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After going downstairs, she had just washed her feet when Maxine came down from upstairs.
Seeing Maxine, Katelyn quickly asked: “Maxine, did you calm her down?”
Hearing “Maxine“, Maxine’s face turned cold with displeasure. She then corrected Katelyn seriously: “Katelyn, I call you ‘sister‘ out of respect, but you calling me ‘sister‘–isn’t that disrespectful?
I’m Blair’s future mother–in–law. How can you address me like that?”
Hearing this, Katelyn didn’t know how to argue.
Given how well Blair treated Diane now, Maxine’s words were true enough.
Katelyn couldn’t be bothered to argue with Maxine, so she asked: “Alright, then what should I call you?”
Maxine thought carefully for a few seconds, then said: “From now on, call me Mrs. Xu.“.
Katelyn froze at the words. Though she found Maxine rather inappropriate, being a servant, she could only agree: “Well…”
Besides, since Blair clearly favored Maxine, Katelyn couldn’t afford to oppose her.
She was about to drop the matter when Winnie crossed her mind. Unable to suppress her concern, she questioned: “By the way, Mrs. Xu,
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how’s Winnie doing?”
Hearing the address “Mrs. Xu,” Maxine nodded with satisfaction before replying: “She’s just a child. A little coaxing does the trick.”
Katelyn sounded doubtful: “Hmph.‘
Come to think of it, Winnie had indeed been harder to soothe lately, yet Maxine managed it effortlessly.
Then again, Winnie adored Diane and Maxine.
With that thought, Katelyn bid Maxine goodnight.
Early the next morning, Bianca’s alarm had barely stopped ringing when her phone started buzzing.
She’d planned to snooze ten more minutes, but the call shattered her drowsiness.
Without checking the caller ID, she answered
Blair’s hoarse and weary voice came through: “Could you take Winnie to school today?”
The request jolted Bianca fully awake.
Knowing Blair should be with Diane right now, she instinctively resisted: “I’ve got teaching rounds today. No time to take Winnie.”
The rounds were real; her reluctance was equally genuine.
Blair pressed: “I can’t pick her up these two days. Could you watch her at Harmony Residence tonight?”
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Bianca let out a cold laugh: “By ‘no time,‘ do you mean overtime work? Or is Grandpa unwell and needs you?”
Blair didn’t mince words: “Diane’s hospitalized. Her condition’s unstable. I need to stay with her.”
“So you’re abandoning Winnie for her?” Bianca’s voice turned icy.
“I’m not abandoning Winnie,” Blair defended. “I’m just stretched too thin to manage both.”
Fury surged through Bianca: “Blair! The facts speak for themselves! What’s there left to explain? Isn’t Diane always your top priority?”
Blair seemed ready to argue, but Bianca cut him off: “Say whatever you want to Winnie. Don’t waste it on me. I won’t listen.”
She slammed the phone down.
That call soured Bianca’s entire day.
Though she claimed indifference toward Winnie, unease gnawed at her. Winnie was her flesh and blood, her own daughter.
With Blair and Diane both absent, who would care for Winnie?
The question haunted Bianca until evening.
Leaving work, she slid into her car and instinctively drove toward the kindergarten.
By arrival time, most children had already left.
Not spotting Winnie, Bianca approached the security guard: “Excuse me, has Winnie Avery been picked up?”
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The guard looked her up and down, wariness in his eyes.
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Bianca Watts wanted to say she was Winnie Avery’s mother, but the words caught in her throat.
Winnie had been in kindergarten so long, yet neither teachers nor security recognized Bianca.
Feeling dejected, Bianca turned to leave when Kellie’s homeroom teacher Ms. Fry spotted her. “Kellie’s aunt?”
Bianca smiled at Ms. Fry. “Yes.”
Ms. Fry approached. “Are you here for Kellie?”
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