The Year She Stopped Being Crazy for Him novel Chapter 31

Cecily could hear the sharp edge in their exchange. She knew Hassan was the largest investor in the Kingswood Arts Center, so if Natalie had suddenly quit, he definitely knew about it. "What exactly is going on here?"

Faust Carlson chimed in. "Didn't she just change jobs?"

Cecily frowned. "Changed to what?"

Natalie explained, "I just invested in a dance troupe run by a former classmate of mine."

Cecily looked even more baffled. "A classmate? A man?"

Natalie had always been incredibly discreet, actively maintaining a polite distance from other men. That was the only reason Cecily had ever felt comfortable letting her work in an environment as complex as the arts scene.

She knew exactly how much Natalie loved Hassan.

But now, she was throwing her priorities out the window to partner up with some man?

"What about your job at the Arts Center, then?"

Hassan interjected, "Grandma, you don't need to worry about any of this."

"I was fired," Natalie stated flatly.

At that exact moment, a figure appeared in the doorway. It was Gardenia Sutton.

She was still wearing a hospital gown under her coat, an IV mark visible on the back of her pale hand. She gave Cecily a slight nod. "I'm so sorry. I was in a rush, so I just came straight in to pick up Adrian."

Cecily's eyes widened the second she saw her. "It's you!"

Her mind raced, and the realization hit her like a freight train. Adrian Sutton was her child!

Cecily erupted. She slammed her silverware onto the table, her hands trembling with rage. "Why did you send your child to our house?! What kind of sick agenda do you have?!"

She paused, another infuriating thought crossing her mind. "And you deliberately taught him to call Hassan his father! You make me sick!"

But Cecily remembered something else. "You work at the arts center? Did Hassan arrange that for you?"

Furious, she glared at Hassan. "You kicked your own wife out of her job for this woman with a prosthetic?!"

Gardenia wore a prosthetic leg, and her gait was noticeably different from an able-bodied person's when she walked. But most people had the decency not to bluntly point out her disability to her face.

Gardenia clenched her jaw, her eyes turning red. "I got into the arts center on my own merit ten years ago. I didn't rely on Hassan! You don't need to interrogate him, and you certainly don't need to humiliate me!"

Cecily marched right up and slapped her across the face. "This is my family's business! I don't need you running your mouth in my home, and I wasn't asking you!"

Hassan stepped forward, shielding Gardenia from Cecily. "Grandma, what are you doing? You can't just go around hitting people."

Cecily scoffed coldly. "Was I wrong to hit her?! If it weren't for her, would Natalie have left the place she's worked at for four years?"

Hassan shot a dark glance at Natalie. "She chose to leave on her own. It has nothing to do with Gardenia."