Side Chick Era... Over

Loving Mom 4

Theo curled his lip. “My lactose intolerance is much better now. The doctor said it’s fine if I eat a little now and then. But Mom always wants to control me—make me do what she says.”

That word—control—coming from a five-year-old’s mouth, felt too heavy, too strange.

Carter was just about to respond when his phone rang.

He answered, and Kelly’s voice came through from the other end.

“Carter, are you home now?”

“Yes.”

“Sharon hasn’t come back yet, has she?”

He paused for a moment. “Why?”

“I think I just saw her…” Kelly’s voice hesitated. “She was having dinner with a young man. They seemed… close.”

She fell silent for a beat, then carefully asked, “Is it because of what happened earlier today? Did something upset her again? Carter, maybe you should explain things to her properly.”

A chill slipped into Carter’s eyes.

Sharon didn’t come home to cook—because she was out on a date?

His voice turned colder without him realizing it. “Where is she?”

Kelly gave him an address.

“I got it,” he said, and hung up.

…

In the restaurant, John Westin looked at Sharon steadily.

“Have you really made up your mind?”

She nodded. “Shaluna was something my mother custom made just for me… and I gave it up for my family, for five whole years.”

Her voice trailed off as she let out a quiet sigh. A hint of wistfulness flickered across her face.

was low. “If you return, you’ll have to perform regularly. It’ll be exhausting. You won’t have much time left—for your husband, for

flashed in her eyes. “Besides, he

John

the mention of Carter, her

don’t need his permission. This is

a long moment. “But he won’t allow

need

she recalled how she’d once distanced herself from John—just

she murmured, “I’m

I promised your mother I’d protect you. But

was her senior. The two had studied violin together under her mother since childhood.

had propelled him beyond the classical music world, turning him into a heartthrob

compare to someone like Carter, a man with

your fault,” Sharon

didn’t get to

soft voice cut in from behind. “Sharon, what

see Kelly, dressed in a pristine

she disliked—twice in one day—what rotten

turned cold. “What’s it

I just found it strange—Carter rarely goes home, and yet you’re

was light, face gentle—an image of

Sharon suddenly seemed

Sharon could hear the taunt beneath Kelly’s gentle

flicker of smugness in

it because his time is all taken up by

face. She grabbed Sharon’s

didn’t mean it like

pretending, then you really don’t know your place. And

let out a shriek and stumbled

could even react, a tall figure caught her just in

“Kelly, are you okay?”

saw who it was,

didn’t mean to. Please

flicked, finally locking on Sharon

brows drew together,

“Sharon, apologize to Kelly.”