Looking at Terence's serious expression, Natalie realized he wasn't a bad person. He cared about her and was trying to cheer her up.
"I know."
***
Back in her room, Natalie received a call from Hanley.
He hadn't called her once since the divorce.
Natalie answered the phone. The other end was silent, just like her.
Natalie spoke first.
"Hanley, is there something you need from Mommy?"
There was a two-second pause on the other end. "Mommy, it's my birthday soon. Can you come to my party?"
"Do you want me to come?"
Even though Natalie couldn't see Hanley, she could tell from his unsteady tone and slightly ragged breath that he wasn't calling of his own free will. Darren was probably forcing him.
Sure enough, on the other end of the line, Hanley looked up and met his father's angry gaze.
He immediately nodded vigorously. "Mommy, Hanley really wants you to come to my birthday party. A lot of my classmates will be there, and Patrick the academician is coming too. It's going to be a big party, but... but you prefer quiet, right, Mommy?"
Natalie gave a bitter smile. Even under duress, the child was still following his heart, trying not to have her there.
Since that was the case, she didn't want to go either.
She said in a deliberately loud voice, "You're right. I do prefer quiet. So I won't come to your party, but I wish you a very happy birthday."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Caught Him Cheating My Life Restarted (Natalie)