Mom, Don't Cry! Here comes a new Daddy! novel Chapter 135

<Chapter 120

Chapter 120

(Sabrina’s POV)

Kate leans back in her chair. “I see.”

“Do you? Because all I’ve seen you do since you got here is question, judge, test like you’re trying to find a reason to reject her. And I’m telling you now-there isn’t one. Not one that

matters.”

“Every reason matters when it comes to family.”

“Not this family. Not anymore.” Ethan’s jaw is set. “This family is changing. Expanding. Becoming something better. And if that makes you uncomfortable, we can have a different conversation. But Sabrina isn’t the problem here.”

The implication is clear.

Kate is.

Down the table, the cousin clears his throat. “Perhaps we should order dessert?”

The moment breaks.

Conversation resumes. Forced. Awkward. But moving.

I excuse myself to the bathroom before I start crying at the table.

The bathroom is as elegant as the rest of the restaurant. Marble counters. Gold fixtures. A lounge area with a velvet sofa.

I lock myself in a stall and press my palms against my eyes.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

This isn’t something to cry about.

For the first time, Ethan spoke up for me in front of his grandmother.

I should be happy, not crying.

But the tears come anyway.

Because no matter what Ethan said, no matter how hard he defended me, it doesn’t change

the fundamental truth.

His grandmother doesn’t accept me.

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I don’t fit in this family of his.

I’m wearing the wrong clothes. I don’t know the right people. I can’t keep up with their conversations about mergers and society politics and all the things they take for granted.

I’m an outsider.

And I always will be.

The bathroom door opens. Heels on marble.

I wipe my eyes quickly. Try to pull myself together.

“Sabrina?” Rosalie’s voice. Soft. Concerned. “Are you in here?”

I don’t answer.

“I saw you leave. I wanted to check on you.”

Slowly, I unlock the stall. Step out.

Rosalie is leaning against the counter, looking genuinely sympathetic.

“That was rough,” she says.

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. Kate was brutal.” She pulls a tissue from the dispenser and hands it to me. “She does this to everyone, you know. Tests them. Pushes them. Sees how they react under pressure.”

“Why?”

“Because she needs to know you won’t break. That you can handle the scrutiny that comes with being a Hale.” Rosalie pauses. “But between you and me? I think she was particularly hard on you tonight.”

“Because I’m not good enough.”

“Because she’s scared.”

I look up at her.

“Scared of what?”

“Of losing Ethan. Of him choosing you over the family. Of everything changing.” Rosalie’s voice is gentle. Kind. “Kate built this entire empire. This family. Everything. And now Ethan is bringing in someone new. Someone who doesn’t know the rules. Who doesn’t fit the mold.

Chapter 120

That terrifies her.”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“Keep trying. Keep showing up. Keep proving yourself.” She touches my shoulder. “Don’t take it personally. Kate doesn’t hate you. She’s just protecting what’s hers.”

The words should be comforting.

They’re not.

Because what Rosalie is really saying is: you’re the threat. You’re the outsider. You’re the one who has to change.

Not them.

Never them.

I fix my makeup in the mirror. Smooth down my dress. Try to look like someone who belongs in a place like this.

Rosalie watches me with those sympathetic eyes.

I don’t want to think bad of her. I really don’t. But I can’t help feeling she might not be as friendly and easy to get along with as I thought.

Sure, she said she made a mistake.

But what if she did it on purpose?

What if she told me the wrong dress code to embarrass me in front of everyone?

But I can’t figure out why she would do that. If she doesn’t like me, she can just say it straight-up to my face.

She’s a Hale, after all.

No one will blame her if she looks down on the single mother divorcee her brother wants to

marry.

“You know,” she says softly, “it’s okay to admit this is hard. That maybe you’re in over your head. There’s no shame in recognizing when something isn’t right for you.”

“This is right for me.”

“Is it? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re drowning.”

I meet her eyes in the mirror.

< Chapter 120

There’s something there. Something beneath the sympathy.

Something that looks almost like guilt?

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