“I didn’t do anything wrong! Terrell’s just a stray without a mom. He doesn’t have a mother, so now he wants to steal mine. He’s a bad kid, and I was right to push him! Healy screamed, his voice shrill with both anger and hurt. His eyes welled up as he turned on Blanche, “You’re my mom, not his. Why are you taking his side and scolding me?”
Blanche’s patience snapped at his stubbornness. “If you don’t apologize to Terrell today, you’re no longer my son.”
This was the second time Healy had heard those words.
The first was for Tia.
Now, Blanche said them for Terrell.
Healy’s heart twisted. She never really cared about him.
He spotted Jeannette standing off to the side and hurried over, grabbing her hand. “If you don’t want me, then I don’t want you either. I want Miss Jean to be my mom
instead.”
Lara, ever the loyal shadow at Jeannette’s side, immediately latched onto Healy’s other hand. She shot a defiant look at Blanche, tugged down her lower eyelid, stuck out her tongue–and then spat on the floor. “Mean lady! Healy doesn’t want you anymore!”
A sharp slap echoed through the banquet hall.
Eddy had struck Lara so hard she tumbled to the floor, a red handprint blooming across her pale cheek. Tears sprang to her eyes, but when she met Eddy’s fierce glare, she only sniffled quietly, biting her lip.
“You little brat. Who gave you permission to talk to your elders that way?” Eddy wouldn’t tolerate a single disrespectful word against Blanche, not even from his own daughter.
Startled, Jeannette scooped Lara into her arms and gently pushed Healy away.
Healy stumbled back, blinking in confusion. “Miss Jean, you don’t want me either?”
“But you promised you’d be my mom….
His words rippled through the crowd, setting off a wave of hushed whispers.
“Isn’t Jeannette Mrs. Simmons’s younger sister? Why is her nephew calling her
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Chapter 117
‘mom? Mrs. Simmons has always been so good to her–gave her a dowry, treated her with respect. And yet she teaches her daughter to insult her own aunt? Ungrateful, that’s what she is.”
“I heard the boy was originally registered under Mr. Simmons’s name. If Kelvin. hadn’t wanted to marry Jeannette, I’d have wondered whose child she really is. Look at those eyes–he looks just like Mr. Simmons.”
As gossip swirled, Margaret’s hand clenched around her emerald glass until it shattered on the floor. Her stormy gaze locked onto Jeannette.
Jeannette ducked her head lower, shielding Lara behind her.
Eddy, sensing Margaret’s displeasure, scowled and yanked Healy toward Terrell. “Enough. Healy, apologize to Terrell. Now.”
Healy’s face paled at Eddy’s anger, but he managed a begrudging, “Sorry for pushing you into the pool.” Even as he spoke, he clung to Blanche’s leg, glaring at Terrell. “But my mom is my mom. She’ll never be your mom!”
Terrell’s lip quivered. How he wished he had a mom–someone kind and beautiful,
like Blanche.
Fernando felt the boy’s pain and pulled him close in a protective hug.
Blanche took a deep breath, trying to make amends. “Please, let Terrell and Healy both get checked out at the hospital. We’ll cover all the expenses. It’s the least we can do.”
“My wife’s right. This is the Simmons family’s responsibility. We owe your son that much.” Eddy stepped forward, slipping an arm around Blanche’s waist–a public claim of possession.
“I want to go, Dad,” Terrell said softly. He liked Blanche. He wanted to stay near her, even if only for a little while.
Fernando’s heart twisted at the sight, but he knew there was no room for pride here. He nodded.
Healy clung to Blanche’s leg, Eddy held her by the waist. In the past, Blanche might have felt cherished by such attention. Now, she just felt suffocated, as if she were being smothered. She gently pushed Healy away and slipped out of Eddy’s grasp.
“You stay for the engagement ceremony,” she said coldly. “And as for the bodyguard who stood by and did nothing–he’s your responsibility now.”
Eddy never argued with her. “Whatever you say, darling.”
Blanche took Terrell’s hand; Terrell took Fernando’s. Together, they walked out, Hugo Black following silently behind.
Eddy and Healy watched them leave, the three of them looking every bit like a real family. The sight stabbed at their hearts.
Healy bolted after them.
The party pressed on, lively as ever.
Jeannette stepped up to Eddy, her voice low. “Brother–in–law, I just saw Blanche and Professor Reese coming out of the break room. Why would they be hiding in there together? That room’s tiny, filled with cleaning supplies. They must have been crammed in close.”
Eddy’s mind flashed back. Blanche and Fernando had arrived one after the other. When Blanche saw Healy unconscious, her makeup was already streaked with
tears.
A cold dread gripped him. If Blanche had been in the break room just then, then everything he said to Jeannette–everything he did–she must have overheard.
Panic flickered in his eyes as he barked at the manager, “Pull up the security footage. Now.”
