Noelle turned and walked away.
Tessa was left standing there, flustered and awkward in the breeze.
Not even the sunlight zing high overhead could warm the chill creeping down her spine.
‘Xylia Schultz, Xylia… Tessa’s mind spun in disbelief. ‘So she’s actually from the Sadler family?‘
‘I can’t believe it… She really is one of the Sadlers!‘
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‘I remember hearing ages ago that the Sadler family lost a child–a girl. They searched everywhere for her, but she was never found!‘
“That missing kid… was a girl.’
‘And if I do the math, her age should match Xylia’s almost exactly.‘
‘Wait, does this mean Xylia Schultz is actually the Sadlers‘ long–lost daughter?‘ Tessa felt her heart skip a beat.
‘No! No way!‘ Tessa’s thoughts raced, panic rising in her chest. ‘This can’t be real!‘
‘I refuse to believe it.‘ she told herself stubbornly.
‘There’s no way that bitch Xylia could ever be one of them!‘ Tessa seethed internally.
Tessa stumbled back into the vi, feelingpletely out of it.
Connor wasn’t home, and instead Sonny was curled up on the couch, snacking and watching TV–but it was clear he wasn’t enjoying himself at all.
What a pity. Usually, Sonny’s delicate little face and sparkling eyes were full ofughter, but today, there wasn’t a trace of a smile in them.
When Sonny saw Tessa walk in, he nced up briefly but then quickly looked away.
Tessa red at Sonny, her anger bubbling up as she caught the uncanny resemnce between his features and Xylia’s. ‘Even your face pisses me off,‘ she fumed to herself.
Her anger red up, and she stormed over, snatching the snacks out of his hands and throwing them to the floor.
“Why are you stuffing your face? Everything you eat, wear, and y with is paid for by my husband. If you’ve got what it takes, why don’t you go call your precious mom toe and take you away?”
Sonny shrank back, startled by Tessa’s sudden meltdown. His fear was in as day.
He was just a kid, and already his eyes were misting over, tears threatening to spill out.
:.
Seeing Sonny all pitiful and teary only made Tessa’s rage re hotter.
A
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Tessa spat, “Why the hell are you crying? Just like your loser mom–totally useless! Completely worthless!”
Sick of the whole scene, Tessa started flinging every snack from the table straight at Sonny.
Sonny winced from the pain and burst into tears, sobbing loudly.
“You’re so mean!” he cried, voice shaking. “You’re not even married to my dad! You have no right to use his money–you’re the one who should get out of here!”
The housemaids, busy with their chores, heard the ruckus and rushed over to shield Sonny.
Someone quickly called Connor to let him know what was happening.
After the maids rushed over and restrained her, Tessa finally snapped out of it and realized what she’d just done.
Her face went ghostly pale as she looked at Sonny.
“Sonny, I… I’m sorry,” she stammered, her voice trembling. “Mom didn’t mean it, Mom just…”
“You’re not my mom!” Sonny yelled, choking up as he cried. “You’re just a bad woman! You don’t deserve to be my mom!”
His sobs only grew louder, his whole little body shaking.
There was a small scratch on his cheek from where the chip bag had hit him, and a thin line of blood had started <i>to </i>seep out.
“Sonny, let me take care of that scratch for you,” one of the maids offered softly.
When Tessa tried to help too, Sonny angrily snapped at her, “Stay away! I don’t need your help!”
Tessa held herself back and stepped aside, forcing herself to calm down.
It didn’t take long for Connor <i>to </i>get back home.
He spotted the fresh scratch on Sonny’s face, and his expression immediately turned dark.
As soon as Sonny saw Connor, he rushed over and hugged his dad’s leg tight.
“Dad, Ms. Schultz tried to hit me!” Sonny sobbed, voice shaky. “She yelled at me and said awful things about Mom! Please, make her leave! Don’t marry her. I don’t want her to be my mom anymore!”
Hearing that, Tessa’s fists tightened with rage. She was itching to drag Sonny over and give him a real beating.
‘I knew it–he’s just someone else’s brat. No matter how much you try, he’ll never be grateful. Total ungrateful little wolf!‘ Tessa fumed inwardly.
Connor crouched down and scooped Sonny up into his arms, his face darkening even more when he saw the
scratch.
Then he turned to re at Tessa, his gaze icy.
:
Tessa’s heart skipped a beat and she stood rooted to the spot, fear gripping her.
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She’d finallynded the lead in Mr. Schumer’s new show, but thanks to all the recent drama and bad press, she got booted not just from the lead role–the production team didn’t even want her in the cast anymore.
She’d nned to use that one chance to break into the spotlight, but before she could even taste fame, everything went up in smoke.
Now, Connor was all she had left. She had to cling onto him for dear life.
“Connor, I… it really wasn’t on purpose,” Tessa pleaded, trying to sound pitiful. “Sonny was acting up again. As soon as I walked in, he started shouting at me, and I–well, the snacks just slipped out of my hand. I didn’t mean for them to hit him.”
Sonny was Connor’s only kid. Tessa knew she absolutely couldn’t afford to be on his bad side now.
Sonny’s face flushed with rage as he listened to Tessa’s excuses.
“Liar! I didn’t even talk to you! You barged in, called my mom a loser, told me to go find her, said I don’t even deserve Dad’s money–you’re nothing but a wicked woman!”
“No, Connor, don’t listen to him,” Tessa said quickly, trying to sound collected. “He’s just a kid–you know how children make stuff up.”
But the maids couldn’t stand to see Sonny med for nothing and came forward to defend him.
“Mr. Ford, we saw it ourselves,” one of the maids said, clearly. “Ms. Schultz came in while Sonny was just watching TV–she was the one yelling from the start.”
Tessa’s eyes narrowed in irritation as soon as she heard the maids speak up for Sonny.
She spun around and fixed them with a deadly re.
“Do you believe I won’t fire every single one of you on the spot?” she snapped.
“Tessa.” Connor’s voice was cold and clipped, every sybleced with menace.
Just hearing him call her name made Tessa’s heart drop. “That’s it. I’m screwed,‘ she thought, dread flooding
her mind.
His gaze was frigid, eyes devoid of any warmth–so cold it was almost scary.
“Sonny is my son,” Connor continued, voice like steel. “Just where do you think you can send him?”
Tessa trembled uncontrobly under Connor’s icy stare, fear gripping every nerve in her body.
“Connor, I… <b>I </b>swear I wasn’t trying to send Sonny away,” she pleaded, desperate and barely able to get the
13:02 Mon, Sep <b>22 </b>
words out. “I just… I just…”
:.
She was at a total loss for words; nothing she could say would justify her actions.
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‘Connor’s all I’ve got. If I lose him now, I’ve got nothing left, she thought, panic gnawing at her heart.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stepped up to Connor, reaching for his hand with trembling fingers- only for Connor to turn aside coldly, dodging her touch without hesitation.
Tessa looked visibly shaken, her face crumpling in lost fear and despair.
“Connor, I was just… in a terrible mood,” she pleaded, voice cracking. “I know I was wrong, I really messed up. Honest, I’m sorry.”
She nced over at Sonny, forcing a weak smile. “Sonny, it was all my fault. I shouldn’t have dragged my own mess home. No–forget that, I am your mother now. Can you give me another chance? I swear I’ll love you properly from now on, okay?”
Sonny shot her a look full of pure disgust, wrapped his arms tight around Connor’s neck, and turned his head away–like he couldn’t stand to even nce at her.
He made it painfully clear–she was nothing to him now, and he never wanted to deal with her again.
Tessa’s face went ghostly pale, feeling as though her whole world hade crashing down at once.
After checking Sonny’s scratch and making sure it wasn’t serious, Connor finally signaled for the maids to bring him upstairs to rest.
“No! Dad, don’t talk to her–don’t marry her! If she bes my mom, she’ll hurt me for sure!” Sonny sobbed, wrapping his arms tight around Connor’s leg.
Connor reached out and gently ruffled Sonny’s hair.
“Be good. Go upstairs and rest.”
Sonny was his only kid, after all. Whenever Sonny griped about Tessa before, Connor just figured he was being dramatic–chalked it up to childishints.
But now that Sonny was actually hurt, there was no way Connor could just stand by and let it happen. No way he’d let his son get messed with like that.
Once the maids had taken Sonny away, Connor finally turned his attention back to Tessa.
“So you were just pretending to care about Sonny all this time. Was it all just an act?” Connor said, his voice icy and full of disappointment.
Tessa was stunned, totally thrown off. She rushed forward and grabbed Connor’s hand, blurting out her <b>excuses </b>in a panic.
“No, I swear, it’s not like that!” she pleaded anxiously. “Sonny’s so adorable, of course I care about him–I mean, how could I not? I was just really out of sorts today, that’s all, I…
Connor pulled his hand free from her grip, his expression growing even colder.
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“Now I finally get it,” he snapped, voice icy. “All this time, you’ve been putting on an act, ying me and Sonny for fools. This is the real you, isn’t it?”
Tessa felt a cold emptiness spread through her–her heart turned to ice.
Connor’s voice was icy and resolute, his tone leaving no room for doubt–he was cutting her off, once and for
all.
Her jaw clenched as she made up her mind–no more holding back.
“Don’t pretend with me, Connor,” she spat, voice raw and furious. “You’re just looking for a chance to dump me, aren’t you? So you cantch onto Xylia and ride the Sadler family’s coattails to power!”
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