Chapter 18
Mason looked ready to explode from anger, and Yvonne had to pat his back to help him calm down. You really are such a constant worry,” he exclaimed, his disappointment clear.
After taking a deep breath, he turned to Yvonne. “Where’s that thing? Go get it and give it to her so she can leave”
Yvonne’s expression flickered with unease, but she quickly masked it with a gentle smile, as if nothing had happened. T left it upstairs. Since Daphne doesn’t come home often, let’s have a meal together first.
Mason huffed. “I’m 100 mad to eat. What else is there to enjoy?
Yvonne hurned to soothe him. “Don’t get worked up. It’s not every day that Mr. Goodman comes over for dinner; we shouldn’t ignore him.”
Only then did Mason remember Yancey was in the room and sighed. “Sorry for the mess, Mr. Goodman.”
Yancey nodded slightly, his expression bored. “It’s fine”
Daphne couldn’t help but smirk. “I won’t interrupt your family time. Just hand me my stuff, and I’ll get out of your hair.”
Yvonne looked annoyed. “Daphne, how can you say that? We all consider you part of the family”
Hannah jumped in. “Yeah, we’re family here. Why act like a stranger at home?”
Dupline looked at them and let out a sarcastic laugh. “Family? How ridiculous. They’re probably counting down the seconds to get rid of me
“Here’s the deal,” Mason said firmly. “Eat something before you leave, or forget about taking your stuff. He turned away, making it clear there was no room for negotiation
Daphne reined in her frustration and asked Mary, the Shaw family’s servant for over a decade. “Mary, where are my mom’s things?”
Mary shot a cautious look at Yvonne and subtly shook her head, indicating she didn’t know and that it was up to Yvonne
Seeing Daphne’s displeasure, Yvonne pretended to be concerned. “Don’t be upset with your dad, Daphne. He means well and just wants you to feel closer to us
Daphne closed her eyes for a moment to steady herself. “It we have dinner together, will you promise to give me my mom’s things afterward?”
Yvonne’s smile faltered for a moment before she nodded and said. “I’ll give them to you after dinner.”
“Fine.” Daphne said. With no other option, she made her way to the dining room. She kept her eyes fixed straight ahead, not even sparing Yancey a gance as she walked past him.
Her icy attitude made it seem like he wasn’t her ex–husband of three years–just a stranger, or maybe even less than that.
Yancey watched her stiff back, his expression darkening. It had used to be him leaving without a second thought, but now it was Daphne who was walking away.
“Yancey, let’s go eat too. Hannah nudged him.
Snapping back to reality, Yancey lowered his gaze, masking the complex emotions swirling within him, and reverted to his usual calm demeanor. “Okay”
At the table of five, including a couple who had just finalized their divorce that very day, the atmosphere was beyond awkward.
Maiona frustration with Daphne still simunered, while Daphne sat in silence, not wanting to speak to anyone. She kept her head down, picking litely at her food, it hardly qualified as eating since she only took a few bites before disregarding her plate entirely.
Yvonne was in hepelement, relishing th
cat–bravy disler that dominated the table–greasy and salty delights that she adoreil
But for Daphnie, who had never liked such food and was now pregnant, the sight was intolerabile. The smell alone sent waves of painea surging.
was in great shape. Even after being pregnant for over a month, she only felt a little more tired than usual and didn’t have any major pregnancy symptoma. Nausea was rare for her. But the sight of all that greasy food suddenly made her stomach tum.
Ai Hannah tumed the cutmversation to business matten, Mason ragerly engaged and an discussing work with Yanery.
Vanery offered only short responses, his disinterest evident, yet Mason continued passionairly.
10:53 AM M
Chapter 18:
Next to Yancey, Hannah wore a shy smile, acting as if Yancey were the boyfriend she was introducing to her family
“Ugh, this is really unpleasant. Daphne couldn’t tell if it was the greasy foixd in front of her making her queasy or the people around her making her feel even worse.
She put down her fork, her voice cool as she said, “Can I have it now?” She could no longer stand eating with these people, even for another
momenL
Her words shattered the fragile calm of the table. Mason’s expression turned grim, and he slammed his fork down with a loud clatter.
Yvonne, acting like she didn’t notice the tension, smiled warmly as she served Daphne some food, “Here, have some more, Daphne”
Daphne was already feeling queasy, and the moment two big chunks of greasy meat landed on her plate, her stomach flipped.
Unaware of Daphne’s discomfort. Yvonne scooped up a huge piece of fish from another plate. The sauce dripped onto the edge of Daphne’s plate, making her nausea even worse.
Daphne couldn’t take it anymore. She sprang up from her chair and bolted out of the dining hall, covering her mouth to stifle her immediate wave of nausea. She hurried back to her bedroom, dashed into the bathroom and bent over the toilet, retching violently.
The nausea surged through her, making her heave until all that remained was bitter stomach acid. Looking up into the mirror, she saw her pale reflection staring back at her, and an unexpected wave of sadness washed over her.
Images from the dining table flooded Daphne’s mind–Hannah and Yancey sitting side by side, like they were a couple. It hit her how ridiculous it was, they’d just finalized their divorce that morning, and here Yancey was, already getting cozy with Hannah
Leaning against the edge of the sink, she took a moment to calm herself and pushed the feeling of nausea deep down.
“Yancey is my ex–husband now. Why should it matter if he is planning to marry Hannah Even if he wants to marry a pig. I wouldn’t care because it had absolutely nothing to do with me‘ she thought to herself.
Finally, Daphne felt a bit better. She splashed her face with cool water again and pulled open the cabinet, intending to grab a towel. However, to her surprise, instead of the row of white towels she expected, there was a strikingly pink bathrobe inside.
“What the heck?” Daphne frowned, pulling the bathrobe out and rummaging through the other cabinets. To her alarm, her toiletries, her hair serum–everything she had meticulously organized and used–were gune, replaced by unfamiliar items belonging to someone else.
Realizing something, she opened the bathrobe to examine it closely, and a ringing sensation echoed in her head as a burning anger flared up in her chest–this was Hannah’s bathrobe.
