Chapter 11
But then he thought–how could Tracie really be distancing
herself from him?
It must just be her way of playing hard to get.
Would that actually work on him?
He couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. She really thought she was being clever.
“What’s going on, Grover? Did Tracie hang up on you again?”
Lesa asked anxiously, approaching him.
Grover didn’t answer.
Instead, he turned and walked toward the director’s office. He
couldn’t leave Oliver’s life entirely in Tracie’s hands. Moreover,
the fact that Tracie was using the child’s life to blackmail him
had crossed a line.
Nothing bothered him more than when someone used his
family to threaten him.
As she watched Grover head into the director’s office, Lesa’s
anxiety only grew.
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She angrily tapped her phone and dialed Tracie’s number once
more.
This time, Tracie had her phone turned off.
She really didn’t want to be bothered by the Stanton family.
As Mandy fed Rico, she looked over at Tracie. “Wow, Tracie,
you’ve really learned how to shut the Stanton family out, huh?
You’re doing it so smoothly, as if you’ve never even known that
jerk, Grover!”
Tracie shot Mandy an exasperated look. “Ms. Kaiser, can you
please stop with the foul language? You’re going to teach my
little baby bad habits.”
“Alright, alright!” Mandy turned away, suddenly making her
eyes wide and looking innocent. She turned to Rico. “Rico, little
handsome guy, will you forgive me for using bad words? And
promise you won’t copy me, okay?”
Rico nodded eagerly. “Yeah!”
“So well–behaved! Go play in the amusement area now.”‘
Like a bundle of energy, Rico dashed off toward the play area.
Once he was gone, Mandy adopted a more serious expression
and looked at Tracie. “Tracie, since you’ve made up your mind to
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divorce that jerk, Grover, have you told him that it was you who saved his life all those years ago?”
Tracie shook her head. “No, I haven’t told him.”
“Why not? You should tell him that you saved his life with your own body! Otherwise, he’d have died in that trap! And if you tell
him, you could probably get a nice chunk of money from him, right? You may be a bit of a fangirl, but you’re no fool!” Mandy
poked Tracie on the head as she scolded her.
Tell him?
Tracie had thought about it.
But every time she considered speaking up, she hesitated. What
if she told him, and he still hated her, still found her disgusting? Wouldn’t that just make her seem more pitiful and desperate?
When someone didn’t love you, there was no need for any
reason.
So, she decided to hold onto the last bit of her pride.
Tracie didn’t want to come off like a desperate fool, pleading
with Grover only to be crushed beneath him.
“I admit, I’m obsessed with him, but that’s got nothing to do with him!” Tracie said, grabbing a glass of fruit wine and drinking it in
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one go.
Tracie sighed in annoyance and said, “Don’t worry about going hungry! Even though I’ve left Grover, as long as you, my dear sister, and my dear grandmother- as long as you two stay out of
trouble, I’ll make sure your lives, along with Grandma’s and
Rico’s, won’t be bad. You’ll all be fine.”
Mandy suddenly choked up, tears filling her eyes. “Tracie, from
now on, I’ll work hard, stop getting into fights, and won’t be
anyone’s mouthpiece anymore. I’ll help you raise Rico and your
dear grandma…
She cried harder than Tracie, her sobs nearly drowning her
words.
And even as she swore to stop being a mouthpiece, she kept
insulting Grover.
When her phone rang, she answered without even looking at it,
immediately launching into a tirade. “Grover, fuck you! You’d
better find a cesspool to jump into and clean yourself up! Why
don’t you use your own blood to save your nephew? You selfish,
opportunistic bastard!”
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