Chapter 11
When she was a full–time mom, taking care of Winnic, she would call him every day to ask if he was coming home for dinner. He didn’t often return home, and when he did, it was mostly to spend time with Winnie.
After the whole second–child plan came up, she’d occasionally check in to see if he was coming home, but he didn’t answer every call.
Sometimes he’d hang up, other times he’d let it ring until it stopped, but whenever he wanted to reach her, her contact information was always just a scroll away.
Now, as he flipped through his contacts, he realized her number wasn’t there.
After searching for what felt like forever, he finally found it, but the last contact was from three months ago.
Had it really been that long since their last communication?
Blair couldn’t even remember whether he’d answered the last call she
made to him.
Without thinking too much, he dialed her number, but a cold voice on the other end informed him that the number was temporarily unavailable.
This was something Blair had never experienced. He was taken aback but, still trying to remain patient, dialed again.
The same result.
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Chapter 11
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He tried calling four or five more times, but the calls never went through, so he finally gave up.
He considered making a video call on WhatsApp but, when he scrolled through his contacts, realized she wasn’t even on his friend list
anymore.
In the end, he could only send Bianca a text: [Winnie has a school- parent event tomorrow. She wants you to go with her. It’s at 2 PM, East Street Preschool.]
After the message was sent successfully, Blair drove off.
He thought to himself that Bianca must have been busy, which was why she hadn’t picked up his call. Once she saw the message, she would go and accompany Winnie to the event, as she always did.
With that thought, Blair felt a sense of relief.
*****
Meanwhile, in the countryside, it was 9 PM.
Bianca had finished her last shift at the town’s elementary school and clocked out for the day.
She lived in the teacher’s dormitory. After a long, tiring day, she washed up and went straight to bed.
Her phone was on silent and placed to the side. She didn’t bother checking it before falling asleep.
The next morning, she was woken by the sound of her phone.
Groggily, she reached for it, only to realize it wasn’t her alarm but a calendar reminder. Tomorrow was her father–in–law’s birthday.
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In past years, she would wake up early, head to the morning market, buy ingredients, and spend the day preparing a big feast for the family’s evening celebration.
But this year was different. She wasn’t going to be so naive anymore.
After turning off the reminder, Bianca went back to sleep for a little while longer.
It was Friday, and she would be off work at 2 PM.
In previous years, she’d only remembered her father–in–law’s birthday, forgetting that it was also her own father’s birthday on the same day.
But not this year. She had plans. She would head back tonight and cook a big dinner for her father and family tomorrow.
As for Blair’s text from last night, it had been buried under a pile of notifications, and she had completely forgotten about it.
By the time she arrived at the Watts family home, it was exactly 6 PM- dinnertime.
The whole family was gathered in the living room.
Her father, mother, brother, sister–in–law, and niece…
Just then, someone walked in, startling Kellie Watts, who was working on a puzzle.
But when she looked up, she saw it was her long–missed aunt Bianca.
Kellie quickly dropped the puzzle, ran over, and threw her arms around Bianca’s leg. “Bianca, you’re back!”
Bianca squatted down, pulled Kellie into a tight hug, kissed her cheek,
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Chapter 11
and said softly, “Yeah.”
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