Thorns Grow After Betrayal (Celeste and Chester) novel Chapter 4

With Mom gone, Miss Sinclair could finally move in!

No one would be hovering over them anymore, or pestering the doctor about how much exercise they were getting.-

Mom always made a fuss over nothing. She insisted they keep up with their monthly exercise goals and would watch them like a hawk every time she visited.

"It's just a shame," Raymond muttered, "Mom said she'd help us build that spaceship the last time she was here. That thing's impossible to put together."

He sounded glum at the memory.

There were thousands of tiny pieces, but once it was finished, it would be a magnificent spaceship. He'd planned to give it to Miss Sinclair as a birthday gift.

But the puzzle was a nightmare—hard on the eyes and exhausting. He'd been waiting for Mom to help him with it.

Celia looked just as unhappy. "Before Mom left, she was supposed to finish sewing my doll's clothes."

Whenever Mom came over, she'd make new outfits for Celia's dolls—Miss Sinclair always said her color choices were lovely.

But this time, Mom had left in such a hurry, and Celia's dolls were still missing their new dresses.

If Miss Sinclair couldn't see her handiwork, there'd be no compliments.

Mom wasn't as refined as Miss Sinclair, but she was good at these kinds of tedious chores.

…

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in Oceanview City.

Celestine returned to the apartment she and Chester had once shared as newlyweds.

After Chester moved back to Portside City with the kids, Celestine had stayed behind in Oceanview City.

It wasn't just work that kept her there; mostly, she was looking after Chester's parents.

Alistair, Chester's grandpa, had lived in Portside City for years, but the rest of the Fordham family had moved to Oceanview City a decade ago.

Life in Portside City was suffocating—old money and old rules, with every detail of their lives under scrutiny.

Chester's mother, Dahlia, never got along with Alistair, and she was far too used to luxury to consider moving back. In Oceanview City, everything was easier for her.

The Fordham family had never liked women who were too ambitious or in the public eye.

So, for Chester's sake, Celestine stayed behind, dutifully caring for his parents.

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