Chapter <b>69</b>
Valerie deftly cracked open the crab <b>w </b>and began extracting the meat, deciding against a formal thank you in the casual atmosphere
Aiden, his eyes wide with anticipation, didn’t realize the crab was intended for Matthew. His excitement turned to dismay as he watched Valerie ce the crab meat onto Matthew’s teContent from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.
Eyes welled up with tears, Aiden felt abandoned. “<b>Auntie </b>has a husband now, and she won’t spoil me anymore….
“Don’t cry. <b>Aiden</b>. <b>I’m </b>sorry.” <b>Valerie </b>soothed, a bit flustered. She turned to Matthew. “Matthew, could Aiden have this piece<b>! </b>I’ll get another one <b>ready </b>for <b>you</b>”
<b>Surprisingly</b>, the usually reasonable Matthew nced at the tearful Aiden and simply <b>said</b>, “No,” before <b>calmly </b><b>starting </b>to eat the <b>crab </b>meat. He had a firm policy of not <b>sharing </b>food from his te.
Valerie was taken aback, <b>having </b>never seen Matthew refuse a child like <b>that</b>.
She quickly tried to console Aiden, “Ill get <b>you </b>a bigger, tastier piece, okay?”
Aiden, reassured by Valerie’s promise, wiped his tears and nodded “<b>Okay</b>!
While <b>this </b>unfolded, <b>Ashley</b>, feeling left out of the <b>jovial </b>mood, grew restless. The sound of the doorbell caught her attention, sparking a yful look in her eyes. Tll see who it is
Julian, who was closer, started to get up, but Ashley stopped him. “Oh sweetheart, let’s let Valerie handle it. It might be her guest”
“Right, Julian. It’s probably the cake delivery. I’ll take care of it. Valerie interjected.
“A cake?” Aiden’s spirits lifted instantly at the mention of food
“I knew you’d perk up
cup at the mention of cake, you little boy, Valerie said with augh.
Valerieughed softly and yfully tapped Aiden’s nose before rising to answer the door.
“Thank you…” She had ordered the cake through a delivery app, and the payment <b>was </b>already handled. As <b>Valerie </b>reached for the <b>door</b>, a forceful hand suddenly shot in from the outside, gripping her wrist tightly and causing her to wince in pain. Shocked, she looked up and gasped. “Mom
Panic surged through her. She had never <b>given </b>Ruth her new address, But there was no time to dwell on that now Valerie’s <b>arm </b>throbbed under Ruth’s strong grip, her face twisted with anger, signaling trouble. Valerie tried to shut the door quickly, hoping to defuse the situation.
<b>But </b>Ruth was having none of it. Years away from farm work <b>hadn’t </b>lessened her strength; her regr workout kept her robust. She barged through. the door, <b>her </brge frame making it impossible to close. “You ungrateful girl! Trying to lock me out after all the years I’ve <b>raised </b>you! We agreed you’d send me 400 dors a month, and now three days have passed without a word from you. Are you ignoring me? I know where you work. Don’t force <b>me </b>to ask your boss for the money. Don’t forget who you are just because you think you’re independent now. If you lose <b>your </b>job over this, it’s on you!” Ruth yelled, her finger jabbing in the air as she raised her hand threateningly.
Julian sensed the tension as Ruth stormed in and moved to intervene. However, Matthew reacted faster. Just as Ruth’s hand <b>was </b><b>about </b>to strike Valerie, Matthew stepped in, firmly <b>catching </b>Ruth’s arm, shielding Valerie from harm.