Chapter 151

As I looked at Jared, my mood tanked. Sure, he had been acting better lately, but just thinking about all that shady stuff with Tracy made me sick. A sweet word from him just tasted like poison.

Jared frowned a little. “Weren’t we supposed to see the real estate agent? Why didn’t you pick up? Did you change your mind?”

“Of course not,” I blurted out. “Let’s do it next week. I’ll just pick the layout online.”

Seeing that I was finally taking him seriously, Jared smiled. “Alright.”

On the drive back, Jared grew noticeably quieter. I knew the pressure from work was weighing on him. He was always in a rush to hit it big.

However, that was his thing, not mine. It had nothing to do with me. In his previous life, he had earned a fortune, yet he spent so little on me. What he had spent on me didn’t even amount to a fifth of what he had freely handed to the Darwin family. Every ounce of his grind now was for Tracy and her family. I saw no reason to pity him.

By the time we returned to Hachester, night had already fallen. Summer was just around the corner, and Yvonne’s vacation was coming up.

When we got back, Jared said he missed Yvonne and asked if I wanted to have dinner at Sally’s house.

I was tired, so I said no. He went by himself.

A little after ten, Jared came back with Yvonne fast asleep in his arms. He put her in her room, then, noticing I still hadn’t shown up, knocked on my door.

I was lying back in the rocking chair by the floor-to-ceiling window, a face mask on. Jared said, his voice low, “Yvonne is home. Don’t you want to see her?”

“What’s the point?” I said flatly.

“Victoria, you don’t act like a mom.” Jared was clearly mad. He walked over, looking down at me. “Yvonne is under seven. How can you treat her like this? Who are you really angry at, her or me?”

I looked at him in silence. Jared had never lived through what I had, so he couldn’t possibly understand my grief. I understood that. The problem was, love couldn’t be faked.

Jared’s face tightened with disappointment, like a silent judgment. “Victoria, I let you do things your way, but you’re still a mom. Don’t forget that.” Jared might indulge me in other matters, but when it came to Yvonne, he never backed down.

Maybe it was the warmth of the family life I had once created that had drawn him in so deeply. Losing that just lit the fuse on his anger.

I stayed silent, unsure of what I could possibly say.

Jared turned away and paused at the door. “Yvonne doesn’t need you to be her mom. If you don’t want her, someone out there will take your place.”

My heart skipped a beat. I slowly sat up, feeling like things were starting to play out exactly like they had before.

This time, I was the one giving him and Yvonne, handing Tracy the chance she wanted. In my previous life, she had pushed me into a corner until I had no fight left, and just let them go and left.

Humiliation and fury surged within me. I said, “Sure. If you’ve got a better option, go for it.”