Side Chick Era... Over

Loving Mom 3

When Wendy saw Carter and Kelly, her brows drew together instinctively, and a flicker of deep disgust surfaced in her eyes.

Her voice was cold. “Shaluna is not for sale.”

Kelly’s brow twitched ever so slightly, her gaze quickly shifting to the woman standing beside Wendy—Sharon.

Compared to Kelly’s delicate charm, the kind you’d find in a dainty porcelain figure, Sharon had a quiet grace, a poised elegance. Her face was a perfect oval, her features soft yet defined. Her eyes, limpid and calm, seemed to hold a ripple of water. She looked just like a classical beauty walking straight out of an ancient painting.

The moment Kelly laid eyes on her, something flickered in her gaze.

She walked quickly toward Sharon and stopped in front of her, her expression tinged with a pleading softness.

“Sharon,” she said gently, “is this violin your friend’s? Could you ask your friend to lend it to me for a little while? Back then, Carter and I met because of the violin. I was practicing in the garden, and he was drawn to my music. That’s how he found me… and how we got together. He always loved hearing me play.

“Sharon, I don’t know how much time I have left. I don’t even know if I can still hold a successful concert. But no matter what, I want to try—just one more time.”

Whether intentional or not, Kelly lowered her head slightly, revealing the familiar necklace on her neck.

The overhead lights caught the pendant, scattering soft brilliance.

The gleam stabbed into Sharon’s eyes.

Her voice was emotionless. “People die every day in this world. So what—just because someone with a terminal illness appears in front of me, I’m supposed to accommodate them?”

Kelly had clearly never heard such words before. Her eyes reddened instantly, tears pooling, trembling on the edge.

Carter’s expression turned cold. “Sharon, it’s just a violin. Must you be so aggressive? If you like it that much, I’ll buy you another.”

Sharon looked at him. “Exactly. It’s just a violin. If she wants one, buy her another. Why does it have to be mine?”

Kelly pleaded softly beside them. “Sharon, what would it take for you to let me borrow it? Whatever conditions you have, just name them.”

Name her price? As if the bill wouldn’t end up on Carter’s desk in the end?

of things left behind by my mother. First

“I don’t quite

her feign innocence, Sharon

And that necklace around your

mother… Last night, Theo gave me a gift box with the necklace inside. I thought it was a gift from Carter, so I wore it. I

“Well, now that you do—can you give

her collarbone, bit her lip, and looked up at Carter, eyes

since Sharon is asking… why not just let her have the necklace? We shouldn’t

Let her have it?

return it—let her have

to begin with. As if Kelly were magnanimously granting her a favor, not returning what never

already believed that Sharon’s talk of divorce was just a ploy to threaten him. He hadn’t liked that. Now,

said. “Since I

“But…” Kelly started.

her off. “Once something’s given away,

trace of emotion stirred on Kelly’s

instinctively curled her fingers into a

if shaking something off, she

the violin? Sure. If Mr. Biggs begs me for it, I’ll

widened. She

to something

he said coldly,

do anything for you, Kelly. But now…

once believed Carter would

realized: the things he sacrificed were

Like her.

understood that, Sharon felt nothing anymore. Not disappointment. Not

manager, who’d been

mistaken,” she said, “the authorization for this violin expires today. Please remove it

manager glanced

As the owner, do I not even have the right to take