Mom, Don't Cry! Here comes a new Daddy! novel Chapter 145

Chapter 129-

Chapter 129

(Sabrina’s POV)

Twenty thousand square feet. For one woman.

We pass through rooms I don’t have names for. Libraries. Music rooms. A conservatory with glass walls and plants everywhere.

Everything is pristine and screams is expensive. I don’t belong here.

“Where’s the bathroom?” I ask.

“Down that hall. Second door on the right.”

I leave Jake with Rosalie. Walk down the indicated hallway and find the bathroom. It’s bigger than my bedroom. Marble everything. Gold fixtures. A chandelier over the toilet.

I use it. Wash my hands. Stare at myself in the mirror.

I look out of place even in the bathroom.

The emerald dress Sophia loaned me for the gala looked elegant there. Here it looks cheap. My makeup is fine. My hair is fine. Everything is fine.

And none of it is enough.

I take a breath. Another. Try to center myself, before leaving the restroom.

The hallway is quiet. Rosalie and Jake are nowhere in sight.

I walk aimlessly, lost, not sure where I’m headed. This place is so huge, I can’t even remember which direction we came from.

Sunlight streams in from outside, where an open garden blooms with flowers of various kind I’ve never seen before.

The window is cracked open. Below it, somewhere outside, people are talking.

I go to the window to take in a breath of fresh air when Rosalie’s voice carries up. Clear. Sharp.

“-needs to understand her place. I don’t care what Ethan announced at the gala. She’s not one of us. She never will be.”

Another voice. Female. Older. “What would you have us do, Miss Rosalie?”

“Treat her accordingly. She’s a guest. Not the lady of the house. There’s a difference.”

“Mrs. Hale said-”

“I don’t care what Grandmother said publicly. Privately, we all know the truth. This woman is after Ethan’s money. She sees a meal ticket and she’s latching on.” Rosalie’s voice gets colder. “She needs to be given a reality check. Shown exactly what world she’s trying to enter. Maybe then she’ll realize she’s in over her head and leave before she embarrass everyone further.”

Chapter 129-

My hands grip the edge of the window sill.

That voice. That sweet, helpful, supportive voice that’s been offering to help plan with my wedding planning.

That same voice just told the staff to put me in my place.

“What about the boy?” the other voice asks.

“The child is sweet enough. But he’s not a Hale. He’ll never be a Hale no matter what papers Ethan signs. Best if both of them realize that now.”

I can’t breathe.

Can’t process what I’m hearing.

Rosalie who smiled and played concerned sister-in-law.

She’s been acting this whole time. No wonder.

No wonder I always felt something off.

I leave the window on unsteady legs. And find Jake standing in a corner of the conservatory, sketchbook open, drawing something with fierce concentration.

His phone is propped against a plant pot. Screen on. Recording.

“Jake,” I say quietly. “What are you doing?”

He doesn’t look up. “My project. I told you.”

“That family project?”

“Yes, mom. I’m documenting our family. The good parts and the bad parts. Like a journalist.” He turns a page. Starts a new sketch. “Teacher said good journalism shows truth. Just wait and see! You’re going to be so excited when it’s over!”

“Okay….”

Footsteps approach. Rosalie appears around a corner, smile bright.

“There you are! I was looking everywhere. Lunch is ready. Kate wants everyone in the dining room.”

I smile back. “We’ll be right there,” my voice is steady. Calm. Giving nothing away.

Two can play this game.

Lunch is painful.

Long table. More silverware than I know what to do with. Courses that keep coming. Kate at the head. Ethan beside me. Rosalie across from me.

And Jake. Recording everything on his phone that he’s propped against his water glass.

Kate makes conversation. Asks about the wedding timeline. About where we’ll live. About my work at Hale

Chapter 129-

Global.

All very polite. Very proper. Very fake.

I answer. Smile. Play the part of grateful future daughter-in-law,

But I’m watching Rosalie.

The way she touches Ethan’s arm when she makes a point. The way she laughs at his jokes. The way she looks at him when she thinks nobody else is watching.

How did I miss it?

How did I not see that she’s in love with him?

That every kind word, every helpful gesture, every moment of support has been part of a campaign to remove me from the picture.

After lunch, Kate suggests a tour of the grounds.

“I’ll take them,” Rosalie offers immediately. “I know all the best spots.”

“Actually,” I say, surprising myself, “I’d love if Kate could show us. She built this place. She should be the

one to share it.”

Kate’s eyebrow rises. “I’d be delighted.”

Rosalie’s smile doesn’t falter. But something flashes in her eyes.

Anger.

She’s used to being the helpful one. The accommodating one. The one who saves me from Kate’s

constant scrutiny.

She didn’t expect me to choose Kate over her.

We walk the grounds. Kate points out gardens and follies and places with history. Ethan holds my hand. Jake sketches and records and documents everything.

And I think about what Rosalie said.

She needs to be given a reality check. Shown exactly what world she’s trying to enter.

I’ve been given a reality check.

But not the one she intended.

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