Chapter 20
“The doctor said no sweets. Do you want your teeth to rot out?” Valerie snapped, full of irritation. Everything Luna did rubbed her the wrong way.
Luna’s hand was red from the slap. She kept her head down, staring at the soft–looking pie now lying by Valerie’s foot. Her stomach growled loud and clear.
The manager rushed over to explain, “Oh, I’m sorry. We just thought she was adorable and gave her a little treat. Didn’t know she had dental issues.”
Valerie quickly plastered on a smile. She reached out and gently patted Luna’s head–or so it seemed. In reality, her nails scraped across Luna’s scalp like a warning.
“She’s got a real sweet tooth,” Valerie said with a light laugh, turning to the manager. “You know, I’m the soft mom who spoiled her rotten. Now her teeth are paying for it.
“We only get one set of adult teeth, right? If they’re not taken care of, they’ll rot, and worse, they’ll look awful.”
“Yes, you are right.” The manager nodded repeatedly, apologizing over and
over.
Valerie said, “No real mother wants to see her kid suffer. I only get strict with her for her own goodness”
“Totally understand,” the manager echoed, still flustered.
Luna kept her head down the whole time. Her hands were clenched together tightly, and she tried hard not to cry. If she let the tears fall, she’d get hit again when they got home.
The manager hesitated to ask, “About the dress…”
Valerie faked an excuse and waved it off. “Not today. My bank froze the
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card because I made too many big purchases in a row. Just a temporary thing.”
The manager nodded politely and welcomed her to come again another day. She quietly returned the bagged dress to the rack.
Valerie looked at it longingly, thinking, ‘I should’ve just bought the dress first. Wearing that to the parent event at Luna’s school will definitely make me the center of attention.‘
*****
After finishing the lesson with Elise and Jessica, Audrey walked them to Calvin’s door.
When Calvin sent the tutoring fee on behalf of the girls’s parents, a notification popped up on Audrey’s phone–150,000 dollars just landed in her account.
Calvin raised his eyebrows, looking curious. “Whoa, you cash out a big investment or something?”
Audrey didn’t remember Clayton’s bank details, but the only person who owed her exactly 150,000 dollars was him.
Audrey thought, ‘Didn’t he just say he wouldn’t pay me nor sign the divorce papers? Why the sudden change? Did Valerie push him to cut ties
with me?‘
“It’s not from investments. Just someone paying off an old debt,” she said while showing her card number to Calvin. “To be honest, the girls are doing great. They probably don’t need tutoring anymore. I’ll just charge them half this time.”
Calvin paused for a second and chuckled. “I’ll tell their parents. They’re gearing up for a school competition. They probably just want to feel more confident.”
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“If it’s a real competition, they should probably work with someone more professional,” Audrey replied.
She liked the girls, but she was clear–eyed enough to know they didn’t need help from someone like her, who was unlicensed.
She didn’t know what Calvin’s deal was, or why he kept helping her–but whatever it was, she wasn’t interested.
After packing up, Audrey headed out to Ivan’s place. Just as she got on the bus, a message came in from Ivan.
Ivan told her that his father took him to the bowling alley with some friends. Audrey was told to swing by there and pick him up so they could go home together.
When Audrey arrived, Ivan had just finished a round.
Ivan saw her walking up and grinned, already guessing what she was about to say. “Work hard, play hard. I finished all the homework you gave me.”
“Wow, so confident, huh? Looks like you actually understood yesterday’s lesson.” Audrey smiled and pulled a chocolate bar from her pocket. Ivan peeled it open and took a bite.
Miguel was chatting with his buddies off to the side. He spotted Audrey and walked toward her.
Miguel noticed the changes in his son lately. Whether his grades improved or not was still a question, but the fact was Ivan finally started reading on
his own.
“Ms. Henderson, Ivan’s got a weak foundation. Thanks for putting in the effort,” Miguel said.
“It’s not a big deal. Ivan’s actually really smart,” Audrey replied with a gentle smile.
Miguel nodded. “Yeah, he is, but he never puts it where it counts.”
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Chapter 20
Ivan bit his lip and turned away, feeling a bit disappointed. His parents never saw the good in him.
He was the top scorer at bowling just now. One of Miguel’s business partners complimented him, but Miguel only said, “If you put half the effort into studying as you do in bowling, you’d be excellent. You gotta work harder, got it?”
Ivan complained inwardly, “Then why even bring me out to bowl? Just because I pissed off Mom and made her skip lunch?‘
Audrey noticed the shift in Ivan’s mood and tried to ease the tension. “You know, when parents take the time to notice the little things and give praise, that’s the best kind of support. Even a tiny bit of progress deserves a ‘well done“.”
Miguel didn’t respond directly. He just turned to Ivan and said, “Apologize to your mom when you get home.”
Ivan crushed the chocolate wrapper into the ashtray and stormed off.
Audrey followed after him. She turned left after walking out of the door. At the same time, Clayton walked in from the right corridor. He didn’t see Ivan but only caught a glimpse of Audrey’s back.
Jade spotted her too, and she asked, “Look, is that Audrey? Mr. Patel, she’s not following you, is she?”
Clayton’s expression was tight, his eyes unreadable. “Let’s go meet the client first.”
They stepped into the bowling alley and headed straight for Sean Fisher, who’d been chatting with Miguel.
“Mr. Fisher, I’m Clayton Patel from Blackthorn Legal. I’d like to get a clearer picture about the dual–contract issue you mentioned earlier,” Clayton said, offering a professional handshake.
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Sean stood and gave him a polite smile. “Apologies, but a friend
introduced me to another lawyer. If anything comes up later, I’ll reach out to you.”
Jade cut in, “Mr. Fisher, we had everything lined up. Why the sudden change?”
Just then, Miguel’s phone rang, and he stepped away to answer it.
Clayton’s eyes drifted to the ashtray, and he saw a chocolate wrapper sitting inside–it was the same brand Audrey bought before.
“Mr. Gomez has a full legal team ready to take this on. Thank you guys for coming,” Sean said in a polite tone.
Jade spoke up, “But—”
“Forget it,” Clayton cut her off and turned to Sean. “Mr. Fisher, if you ever need us in the future, contact us anytime.”
Jade followed Clayton out, frustrated. “We had this locked down, and he said we’d sign the contract today. Why did he suddenly back out now? Is it because of Audrey?”
Clayton didn’t say a word, but the look in his eyes was ice–cold.
In his mind, he was already putting the pieces together. ‘Audrey walked out of that bowling alley. Inside, there were only Mr. Fisher and Mr.
couldn’t come to bowl here.
chocolate was the same kind she planned to give someone else. she knows one of them? Because of Audrey, Mr. Fisher pulled the plug on our deal.‘
Jade’s eyes were red with anger. “Mr. Patel, you can’t keep letting Audrey get away with everything. When she bullied Vally, you let it slide. Fine, that’s your personal stuff.
“But now she’s messing with the firm. Are you really gonna stand there and
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watch everything we’ve built fall apart because of her?”
20
Clayton stood still for a long moment, and then, he muttered, “You should go back now.”
Jade stomped her foot and walked away.
Clayton took out his phone and called Audrey. “Let’s talk.”
“About the divorce?” she shot back.
He snapped, “Audrey, it’s time to stop the mess.”
Thinking he was referring to Riley, she sneered, “I don’t start fights, but I sure as hell won’t step back.”
“If you hadn’t hurt Vally first, none of this would’ve happened. Clearly, that time in Ashwood didn’t teach you a damn thing. If anything, you’ve gotten worse. Let me say this one last time–no matter what you pull, I’m not leaving Vally behind.”
His chest felt tight, like something was pressing down on it. His anger had no place to go.
fter a long pause, he added, “By the way, I’ve become Luna’s legal uardian. That’s what you owe Vally.”
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AD
