Wife by Day, Boss by Night by Thalia Quillspeak

Chapter 41

Nate, gripping his fork awkwardly, seemed a bit embarrassed by his slip of the tongue. After a moment, he chuckled and crinkled his eyes in a mischievous attempt to charm his way out of the faux pas.

Natalie’s son had passed away inside her three years ago, a silent grief she carried with her. If the child were alive, he would be about Nate’s age now.

She remained silent for a while before giving Nate a smile and putting some scrambled eggs onto his plate as if to erase the earlier discomfort. She then sat down beside him to share the spaghetti he was twirling on his fork.

As Nate slurped up his spaghetti, he continued to watch the live show streaming on TV.

After a while, he frowned and said, “Nate doesn’t like it.” Natalie thought he was referring to her cooking, which was a tad too salty today.

“Nate doesn’t like Ms. Harris.” Just as she was about to pour him a glass of water, Nate pointed to the woman next to Brian on the TV and said with conviction, “I don’t like her.

That was Madelyn Harris, Brian’s childhood friend who was two years his junior. The Harris family and the Howard family were close, so it wasn’t strange that Nate knew Madelyn.

Natalie glanced at the TV and then back at Nate, asking, “Why don’t you like her?”

his head, chewing on his spaghetti thoughtfully. After a long pause, he replied with a flushed

loud gulp, he offered a generous

Mommy’s spaghetti was better than any chef’s

praise,

the channel to a cartoon network, munching on his

thoughtfully as he finished his meal and then helped him with a glass of water before going to wash the dishes.

the kitchen, she found Nate slumped on the couch,

bed when she heard

few days back, and the

she caught a glimpse of

Chapter 41

Nate, and

of silence, Natalie carried Nate to the bedroom, cleaned his face with a wet

his bulging backpack and found a couple of

of a premeditated runaway attempt.