Chapter 11
“Ms. Pruitt, I’ve got the birth certificate all set up for you. Minerva Pruitt, nicknamed Mina. Oh my, what a cute name for our little girl!”
Felicia had just asked the nurse to bring in a nanny, Emma Olsen.
Though puzzled about why the baby took Felicia’s surname, Emma didn’t say anything.
After all, Felicia was her boss. She had been there for a long while and still hadn’t seen Felicia’s husband. What a deadbeat!
Felicia smiled faintly, “Yeah. Mina, you must always be happy and warm.
“Don’t end up like me.
“Learn to love yourself before you love others.”
After six hours, Felicia asked Emma for a pillow and lay on her side, turning over every half hour.
Emma couldn’t help but ask, “Ms. Pruitt, did you have a C–section with your first baby too?”
“No.” Felicia shook her head. “I had a natural birth.”
Emma muttered, “You must have looked it up online, right? You don’t need to do that since you’ve got me. I’ve been doing this for over ten years. There’s not much I don’t know.”
Felicia smiled and didn’t say anything.
She glanced at her phone. As she had expected, Seymour hadn’t replied.
Chapter 11
Maybe he hadn’t seen her message, or maybe he just didn’t care.
She saw Edwina had posted something new on Instagram, with Mabel in the profile picture. She couldn’t resist tapping on it, and there was a group photo.
The caption read: “Another family photo! Congrats to my darling daughter on a successful concert! You’ll always be my pride!”
The words “family photo” hurt Felicia’s heart.
She wasn’t blood–related, so she wasn’t included in the family photo?
Mabel stood in the middle, surrounded by everyone, with gorgeous flowers all over the ground. Her face was glowing with a beautiful smile.
Before long, Yvonne shared a short video.
Felicia held her breath and clicked on it with a trembling hand.
The first thing she saw was her beloved son kissing Mabel’s cheek.
“Auntie Mabel, I love you the most!”
On the screen, Mabel smiled sweetly. “What about your mom? Between your mom and me, who do you love more?”
“You, of course! But you can’t tell Mom, okay? If she finds out, she’ll get sad and cry.”
Seymour kept his eyes down, not saying a word, with a loving smile in his eyes.
But Felicia already saw it.
She didn’t understand. Hadn’t she been good enough to Ambrose?
She quit her job and stayed home when she was pregnant with him.
It was rough, with severe morning sickness early on, and all sorts of health issues later.
She even had a bad bleed during childbirth, but thank goodness, both she and Ambrose made it through.
Ambrose was a sickly baby, super allergic to everything, and Felicia took care of him all by herself because she didn’t trust the nanny.
But now Ambrose said he loved Mabel the most!
How ridiculous! Felicia used to think that putting her heart and soul into the family would be enough, but now it seemed so silly!
“Ms. Pruitt, put the phone down. You just had a baby. Too much screen time is gonna hurt your eyes.”
Felicia turned off the screen and forced a bitter smile. “Okay.”
She decided to give up on those cold–hearted people.
In a month, she’d be done with them and their drama.
When the concert was over, Seymour thought about the call he got from
Felicia.
He wanted to call her back, but the reception at the venue was terrible.
“Dad, put the phone away! Let’s go celebrate with Auntie Mabel!” Ambrose urged, pouting.
Seymour didn’t move and called Felicia back instead. But the call was cut off after one ring.
That had never happened before.
In the past. Seymour always hung up on Felicia when he was busy. Why did Felicia hang up on him now?
Was she busy?
Mabel walked up and affectionately linked her arm with Seymour’s. “Sey. Roger booked a table at a nearby hotel. Can I catch a ride with you?”
Seymour’s face softened right away. “Sure thing.”
But he paused, still holding his phone. “Hold on a sec. I need to make a quick call. Felicia called me when the concert started, but the signal wast bad and I couldn’t hear her. She didn’t pick up when I called back just
now.”
Mabel froze. “Felicia? She’s home all by herself with her big belly. You should call her back right away.”
Seymour stepped aside and called the nanny at home.
Hearing what the nanny said, he frowned even harder. “What? Felicia hasn’t come home yet?”
He started to feel a bit worried.
It was already nine o’clock. Felicia usually took great care to protect herself and the baby. There was no way she wouldn’t be home by nine.
Seeing Seymour’s face cloud with concern, Mabel bit her lip and cautiously asked, “Sey, is Felicia upset with me? Is she mad that you all came to my concert instead of staying home with her?”
“Mom wouldn’t be that petty,” Ambrose interjected softly, having overheard.
Mabel’s heart skipped a beat, and she sighed, “Alas, even though Felicia didn’t say it, she has always been sensitive. She feels like I’ve taken the
Chapter 11
attention that was supposed to be hers.
“It’s my fault. I wish I had never come back to this family!”
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Yvonne frowned disapprovingly. “What are you talking about? Mabel, you were supposed to be Sey’s wife. Felicia took your place!”
“Enough, Mom. Let’s all keep it down,” Seymour, already annoyed, interrupted with a furrowed brow.
“You guys head to the hotel. I’ll go back and check on Felicia.”
“Dad, does that mean I have to go back too?”
Seymour thought for a moment. Felicia doted on their son, and bringing him along might help her cool down faster.
He had noticed her temper flaring up more and more as her pregnancy progressed.
“Ambi, get in the car and come back with me.”
Mabel couldn’t fake a smile anymore. Her fingers dug into her palm as she softly said, “Maybe we should all go back.”
As night came, Felicia could barely keep her eyes open.
Emma had put Minerva to sleep. Minerva was well–behaved. She never cried or fussed, and always had a smile on her face.
But the next moment, when a bunch of people rushed into the room, Felicia’s face turned cold right away.
Just now, Seymour got a call from the hospital director and found out that Felicia had given birth. The whole family skipped dinner and rushed to the hospital.
Mabel dashed over to Felicia first, tears streaming down her face. “Felicia, I’m so sorry we didn’t know you had the baby. It must be painful. Look how worn out you are.”
As she spoke, she pressed her hand on Felicia’s stomach, causing Felicia to let out a muffled groan.
Out of reflex, Felicia slapped her hand away with a crack.
The hospital was quiet, and it was evening, so the sound stood out.
Yvonne was the first to step in. “Felicia, what are you doing? Mabel was so worried when she heard you had the baby that she cried all the way here. Yeah, we were late, but it’s not like this is your first child. Why are you acting so wronged just because you had a second baby?”
Edwina, who had felt a bit guilty for missing the birth, also turned cold at Felicia’s attitude.
“Licia, we didn’t mean it. It was Mabel’s concert today. If you had given birth at any other time, we wouldn’t have been late!”
Felicia sneered and retorted, “So you’re saying it’s my fault for having the baby tonight?”
Everyone was stunned by her words.
Felicia, who was usually gentle, seemed sharp today.
Mabel’s tears started to flow. She covered her face and leaned on Edwina. “Mom, maybe Felicia didn’t mean it. She just had the baby and might be feeling bad. Don’t blame her.”
Ambrose trotted over to Mabel. “Auntic Mabel, I’ll blow on your hand. It won’t hurt anymore!”
Then he turned and glared at Felicia. “Mom, you’re wrong. Auntie
Mabel’s hand is all red from your slap!”
Felicia wanted to cry, but she had cried all her tears out.
“Ambi, do you know I hurt too?”
Ambrose froze. “Mom…”
Seeing Felicia’s sad face, he hesitated and looked towards his dad.
Seymour had been quiet since he walked into the room, but he finally spoke up slowly, “Where’s the baby?”
“Oh, right, where’s the baby?”
Minerva, who had just fallen asleep, suddenly started crying. It was then that everyone noticed Emma and the small crib with the baby beside
them.
Ambrose was drawn to the crying. He shook off Mabel’s hand and ran over. “Wow, it’s my sister! Baby girl, I’m your brother!”
Edwina also went over. “What a pretty girl!
“Licia, have you decided on a name for her?”
Felicia’s cold eyes flickered slightly. “Minerva.”
Seymour frowned. Why hadn’t she discussed the name with him?
“Minerva Lucero? It sounds nice. Mina, I’m your grandma,” Edwina cooed.
“No, it’s not Minerva Lucero. She has my last name. Her name is Minerva Pruitt!”
Everyone stared at Felicia in the bed in shock, like they had seen a ghost.
Had Felicia gone crazy?
