Chapter 98
On the second day of Levi's business trip, I met Nola for dinner.
We had a great time chatting. Without the guys around, we had endless topics to talk about. When she complained about John, I could see the love for him in her eyes.
I really envied their open and obvious affection for each other. Unlike Levi and me, we had boundaries, restraint, and somewhat of a partnership centered around the kids.
Nola told me not to hold back on expressing myself, but hadn't I already shown my feelings in the best way possible by marrying him with all my courage and passion?
I had a few more drinks. I suddenly realized my alcohol tolerance was slowly increasing - I wasn't getting drunk as easily as before. Nola said people don't get drunk when they're happy.
I called a designated driver. I'm never comfortable troubling others - like, we actually have a driver at home, but I just feel that would be too much hassle.
The driver handed me my keys and reminded me to keep them safe. It warmed my heart.
Maybe because I don't receive much kindness, so when someone is nice to me, I feel like the world is treating me gently.
Perhaps people who are easily satisfied are also easily disappointed.
As soon as I walked in, I heard Hayden crying.
"Mom, has Dad really abandoned us?"
My heart ached. I'd always felt Hayden's personality had become much more withdrawn - he was used to holding things in and not expressing himself. Yet seeing him cry so heartbrokenly made me feel sad too.
"Can you please stop crying? Will you listen to me seriously?" Cleo had lost her patience.
Hayden rubbed his eyes. "My classmates all say I'm a kid Dad doesn't want. They say you got divorced. Mom, you and Dad are fine, right? They're lying."
Cleo started crying, too. "Yes, I told you, your dad's just busy with work lately."
"Then why aren't we going home? Why do we keep staying at Uncle Levi's house? You're lying to me. Dad really doesn't want us anymore..."
"What's so great about him? He doesn't want you. He's heartless, he's ungrateful..."
I couldn't stand listening to her go on like this. It wasn't solving anything - it was only making Hayden's world fall apart even more. He was still young. He didn't want his dad to be a bad person.
"Hayden, want to come play with me for a bit?"
I walked over to him and touched his head.
But he dodged away and kept crying. "Mom, if you guys had a fight, can you forgive Dad? Please don't split up, okay?"
Cleo covered her head, not wanting to hear any of it.
"It's not about me forgiving him - he's the one who won't give us any chance. And I'm not the one who did something wrong."
They were both crying their eyes out. Faye and Celestia heard me come home and came to the living room.
"Blair, my sister's in trouble. It seems like the guy threw away the stuff she gave him," Faye whispered to me.
"Didn't she go back to get it?"
I remembered Cleo getting up really early that day.
"No, that day my sister actually went back to make up with him, but he was really mean to her and kicked her out."
I was so done with Cleo. I was speechless.
It was clearly her man's fault, so why was she being so humble and trying to make peace? The Morgan family could definitely support her. Michael had insulted her like that - why would she go back to him?
If Levi found out about this, he would be furious.
"Celestia, go invite Hayden to play with toys."
Right now, I didn't have a good solution. I could only comfort them one by one. With Levi not home, I was still a bit afraid of Cleo - I couldn't handle her unreasonable arrogance.
"Hayden, want to read picture books with me?"
Celestia walked over to Hayden and took his hand, but he shook it off. This was the first time I'd seen Hayden so temperamental - he looked a bit like Michael did that day.
"Mom, Hayden doesn't want to play."
Celestia looked a bit disappointed. She slowly walked over to me, not knowing what to do.
"Then the three of us can play. I have a really fun game that needs three people. You two come with me."
Faye took the two kids away, and Hayden was willing to go with them.
Suddenly, it was quiet, and Cleo stopped crying, too.
She casually played with her phone, as if her earlier breakdown was just an act.
How could someone switch emotions so quickly?
I'd been wanting to comfort her after seeing her go through such a big blow, but I couldn't find the right moment.
I took a jewelry box out of my bag and handed it to her.
"This is a new product from our company. It's for you."
Cleo glanced at it and said dismissively, "What good stuff could your company make?"
She opened it while talking, pouting like she wasn't impressed.
"This necklace is a really popular style lately. Just wear it for fun."
Actually, this was a sample that the factory had just made to show me. The quality was really high, and I was keeping it for my own collection.
She closed the box and casually tossed it on the coffee table.
"Cheap stuff. All these internet celebrity styles have no collection value." She drew out her words, full of disdain.
I thought after everything that had happened, her attitude toward me would have changed.
I thought that if I treated her like a friend, like family, I could at least get a little positive response.
But now my kindness was being thrown back in my face. I was accommodating her, putting up with her, letting her stay comfortably in my home, giving her things I thought were nice, but she still acted all high and mighty.
My warmth toward her was instantly extinguished by her arrogance.
I was speechless.
Just then, Indigo brought over some washed fruit.
"Mrs. Morgan, you're back. If you're hungry, I can cook something for you."
"I'm not hungry. I'm going to rest."
I didn't want to breathe the same air as Cleo anymore. Just seeing her made me feel so suffocated.
"Call me if you need anything."
Indigo smiled at me, then put the fruit plate on the coffee table.
I had just started to walk away when I heard Cleo complaining, "You didn't cut this fruit - how am I supposed to eat it? It's all whole pieces. Clearly, you don't want me to eat it."
"Ms. Morgan, that's my fault. I'll go cut it now."
Indigo picked up the plate and hurried back to the kitchen.
It's easy to invite trouble but hard to get rid of it. I really couldn't handle her anymore. I was treating her to good food and drink, but she always found fault with everything. She really didn't consider herself a guest at all.
She was Levi's sister, and she was going through a hard time now. I'd put up with how she treated me badly before, but my sincere efforts were having no effect. Why did she have to be so hurtful?
I walked back to my room feeling numb. The moment I closed the door, my nose stung, and tears fell.
Levi and I had been married for so long - was his family's recent change in attitude toward me all fake? Or was it that in Cleo's eyes, I would never be good enough for their family?
I sat down and saw Levi's pillow. I suddenly missed him so much...