Chapter 41 What if She Heard?
He stood up and walked over to the doorbell screen.
“What is she doing here?” he muttered as he glanced at her face.
“It’s my mother,” he added, turning to face me.
“Huh… I will just wait in your room till she leaves,” I said immediately and grabbed my bag.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let her in,” he said, gesturing at me to drop my bag.
“No, I will just go,” I said and headed to his room.
“Why does she have to be here now?” I hissed and closed the door behind me.
For a while, I didn’t hear anything, so I just stood there, waiting for him to tell me his mother had left.
Then suddenly I heard their voices. I listened to his mother’s voice first.
“I’m here because of Cassandra.”
“Cassandra?” I repeated, leaning my ear on the door.
“Who is Cassandra?”
ALEX HART’S POV
My mother stood outside my door, staring at it and waiting for me to open the door.
When I opened it, she smiled and placed the handbag she was holding on her shoulder.
“Hello son,” she said, still smiling.
“What do you want?” I asked, blocking the doorway.
“Will you please let me in first?” she asked, the smile fading.
I didn’t say anything nor did I leave the way for her to enter.
“Alex…” she sighed.
“I’m still your mother and you can’t keep treating me like this,” she added.
I still kept quiet.
“I'm talking to you,” she said, her eyes narrowing.
“What do you want, Mom?” I asked, my brows furrowing.
“I need to talk to you and it’s urgent,” she muttered.
“It won’t take long,” she added.
I hesitated because I didn’t want her in my house.
“You can say whatever you want to say here, Mom. I need to head out in a few minutes,” I said.
“So… you would prefer watching your mother stand outside and talk than letting her sit comfortably inside?” she scoffed, looking at me as she clicked her tongue.
She definitely got me there. I looked away briefly, then I stepped aside for her to enter the living room.
“Five minutes,” I said.
“Fine,” she nodded and walked in.
She scanned the living room as if she was looking for something then slid down onto the chair.
I sighed, closed the door behind me, and walked over to join her.
“I’m listening,” I muttered, my voice low.
“Before that, I saw a car outside. Do you have a guest over?” she asked, her eyes scanning the living room again.
“Do you want to talk or not?” I replied, leaning in towards her.
“Okay… I’m here because of Cassandra,” she uttered.
The moment Cassandra’s name came out of her mouth, my heart raced.
Joan was in my room and I really hoped she didn’t hear that.
“What now? I told you I don’t want to hear anything about her,” I responded, my voice low.
“Alex, just listen… This is important and you have to listen to it,” she continued.
“I don’t care,” I muttered, my voice lower but firmer.
“You don’t even know what I want to say yet,” she countered, her brows pulled together.
“I don’t need to!” Solve your problems with her, Mom. Don’t you ever involve me,” I replied coldly.
She stared at me, clearly taken aback by my tone.
I didn’t care about anything. I just hoped desperately that Joan didn’t hear even a fraction of what my mother had said.
“You need to leave, Mom,” I said.
“Leave?” she repeated, her eyes widening.
“You are being unreasonable,” she added.
“Unreasonable?” I scoffed.
“You are the one who is being unreasonable, Mrs. Hart. Why do you want to talk to me about her? What business do I have with her?” I said and laughed dryly.
“At least hear what I want to say before…”
“You need to go, Mom,” I said, cutting her off.
She looked at me for a few seconds and sighed.
“Fine, I will leave,” she said and picked up her handbag.
I took the lead, walked toward the door, and opened it for her.
When she got to the doorway, she paused and looked at me as if she was expecting me to say something, but I didn’t.
Then she stepped out.
“Alex…” she said and turned back.
“Bye mom,” I cut in.
With that, I closed the door and leaned against it briefly. I ran my fingers through my hair and turned towards my room.
When I opened the door, Joan was standing by the window, her back turned to me.
“I’m sorry about that,” I said, closing the door behind me.
“Oh, it’s fine,” she replied, turning to face me.
I studied her face carefully as I walked closer to her trying to confirm if she heard something or not.
Her expression was calm and neutral, but I knew Joan. She was good at keeping things she didn’t want people to see.
“She left,” I said.
“Okay,” she replied with a nod.
Then she picked up her bag from the bed.
“I should get going,” she muttered.
“Huh… that’s soon,” I said, my brows slightly raised.
“I just got a call from Theo. He said he needs to go back to school urgently, so I have to get home,” she explained.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, concern clear on my face.
“Yes, he talked about their school asking them to submit some documents as soon as possible,” she said, almost quickly as she adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder.
Something about her felt distant, but I didn’t know how to ask if she heard what my mother said.
“What if she didn’t hear anything?” I thought to myself.
Then I didn’t press further.
“I will walk you out,” I said and she nodded.
We stepped out of the room together and walked towards the living room together.
“I will text you when I get home,” she said as we reached the door.
“Alright, get home safe,” I replied, a small smile tugging at my lips.
I watched her as she walked over to her car and drove away.
Then I closed the door, sluggishly moved towards the chair, and sank down into it.
I sighed and lowered my head, burying it in my palms.
“Wait… what if she heard?” I muttered, raising my head slowly.