Chapter 110
“Nothing,” Anathea replied calmly.
“I don’t buy that,” Evangeline uttered. “If nothing’s going on, why would he throw such a huge order at you out of nowhere?”
Anathea didn’t respond. Honestly, she had no idea what Theo was thinking either. He’d given her a big order and handed her an insanely expensive bag. None of it made sense.
But she didn’t want to dwell on it. Once her divorce from Gregory was finalized, she and Theo wouldn’t have any reason to cross paths again.
“Nat?” Evangeline’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
“Hmm?” Anathea blinked and looked over. “What’s up?”
Evangeline glanced at the time. It was already 4:30 pm. “You’ve been looking pretty drained lately. Why don’t you just call it a day and head home early?”
“But-“Anathea started to protest, but Evangeline was already ushering her toward the door.
“I’ve got the rest covered. Go on. Oh, and say hi to your mom for me. I’ll visit her when I get the chance.”
Anathea could feel the genuine kindness in her words and gave her a warm smile. “Okay.”
Getting off work a bit early meant she could spend more time with Fiona.
After two weeks of treatment, Fiona was looking a lot better–much stronger and
more ready to handle tomorrow’s surgery.
“It’s going to be an eight–hour operation. You don’t need to sit outside the whole time. Just go about your day like normal,” Fiona uttered, gently cupping Anathea’s cheek.
“No.” Anathea shook her head and clung tightly to Fiona’s arm. “I’m staying until you get out safely.”
She was terrified of losing Fiona, but she didn’t show it because she didn’t want to worry her mother.
Of course, Fiona knew exactly what Anathea was feeling as she rubbed the latter’s shoulder softly. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. Once I’m better, I’ll make your favorite sweet–and–sour pork, alright?”
Anathea nodded firmly. “Alright!”
She stayed with Fiona for two hours. Originally, she’d planned to spend the night and be there until the surgery, but Fiona insisted she go home.
“Come on. Don’t be too stressed.” Fiona reassured her. “If you can spend a little more time with Xander. I know Eleanor’s been raising him all these years, but you’re still his mom. Don’t let the distance between you two grow any wider.”
Anathea could let go of the husband, but never the child. Fiona wanted her to understand that.
“Okay.” Anathea agreed, though her chest tightened a little.
She didn’t have the heart to tell Fiona just how distant she and Xander had already become.
He’d fallen for another woman and adored her like crazy. He even wanted that woman to be his mom. As for Anathea, maybe in Xander’s eyes, she was no different from all the other maids.
Maybe that was why he refused to acknowledge her–he thought she wasn’t good enough to be his mother,
Suddenly, Anathea felt relieved she hadn’t gone to his parent–teacher meeting. She didn’t want to see the disappointment on his face. That would’ve just made everything worse.
The sun was setting, casting brilliant orange and pink across the sky.
After saying goodbye to Fiona, Anathea headed to the underground parking lot to drive home, only to find that her car wouldn’t
start.
“That’s weird.” She got out to check but couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
Just as she was wondering what to do, she noticed a shadow.stretching across the floor, getting closer.
Anathea froze, and her heart dropped for a beat as she spun around
