Chapter 19 Reprieve
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Once Chase and Alan finished their conversation and Nancy had rested enough, the five of them finally gathered in the dining room for dinner.
Alan’s younger brother, Harry, still hadn’t come home.
At the long dining table, Chase and Nancy sat at the head.
Alan and Andy took seats closer to Chase’s end. Unlike before, Claudia didn’t sit next to Alan -instead, she took the seat closest to Nancy.
Everyone turned to look at her.
Before Nancy could say anything, Claudia placed a helping of her favorite dish into Nancy’s bowl and smiled. “I haven’t been around much lately. I want to spend more time with Mom.”
More than anything, she just didn’t want to sit next to Alan.
Nancy, however, was visibly pleased and didn’t press the issue.
Alan frowned slightly, but said nothing.
The meal looked warm and harmonious on the surface.
They’d already agreed to leave for the Taurine family banquet from the estate the next day, so the three of them–Alan, Claudia, and Andy–stayed the night.
At the estate, Claudia and Alan shared a bedroom. Andy slept in the room next door.
“Mom, I want a bath.”
Andy had spent some time in his room playing a game online with Summer, but eventually grew bored and went next door to look for Claudia.
He wasn’t as mad anymore about what she’d said last time about not liking Ms. Summer. If Mom didn’t like her, he could just avoid bringing her up. He could always hang out with Ms. Summer in secret. Plus, Mom hadn’t really reached out to him lately. She didn’t seem as warm as before, and it made him feel kind of awkward–but also like he missed her.
He had originally hoped Mom would come tuck him in like she used to, maybe help him bathe and read him a story. This time, he’d listen carefully–that way they’d make up.
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But after all that time, she still hadn’t come by.
So he came over himself.
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When Claudia saw him standing there looking awkward, she sighed quietly, closed her design book, and went to him.
No matter what happened with this marriage, she still had a duty to Andy as his mother.
Andy instantly lit up. To him, that meant they’d made up.
Claudia ran a warm bath, gently helped him wash up, brushed his teeth, and listened as Andy chatted away about all the funny things that had happened lately.
Oddly enough, not once did he mention Summer.
Maybe he’d learned something.
Once his bath was done, she helped him into a soft set of pajamas. At Andy’s request, Claudia sat on his bed and began to read him a story.
She had just started when a notification chimed on the tablet beside the bed.
Claudia glanced toward it instinctively. The screen was filled with messages marked from “Ms. Summer.” She calmly looked away and kept reading.
But Andy suddenly sat up, grabbed the tablet, and flipped it facedown.
He frowned and started shooing her away.
“Mom, maybe let’s skip the story tonight. You can read to me tomorrow instead.”
Claudia didn’t respond.
She simply stared at him for a few moments. When Andy shifted his gaze nervously and opened his mouth to rush her again, she quietly set the book down.
“Go to bed early. Don’t—”
She’d meant to say “Don’t stay up playing games,” but stopped herself.
That was exactly the sort of nagging Andy had hated in the past.
So she stayed quiet, turned, and left.
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Forget it. He won’t listen anyway.
Why bother
Andy watched his mother leave.
For some reason, his chest felt tight.
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But then he reminded himself–he’d behaved tonight. He took a bath, shared his stories, and even listened to a bit of her reading. He’d been good.
And Mom had been gentle and patient with him. That must mean they’d made up.
He’d just spend more time with her next time.
Feeling satisfied, Andy pulled the tablet close and happily started chatting with Ms. Summer again.
Back in the bedroom, Claudia found the room empty.
Alan still hadn’t returned.
She hadn’t come to the estate to play the role of loving wife for the Taurine family banquet the next day. She had far more important things to do.
Claudia reached into her bag and pulled out the signed divorce papers.
She hadn’t bothered retrieving the first set from the Moore estate–she simply reprinted a fresh copy and signed it again.
Since Alan wasn’t in the bedroom, he had to be in the study. She didn’t want to run into Chase or Nancy, so she slipped the papers between the pages of a design book and made her way toward the study.
She knocked.
Alan’s voice came from inside.
“What are you doing here? Get out.”
When he saw it was Claudia, his brows furrowed.
He had always hated her entering his workspace–but at this point, Claudia wasn’t about to
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Chapter 19 Reprieve
follow any of the rules he’d laid down during their marriage.
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She looked around first, making sure he was alone, then stepped forward and pulled out the divorce papers from the book.
She placed them calmly on his desk.
“Alan,” she said quietly, “let’s get divorced.”
The room went silent.
