MainNovelChapter 12
“Thanks,” Jared said. Without sparinganother glance, he strode away.
I spun on my heel and left. Since | hadn't had a single drink at dinner, | got in the car and drove. In the
afternoon, | met my violin coach and locked in the next batch of lessons.
That night, when | got home, Jared still wasn’t there. | fired up my computer and started working through the
Englysian tutor’s lessons.
The next afternoon, Yvonne had a horseback riding lesson that required a parent to be there. Right after |
canceled, Jared called and asked, “Why'd you cancel Yvonne's riding lesson?”
| kept my voice steady. “I have a class this afternoon too. No tto go.”
“Victoria, this has gone way too far. What the hell is your problem?” Jared finally snapped-Yvonne was his
absolute bottom
line.
| knew he’d blow up, so | kept my cool. “I'll hire another servant tomorrow. She can take Yvonne to her lessons,
drop her off at school, pick her up-won’t interfere with her grades one bit.”
Jared raised his voice. “You're Yvonne's mother.”
“Blood doesn’t always make the best family,” | said, speaking from hard experience.
In my previous life, | had doted on Yvonne, pouring my entire heart into her, but she only had eyes for Tracy.
When Tracy had that little surgery, Yvonne ran to sit by her bed, fawning over her. And when | was on my
deathbed, she felt sorry for Tracy instead.
What was the point of raising a kid like that? To tear my heart to pieces?
“Are you doing this to get back at me?” Jared's voice turned frigid.
| stayed quiet.
“So if | don’t let you work, you'll keep giving Yvonne the cold shoulder? Victoria, do you know how to be a
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtmother? You're ignoring your daughter to focus only on yourself,” Jared shouted. He'd guessed my game, and it
made him seethe.
| couldn’t care less how angry he got. Right now, | was only focused on my happiness.
“Fine.” He suddenly backed down. “Your college major was hotel management, right? Take over the company’s
two hotels, and you'll get half the profits. But if they tank, you chome, take care of Yvonne, and drop this
whole thing for good.”
My little protest actually worked? | perked up, suddenly willing to talk. “Then I'll head to Yvonne's riding lesson
this afternoon.”
“Victoria, being too clever isn’t always a good thing. Using Yvonne as leverage againstisn’t smart,” Jared
said coldly before hanging up.
| kept my tone calm. “Got it, honey. Thanks for the lesson. With a husband this generous, I'd better step up my
game. I'll study hard
“Victoria!” Jared's voice rose with rage.
“Gotta go, or I'll be late for the lesson. Bye.” | hung up, giving him no chance to respond.
1/2
Chapter 12
Then | drove to the riding school and found a red-eyed Yvonne. She sat with a pouty expression, while a teacher
stayed by her side. Other kids were happily riding their horses.
“Yvonne, I'm here,” | called, walking over.
Yvonne shota look like | was the last person on earth she wanted to see. “I don’t want you here. | want
Daddy!”
| crouched down to meet her eyes. “Oh yeah? Did he say he was coming?”
The teacher jumped in quickly. “Mrs. Holcomb, Mr. Holcomb said he was tied up, but you'd be here. Yvonne's still
pretty upset. Maybe you could comfort her?”
“Comfort her?” | plopped down next to Yvonne. “She’s too big for that.”
Yvonne's glare got even sharper, like | was sevil stepmother.
The teacher let out an awkward laugh. “Yvonne, talk to your mom first. I'll cback to get you for riding in a
bit.”
Yvonne's eyes blazed. Her little fists were clenched so tight that | thought if she were older, she might have
swung.
| lifted my hand slightly.
Instantly, her fists unclenched. With a wail, she threw herself into my lap, sobbing. “Mommy, how could you
ignore me? Why were you late?”
With calculated precision, | patted her shoulder. “Quit crying. Let's go ride.”
Yvonne wiped her tears and followed the teacher off to class.
| took a seat near a group of wealthy
wives. A few of them had fangjam
Cackorqygadhen Yelhut most
ddr. There were even some
politicians’ wives, holding court. The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
Those women—married to
money—had a natural air of pide:
few were bysy ae and
sticking up, but most kept to
themselves, pretty reserved. The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
“Mrs. Holcomb, we're doing a baking class tonight. Wanna bring your little one?” a woman asked.
| smiled, “I'm swamped.”
“My husband knows Mr. Holcomb. You should bring him over,” she pushed.
| shook my head. “Really, no time.”
That night, | saw the “baking” photos
that woman posted on her Twitter. In
one, a group of Quy s@borca doch
dinkingedfree, and Jared was
among them. In another, Yvonne was
focused on making a cake layer, with
Tracy sitting right next to her. The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
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