Chapter 350
Lucia’s voice softened, dropping almost to a whisper. “I did it for your own good.”
As long as she avoided Audrey’s eyes, she could still cling to her justification, her righteousness.
“You were still so young back then. Sure, you’d gotten into college, but in my eyes, you were still just a kid. There were all sorts of shady loans floating around on campus. What if someone had tricked you?
+23
“I messed up your credit score to protect you. That way, even if someone tried to scam you, they’d hit a wall. And let’s be real. What did you even need good credit for? You weren’t buying a house or investing in anything.
“I tried explaining, but you wouldn’t listen. You just kept calling over and over. At the time, I was learning about finance with the other ladies, and your calls were driving me crazy. That’s the only reason I blocked you.
“Come on, I’m your mother. Would I ever do anything to harm you?”
“Oh, so wrecking your kid’s credit is okay if you think it’s for her own good? Then I guess if she decided to ruin your reputation among the housewives, that would be fair too?”
Lucia spun around, startled. She hadn’t noticed Margot entering.
Margot had never liked her. And after overhearing that little speech, she looked downright disgusted.
“Margot,” Audrey greeted her with calm politeness.
“Some packages for you got delivered to my place. Stuff Lena ordered for you.” Margot lifted two large shopping bags, which Sylvie immediately stepped forward to take, setting them gently on a nearby cabinet.
Together, Audrey and Margot unpacked the bags. Inside were a variety of nutritional supplements, but most of the space was taken up by stretch mark cream. At least a dozen tubes of it.
Lena had met an actress on set who’d been pregnant with twins twice. She’d used that same cream religiously, and her stomach was completely free of stretch marks. Lena swore by it.
“She said if it works for you, she’ll send more.”
“Tell her thank you. And thank you, too,” Audrey said, sincerely.
“No need for thanks. This is the least we can do,” Margot replied with her signature poise.
She carried herself like someone used to being in charge. Years of experience and hard–earned grace lent weight to her every word and movement. Even next to someone like Yann, her presence never faded.
After giving instructions on how and when to use the cream, and checking in on Audrey’s health, Margot turned her attention fully to the mother–to–be.
Meanwhile, Lucia stood awkwardly to one side, utterly sidelined and ignored.
No one acknowledged her, so she tried to insert herself with a too–loud laugh.
“Wow, skincare really has come a long way. Back in my day, there was nothing like this. Some women’s bellies would stretch so much, they’d look like cracked watermelons!”
Margot didn’t even turn to look at her. “If you’re so nostalgic for the past,” she said coolly, “maybe you should go back to living like it. Might add a few years to your life.”
The words were delivered with an icy calm, but they cut deep. Lucia’s expression twisted in silent protest.
1/3
X73%8
Chapter 350
She bit her lip and turned to Audrey, hoping she’d say something to defend her.
But Audrey didn’t even glance her way. Instead, she picked up her phone, snapped a few photos of the cream, and forwarded them, along with the ingredient list, to Steven’s assistant.
Her company was on the brink of a product pivot, choosing between two directions–skin–brightening or scar–reducing. Now, with a promising sample in hand, she wanted to do her research.
That night, Audrey lay in bed, gently massaging the cream into her skin.
Her belly was stretched tight, probably to its limits, though no stretch marks had appeared yet. But she knew how quickly things would change in the final months. With this being her third pregnancy, the aftermath would likely be harder to recover from
Lena’s gift had come just in time, and it was exactly what she needed.
Maybe it was time to return the favor and give Lena’s love life a quiet push in the right direction.
Yann finished his work and came into the room, taking the cream from Audrey’s hand with a casual familiarity. He gave it a glance, recognized Lena’s thoughtful gesture, and smiled.
Then, without asking, he knelt down and began to apply the cream for Audrey.
“I’ve got hands, you know,” she muttered, one hand protectively covering her belly.
Her hand was small to begin with, and against the full curve of her stomach, it looked even smaller.
Yann squeezed the cream into his palm, took her hand in his, and rubbed their hands together gently to warm it. Then, with tender, practiced motions, he began to spread the cream over the taut skin of her belly.
A shiver passed through her and her muscles tightened involuntarily.
‘Jesus,’ she thought, ‘is he doing this on purpose?‘
His eyes were lowered, his lashes long and dark, fanning over his cheekbones. The way he moved, methodical and tender, made her feel like something more than cared for.
Audrey rested her head against her folded arm and watched him. In her mind, the blurred outline of their baby from the last scan floated up. Oddly enough, the child didn’t really resemble him, at least not yet.
“Quentin says they can hear sounds now,” Yann said suddenly, without looking up. “You should talk to them. It’s good for their development.
“In today’s update, the Federal Reserve is expected to conclude its two–day monetary policy meeting with an announcement that…”
Audrey yawned so wide it made her eyes water.
If this was prenatal education, it was also an excellent sleep aid.
Inside her belly, the babies were perfectly still as if even they had been lulled into boredom by fiscal policy.
Most babies in the womb got classical music or fairy tales. Hers were getting macroeconomics before they even had names.
Yann kept talking until he heard her breathing deepen. He looked up and found she was fast asleep.
He smiled. Then he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her belly.
Just as his lips touched her skin, something pushed back. A tiny foot, or maybe a fist, thudded against his mouth from the inside.
He froze for a beat, startled.
Chapter 350
Then the smile returned, wider now and more real.
The next day, Celeste invited Audrey to join her for a parenting class.
Lucia decided to come along.
“That nutritionist you recommended? Amazing. I haven’t had heartburn in days, and let’s just say the plumbing’s back on track,” Celeste said cheerful as they walked. “If the class gets boring, we can sneak out early.”
Audrey grinned. “Wait, would that be using up one of your private sessions, Mrs. Langford?”
“Oh, stop it. Don’t call me that,” Celeste replied with a little laugh. “Just Celeste. Please.”
Audrey nodded.
Celeste suited her, polished and graceful, with a name like a perfume ad.
“In that case, call me Audrey.”
“Done.”
Celeste had signed up for a top–tier, one–on–one parenting course.
She’d already cleared it with the instructor that Audrey would be tagging along, and the woman welcomed her with open arms. Potential clients were always worth the extra courtesy.
That day’s lesson was basic infant care, like how to hold a newborn, how to burp them, and how to clean them.
Audrey had been struggling with drowsiness lately.
She only woke up when the instructor announced, “That’s all for today.”
As they stepped out of the room, Celeste leaned over and whispered, “I nodded off, too. But Lucia? She was laser–focused. At one point she even got into a whole argument with the instructor.”
Audrey could picture it vividly. Lucia, clinging to old–school parenting advice from her own upbringing, locked in polite–but–pointed combat with modern childcare science. Trying to prove she knew better, as always.
Next door was the prenatal yoga room. Raised voices leaked into the hallway.
Audrey glanced through the glass and saw a middle–aged woman and a younger woman arguing heatedly with the instructor.
“That’s Sharon’s mom,” Celeste said under her breath.
-Apparently, Sharon had been begging to join Celeste for a session. Her mother and Irene had protested, saying it wasn’t safe, not this early in her
pregnancy.
Sharon had snapped back, “Celeste does it all the time. If it were dangerous, why would she still be going?”
Ever
