Side Chick Era... Over

Loving Mom 23

Tears streamed silently down Kelly’s cheeks, delicate and glistening like petals soaked in the rain. She looked fragile, heartbreakingly so.

Carter’s face was like ice. His cold, blade–sharp gaze landed on Sharon with cutting precision.

Kelly grabbed his arm in a panic. “Carter, it wasn’t Sharon’s fault. please don’t blame her. I just lost my balance…”

Theo rushed over, his voice full of worry. “Kelly, are you okay?”

Kelly forced a weak smile. “I’m fine…”

But before the words fully left her lips, she suddenly collapsed.

Without sparing Sharon another glance, Carter scooped Kelly into his arms and strode toward the car. Theo trailed after him, never once looking back.

Sharon stood frozen, watching the two of them walk away. Their retreating figures blurred slightly before her eyes. Her heart felt like it was trapped somewhere underneath an iced lake–cold, submerged, unreachable.

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, again and again, until her lungs steadied enough to move. Then, legs trembling, she turned and left.

Sharon had thought that since Xavier had paid her so much, his son Matty must be difficult to manage.

single day together, she realized Matty was

given, without fuss. Quiet, obedient,

after Sharon coaxed Matty to sleep and quietly closed the

up. On the other end, Wendy’s voice

what are you doing right now? Have you seen the

low. “I just

“You’re trending!”

blinked. “What do

it’s too much to explain. Just look at

little skeptical, opened her phone and scrolled to the

Even though she’d been married to Carter for five years, they’d barely appeared together in public. Aside from a few of Carter’s acquaintances, hardly anyone in their

she

she tapped into the top

It was her face.

the mysterious Mrs. Biggs–McKinzie’s

headline were several photos watermarked

unforgettable first love of his life–Kelly Walt, who