Chapter 3

3: 3

3

That night I came downstairs and found Camille and Giles both in the living room.

Giles had oil on his fingers, working it into Camille's ankle.

She wore a shy little look on her face.

Giles, who had always been fastidious about cleanliness, showed no trace of distaste. If anything, there was something almost tender in his eyes.

"You know your foot's hurt, and you still wore heels all day. You must not want these feet anymore."

When she was little, Sadie and Cedric never got along.

To get even for her son, Camille pretended to bump into Sadie by accident, then ground her heel into Sadie's leg, scraping the child's tender skin raw and purple.

Sadie wouldn't stop crying and went to confront Camille about it.

Camille played dumb, then, as if driven past her limit, tumbled down the stairs and hurt her leg.

Giles had just gotten home and caught the whole scene, and he rushed Camille off to the hospital.

After that, Sadie and I fell completely out of his favor.

I couldn't even remember the last time he'd looked at me with eyes that soft.

Camille heard what Giles said and only pouted, playing spoiled.

"Heels are a grown woman's standard, you know."

Giles gave a helpless little laugh.

"Seth was a lucky man, marrying a woman as poised and sophisticated as you. The one in my house—"

He stopped there.

Because he'd spotted me walking past him, on my way to the fridge for some coconut juice.

Camille glanced my way and smiled faintly.

"Flats are wonderful too, though. Like a child, growing up under your care, doted on. Not like me, one woman dragging a child from place to place. I really do envy you, Quinnie."

The moment Giles saw me, he let go of Camille's foot.

His expression went a little stiff, and as he came toward me he tried hard to change the subject.

"It's late already. Drinking iced coconut water this time of night will give you a stomachache."

There were still drops of water at the corner of my mouth, and Giles reached out to wipe them away out of habit.

I stepped back.

"You just had your hands all over someone else's feet, and now you want to touch my face. You think that's appropriate?"

Giles looked slightly displeased.

"Camille is like a sister to you, and she got hurt here in our home. Are you really going to hold even that against her?"

I didn't want to deal with him and turned to leave.

That set Giles off completely.

"Quinn Harper, this is how you treat me?"

I was about to answer when footsteps came clattering down the stairs.

Sadie had my coat and my bag in her hands, and she threw them at my face.

"It wasn't even Daddy's fault. What gives you the right to get mad at Daddy!"

"Daddy works so hard to take care of us, and you don't have an ounce of consideration for him. We don't need you in this house! Get out of our home!"

When she finished, I wasn't the only one stunned.

The living room went silent. Even the housekeeper stared at Sadie, baffled by how completely she'd changed.

Children are sensitive to people's feelings. In my past life, Sadie sensed Giles and Camille's malice from the very start.

She recoiled from them.

Sadie wanted to cling to me every waking moment. If I was out of her sight for even a little while, she'd wail and throw a fit.

After Sadie threw those things at me, she went over to Camille's feet and used her small hands to rub Camille's ankle.

"Does it still hurt, Auntie? Sadie will kiss it better. Kiss it and it won't hurt anymore."

I watched all of this and said nothing for a long time.

Giles came back to himself, saw me starting to put on my coat, and reached out to hold me still.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I said, "Leaving your home."

Giles knit his brows, looking at me like a child throwing a tantrum.

"You're taking a kid's angry words to heart? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

I pushed Giles aside and walked on out.

"She didn't say it out of anger."

If that was what she wanted, then I would give it to her.

This life, I would be the good mother she wanted.