Chapter 12
That simple “Yeah” made her heart ache, and tears welled up in her
eyes.
Kellie wrapped her arms around Bianca’s neck, kissed her back, and then called out toward the kitchen, “Dad! Mom! Bianca’s back!”
At the sound of her voice, Elroy Watts and Lynette Watts walked out of the kitchen.
When Elroy saw Bianca, the joy in his eyes quickly disappeared, replaced by a neutral expression. Lynette, noticing his serious face, nudged him and smiled at Bianca. “It’s good to have you back. Dinner’s almost ready.”
Kellie stood in front of Lynette, hooking her arm around hers, and said, “Mom, Bianca loves roasted meat. Last time I wanted to eat it, you said we had to wait for Bianca to come back. Now that she’s here…”
Lynette pinched Kellie’s nose playfully and said with affection, “You little glutton. I’ll make it for you.”
Kellie happily bounced up and down, clapping her hands, her pigtails swinging with each jump.
But Elroy didn’t even spare Bianca a glance. With a cold expression, he scolded Kellie, “Don’t go chasing after someone who doesn’t care. Stop pushing so hard.”
Bianca had a wonderful family. Her parents, brother, and sister–in–law were all incredibly kind to her.
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But she had poured all her energy and love into the Avery family, even sacrificing everything for them without complaint.
Yet, the sacrifices she made hadn’t touched their hearts. Instead, they had hurt her own family.
To be honest, she didn’t feel like she deserved to return tonight.
But when she thought about it, the bond with her family was real, and that was something she couldn’t ignore.
Her stubborn, soft–hearted brother and father, her mother who cried for her every night, her gentle, understanding sister–in–law, and her sweet, lively niece…
Bianca realized that she needed to hold on to the things and people who brought warmth into her life.
The cold, unfeeling things? It was time to let them go.
At 1:30 PM that day, Blair was in a meeting with the senior management team at his company.
When his personal phone rang, he instinctively thought it was Bianca.. Just as he was about to hang up, he realized it was a call from East. Street Preschool’s main line.
Worried something had happened to Winnie, Blair quickly stopped the meeting and stepped outside to answer the call.
“Is this Winnie’s parent?”
“Yes, it is.”
“There’s a school–parent event at the kindergarten today. Why hasn’t Winnie’s parent shown up?”
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Chapter 12
The teacher’s question caught Blair off guard. He was surprised. “Wasn’t Winnie’s mother supposed to come?”
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“If she were coming, I wouldn’t have called you. An event like this may not seem like a big deal to adults, but it’s very important to the kids. Once the event starts and all the other parents show up, how do you think your daughter will feel if no one is there for her?”
The teacher’s tone carried a hint of frustration. Blair wasn’t an irresponsible parent. He had thought that Bianca had seen the message and would be there to accompany Winnie to the event.
But to his surprise, she hadn’t shown up at the kindergarten.
There was no time to contact Bianca now. Feeling helpless, Blair quickly made a decision. “I’ll be there right away.”
He ended the call and told his secretary to inform the executives that the meeting would be delayed.
By 4:30 PM, the school–parent event was over.
Winnie had been sulking the whole afternoon, clearly unhappy.
After school, Blair drove her home.
They sat together in the backseat, and Blair, concerned, asked, “Are you upset today?”
Winnie, her eyes red from holding back tears, replied, “What’s going on with Mom? She promised she’d come early, but all the other kids had their moms there. I only had Dad. If Diane wasn’t performing, I wouldn’t have let her come at all.”
