Thorns Grow After Betrayal (Celeste and Chester) novel Chapter 37

A scrap of white paper caught her eye on top of Celia's head.

Instinctively, she reached out to brush it away, but her daughter dodged like a bristling hedgehog.

"Don't you dare hit me!" Celia glared, frowning.

Miss Sinclair had once told a story about a wife—ignored for years by her husband—who started hurting their child in secret, making the child sick or injured, just to get her husband's attention.

Now, looking at her mother's erratic, half-crazed state, Celia could only think how much she resembled that madwoman in Miss Sinclair's tale.

Celestine wanted to say something, but the words froze on her lips. Meeting her children's wary eyes, she could only let out a cold, bitter chuckle.

They were afraid of her.

To be a mother, and end up here—she really had failed.

Celia and Raymond seemed poised for a fight, braced for the moment Celestine might lash out. They were ready to scream at the slightest move.

But instead, they watched in confusion as Celestine turned and walked away without a word.

The two children looked at each other in disbelief.

"She just left? That's so weird," Celia whispered.

Raymond's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Wait. Is she heading toward Miss Sinclair's room?"

Joanna had just been discharged from the hospital and had accepted a new photoshoot job, so she wasn't home at the moment.

She was still occupying Celestine's old bedroom, making herself right at home.

Celestine pushed open the door, and a cloud of heavy perfume made her wince. The cozy bedroom she remembered had been transformed—expensive new furniture everywhere, even the walls had been painted a glaring, glossy white.

The only familiar thing left was the family photo on the desk: all four of them together. But now, the woman's face in the frame was Joanna's.

Celestine reached for the photo album, when suddenly a small figure barreled into her, nearly knocking her over.

"Mom, how could you just barge into Miss Sinclair's room when she's not here and touch her things? That's so rude!" Raymond's voice rang out, righteous and accusing.

Celestine pressed a hand to her aching stomach, a chill spreading through her chest.

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