Chapter 16 What a Coincidence\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett sipped her soup slowly, the warmth spreading through her chest. \u201cI specialize in pediatric surgery now,\u201d she said. It felt good to talk about her work-something that was hers, not tied to the Stewart family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After college, she\u2019d put her career on hold to marry Vincent. Most of her classmates had gone on to get their master\u2019s or PhDs, some even moving abroad for fellowships. Nolan, for example, was now a top neurosurgeon, known for his work with brain tumors. He had articles published in medical journals, awards on his shelf, and a waiting list of patients.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett could\u2019ve had that too. She\u2019d been top of their class, with offers from prestigious hospitals. But she\u2019d chosen marriage instead. Now, she was just starting out as an attending physician-years behind her peers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan smiled, noticing her faraway look. \u201cPediatric surgery\u2019s tough. You need so much patience -kids are scared, parents are stressed. But you\u2019ve always been good with that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett shrugged, picking at her rice. \u201cI\u2019m still learning. I just passed my boards, so I\u2019m not exactly an expert yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan leaned forward, his voice serious. \u201cScarlett, you were the smartest person in our class. Remember when you aced that anatomy exam everyone else failed? You\u2019ve got the skills-you just need to believe in yourself. It\u2019s never too late to start over.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His words made her throat tight. No one had told her that in years\u2014not Vincent, not Amanda, not even her own family. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the bill came, Scarlett reached for her wallet, but the waiter shook his head. \u201cThe gentleman already paid, ma\u2019am.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett turned to Nolan, surprised. \u201cI said I\u2019d treat!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan laughed. \u201cNext time. I owe you for all those late-night study sessions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before Scarlett could argue, a voice called out behind them. \u201cNolan?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They turned to see Sabrina-dressed in a tailored dress, her hair styled perfectly-standing with Vincent and Vanessa. Sabrina\u2019s smile faded when she saw Scarlett, but she acted like she didn\u2019t exist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSabrina, what a coincidence,\u201d Nolan said, standing up. He didn\u2019t know who Vincent or Vanessa were, but he could tell Sabrina didn\u2019t want to acknowledge Scarlett. He slid closer to Scarlett, a silent gesture of support.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sabrina\u2019s eyes flickered to Scarlett, then back to Nolan. \u201cHave you eaten? We were just about to\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:29 Sat, Jan 3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 16 What a Coincidence\u00a0<\/p>\n
order-join us!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan shook his head. \u201cWe already finished. Maybe another time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
46)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sabrina\u2019s smile faltered, but she quickly recovered. She grabbed Vincent\u2019s arm, leaning into him. \u201cVincent, this is Nolan-my college senior. He\u2019s one of the best neurosurgeons in the country.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent nodded, his gaze cold as he looked at Scarlett. She was dressed nicely-her hair was styled, her lips were tinted, and she looked more alive than he\u2019d ever seen her. But what bothered him most was how she ignored Vanessa. Their daughter was standing right in front of her, and Scarlett didn\u2019t even glance her\u00a0<\/p>\n
way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vanessa saw Scarlett too, but she turned her head. She was still mad about the time Scarlett had yelled at Sabrina. She thought her mom should apologize, and until she did, Vanessa wasn\u2019t going to talk to her. But a small part of her hoped Scarlett would hug her, would say she was sorry, would beg for her forgiveness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But before she could finish that daydream, Sabrina waved a hand in front of her face, pulling her back to reality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cVanessa? What\u2019s wrong, sweetie?\u201d Sabrina asked, worried. She reached out to touch Vanessa\u2019s forehead, checking for a fever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vanessa looked back instinctively-only to see Scarlett walking out with Nolan. Scarlett didn\u2019t even glance over her shoulder, not even for a split second, as she passed by.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anger bubbled up in Vanessa. She stamped her foot hard on the floor, her little fists clenched tight. She thought fiercely. Bad mom! I\u2019ll tell Dad not to want you anymore either!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u3002\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.0K\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:29 Sat, Jan 3 \u2191\u00a0<\/p>\n
Awakened Housewife Ignore Betrayer\u2019s Begs\u00a0<\/p>\n
Silent Dreams Never Die \u2014 Author: John Miller 16 Chapter 16 What a Coincidence\u00a0 Finished\u00a0 Scarlett sipped her soup slowly, […]<\/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-27380","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\/27380","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=27380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27380\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}