The Queen's Back

Chapter 228

"Alright, I'm coming!" Mona said.

Seeing the fresh grapes and feeling the warmth of the sun, she suddenly craved their cool sweetness.

In the yard, a chair sat in the shade of a peach tree, where sunlight filtered softly through the leaves, casting dappled shadows. Under Danielle's guidance, Mona and Haley took their seats. "Here, try some. I grew these myself. Are they sweet?" Danielle asked, placing a bowl of washed grapes in front of them.

"Well, don't mind if I do!" Mona said, reaching for a grape.

"No need to be shy. Go on, eat! Haley, you too!" Danielle encouraged them warmly.

Her orchard was overflowing with fruit-she could never finish it all on her own, so she loved sharing the harvest with Mona and others.

Mona bit into a grape, savoring its juicy sweetness. It was so refreshing she couldn't stop herself from reaching for more

Haley, who wasn't big on fruits and veggies, hesitated at first but decided to give it a shot.

She popped one in and realized it wasn't bad-actually, it was pretty good. She even grabbed another one.

With Haley around, there was no awkward silence, just easy conversation and laughter. Danielle seemed so happy.

A few minutes later, Jesse and his juniors showed up. Before they even walked in, they could hear everyone laughing inside.

I wondered why it was so lively today. Mona must be here," Jesse said with a grin as he placed a freshly caught fish on the ground.

Come on over, grab some grapes!" Mona waved them

knew about Mona's mom, Emily Clem, who had been Danielle's favorite student. They had

the courtyard, chatting, laughing, and swapping stories-it was one of those perfect, easy-going

city noise, just the quiet charm that filled her

visitor showed up. Molly knocked on the door, stepping in

the second she saw Mona, laughing and surrounded by friends, her expression shifted. Her guilt quickly

on Danielle's lack of internet access out here. She had figured she could pose as Danielle's last disciple without getting caught-by the time Danielle found out it'd be years down the line. Molly thought she could just apologize then, and if Danielle forgave her, great; if not,

she hadn't accepted any new disciples in years, and now people online were calling Molly a fraud, insisting

Reed, Danielle's brother, hoping Danielle might still consider taking

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Chapter 228

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surged within her as she recalled Mona's refusal to accept her past apologies, leaving Molly resentful and cornered as she faced imprisonment. Now, she stood there, torn between

Molly and said a few

him out after Molly left, but he was used to that. Easy money was hard to turn

sure to put in a good word for me, okay? I'll pay you extra for the trouble," Molly

smile.

The look made him a little uneasy, but he quickly

a stool and placed it beside Danielle, gesturing for

at the chair with slight disdain before

her face dropped. She'd had enough of Molly's accusations and wasn't about to pretend otherwise. If Molly dared to accuse her of plagiarism again

only pretended to be your last disciple because I admire you

admiration and caution as she looked at Danielle, waiting