as frowned at her. Once, she would\u2019ve begged Vincent to let her talk to their daughter, to explain. But now? She didn\u2019t care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, Sabrina\u2019s here! I\u2019m gonna play blocks with her!\u201d Vanessa said, then hung up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marcus cleared his throat, trying to lighten the mood. \u201cSounds like your daughter\u2019s pretty close to Sabrina.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent\u2019s brow furrowed. \u201cSabrina? You know her?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marcus looked confused. \u201cWell, your daughter mentioned her-isn\u2019t she your daughter\u2019s nanny?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent didn\u2019t answer. Suddenly, he didn\u2019t want to be there anymore. He stood up, his chair scraping against the floor. \u201cI\u2019m done eating. Enjoy the rest of your dinner.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. As he passed Scarlett, he stopped-for no reason he could name. \u201cNot leaving yet?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t even sure if he was talking to her. Once, she would\u2019ve jumped up, grabbing her bag to follow him. But now, she just stared at her plate, like she hadn\u2019t heard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a beat of silence, Vincent called out, \u201cAbbott.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abbott. \u201cComing, sir!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett hid a small smile. He isn\u2019t talking to me. I should stop thinking I matter to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.0K\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u1218.\u00a0<\/p>\n
212\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:29 Sat, Jan 3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Awakened Housewife: Ignore Betrayer\u2019s Begs\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Silent Dreams Never Die \u2014 Author: John Miller 13 Chapter 13 Mom\u2019s Here Too\u00a0 (46)\u00a0 Finished\u00a0 After setting her wine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-impossible-condition-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27377\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}