Chapter 36
At five-thirty in the morning, the kitchen light was the first to illuminate the house.
Caroline stood by the steamer wearing an apron, her fingertips pinching the pastry dough, the warmth from her fingers causing slight wrinkles in the surface.
This was Layla and Logan's favorite pie crust. Nina used to make it, but since resolving to divorce, Caroline had wanted to prepare more things by hand for the children herself.
After brushing the crust with egg wash and placing it in the oven, Caroline turned to heat some milk. As glass clinked softly against glass, she heard light footsteps on the stairs.
"Good morning, Mommy!" Logan burst into the kitchen wearing dinosaur pajamas, his nose brushing against the edge of her clothes. "It smells so good!"
"Mommy, where were you yesterday?" Layla asked, rubbing her eyes. "I didn't see you when I came home." She asked cautiously, afraid her mother might be upset about the Heidi situation.
"I just went to meet a friend," Caroline replied casually, her gaze catching on the butterfly clip in Layla's hair. The accessory was visibly expensive. Caroline had always taught the children to be frugal, and it was obvious that Heidi had bought the clip.
As breakfast was laid on the table, Irene descended from the second floor in her high heels.
"I heard you went to the art exhibition yesterday? How was it?" Irene pulled out a chair and sat down, the metal scraping unpleasantly.
"I heard you went with Heidi? Or did she specially invite you? Even though you're both in medicine, you're not the same. She's been studying oil painting since childhood. You don't understand any of it—why did you tag along?"
Ever since her mother remarried into the White family, Caroline had been forced into comparisons with Heidi.
In university, despite Caroline's excellent grades, the top awards that should have been hers went to Heidi instead. Even now, she couldn't escape being measured against Heidi.
"I think Mommy was really enjoying herself yesterday," Logan commented while biting into his chicken pot pie. "She stood in front of the paintings for a long time."
"What do you children know? She probably didn't understand anything and was just pretending to be deep." Irene glanced at him dismissively before turning back to Caroline.
"I'm not criticizing, but if you don't understand art, don't force it. You'll only appear cheap. Since you've agreed to join the company, put your mind to that instead. You'd be better off studying financial reports than wasting time at exhibitions and embarrassing Arthur at work."
Caroline pushed the milk toward the children, the glass making a soft sound against the table.
"Irene, I don't appreciate that comment," she said, looking up with kitchen moisture still clinging to her eyelashes.
"Precisely because I don't understand, I need to learn. That's better than clinging to old ideas and mocking others."
Irene's face instantly flushed red, as if she'd been slapped.
She hadn't expected the usually docile Caroline to contradict her publicly, especially in front of the children. Layla was staring at her with wide eyes, a gaze reminiscent of Arthur's when he scrutinized his subordinates. Irene suddenly felt humiliated.
"I... I won't bother arguing with you." Irene grabbed her bag and stormed out, her high heels clicking loudly against the floor, as if venting her anger.
The car ride to school was unusually quiet.
Caroline glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror. Logan was scrolling through social media on his phone, his finger moving rapidly across the screen. Suddenly, he let out a small cry.
"Mommy! You posted a Status update yesterday?" His voice rose sharply, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Why did you post a photo with Rena?"
Layla leaned over to look. On the screen, Caroline was smiling warmly with Rena beside her in a pink dance outfit, the girl's small arm draped affectionately over Caroline's shoulder—the intimacy strikingly obvious.
Layla's fingers tightened on her backpack strap, her nails digging into her palm. "Mommy, it's been so long since you posted any photos with us on your Status."
Caroline's hands tightened on the steering wheel. When the red light came on, she turned to look at the children.
The morning light streaming through the window illuminated their faces, clearly revealing Logan's anger and Layla's hurt—like two carefully nurtured seedlings that had somehow grown crooked.
"I would like to post photos with you too, but we haven't taken any together for a long time," Caroline replied, her tone carrying a hint of her own hurt.
"But that doesn't mean you should post with someone else!" Logan shouted, forcefully expressing his dissatisfaction. If people saw his mother taking photos with Rena, they might think she didn't like him.
"What about your Status updates?" Her voice was soft but carried an undeniable firmness. "How long has it been since either of you posted a photo with me?"
Logan's face fell immediately. Just last week, he had posted a picture of himself with Heidi at an amusement park with the caption "Love Ms. White the most."
Layla pressed her lips together silently. Her most recent Status update was a video of Heidi braiding her hair, which had received more likes than any of her other posts.
"But that's Ms. White," Logan protested quietly. "She's really nice to us."
"So I can't be nice to others?" Caroline's gaze swept over them. "Rena is your classmate. Is it strange for me to take a photo with her?"
"She stole my position as arts committee member!" Layla suddenly raised her voice.
"I was supposed to perform at the Children's Day event!" Tears welled in her eyes. "And you still take photos with her. Do you think I'm useless?"
Caroline's heart felt like it had been pricked by a needle.
"I have never thought you were useless," she softened her tone. "But you can't dislike a classmate for that reason. My Status is my space, and I have the freedom to post what I want, just as you have the freedom to post what you want."
The light turned green, and the car slowly moved forward.
In the rearview mirror, both children had their heads lowered. Logan stuffed his phone back into his backpack with a muffled thud.
Looking at the traffic ahead, Caroline suddenly felt the road was exceptionally long—just like her relationship with these two children. Though connected by blood, they were separated by invisible barriers.
As they approached the school gates, Layla suddenly asked, "Mommy, can you pick me up this afternoon?"
Caroline paused, momentarily speechless.
Logan tugged at her sleeve. "If not today, how about tomorrow?"
Caroline looked at their expectant expressions, feeling something catch in her chest. "I'll try to pick you up today. If I can't make it, I'll send Nina."
Sitting in the car, watching their retreating figures—one bouncing energetically, the other looking back repeatedly—Caroline remained motionless for a long time.