Chapter 224
Carmel said nothing.
Chapter 224
That night, Selene cooked a full dinner. Carmel’s heart swelled the instant she saw the spread-every dish was something she used to love. Her eyes stung with sudden heat.
She sat beside Selene, savoring the pot roast, nearly ready to devour her own tongue along with it.
Carmel ate like she hadn’t seen food in days, shoveling forkfuls into her mouth. When she noticed Daph gawking at her, she flushed red with embarrassment.
“Sorry, Daph.”
Daph just shook her head. “So it wasn’t just me-Mom’s cooking is amazing! Carrie, you really should eat more!”
Back at the Vaughn house, the old matriarch had put Selene in charge of every meal for Harrison and the kids. Every time Selene cooked, Harrison and Dames would nitpick over every detail.
Dames only ever ate food Selene made, but he always had to act reluctant about it. He’d say he was just being polite, that he was eating her food out of courtesy.
“Dames, if you really don’t want to eat, then don’t,” Daph had once told him.
“I’m only eating to be nice to her!” he’d reply.
Daph knew he got it from their grandmother. As the future heir to the Vaughn family, Dames wasn’t allowed to let anyone know what he actually liked. He was expected to push Selene, to keep her striving to become the perfect society wife.
But a heart that’s been wounded doesn’t heal easily. Even if you pull out
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the thorn, the scar remains.
No matter Selene’s shortcomings, Daph couldn’t bear to see their mother hurt. And besides, in Daph’s eyes, getting to eat her mom’s cooking every day was pure happiness.
Selene watched Carmel eat with such relish, her heart filled with quiet pride. Her home cooking really was delicious-but seven years in the Vaughn household had chipped away at her confidence.
Carmel finished her first plate and immediately went back for seconds.
By the end of the meal, every bit of Selene’s four dishes and a hearty
soup was gone.
After dinner, Carmel and Daph teamed up to wash the dishes. Daph even took Carmel downstairs to toss the kitchen scraps.
Meanwhile, Selene poured three glasses of warm water and brought them out from the kitchen. Carmel rummaged in her suitcase and pulled out a stack of papers, setting them on the coffee table.
“Selene, would you take a look at these? If everything looks right, I just need your signature.”
Selene picked up the top document and skimmed a few lines, frowning in puzzlement. “Is this a transfer of shares agreement?”
Carmel nodded. “Everything I have now comes from you. These things were yours to begin with. I want to give them back.”
Selene’s voice was gentle. “Are you trying to cut ties with me?”
Panic flashed across Carmel’s face as she shook her head emphatically.
“No, never! Selene, I just want you to have the very best.”
Selene set the papers down and opened her arms wide.
“Carrie, you are the very best in my world.”
Carmel’s eyes went bright red as she threw herself into Selene’s embrace, hugging her tight.
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Selene was softer now than she’d been five years ago, her body fuller, her clothes faintly scented with laundry detergent. But beneath that, Carmel
could still find the scent that meant home.
“I’m just an ordinary person. You’re the one who pulled me out of the darkness,” Carmel said, her voice breaking, thick with tears.
Her childhood had felt like a disaster from the start. On her own, she never could have escaped.
