The Year She Stopped Being Crazy for Him novel Chapter 45

That evening, the two of them ordered barbecue, watched a movie in the living room, and drank together.

Halfway through the food, Natalie received a call from Cora Vance. "I'm sorry, I didn't know he was coming back today, or that he'd show up at the school."

Natalie had heard Hassan mention that he thought Jude was supposed to be gone for a few more days, so she believed Cora hadn't done it on purpose. "It's fine. You couldn't have known he would come back early."

Cora sounded like she wanted to say something else, but then Natalie heard Jude's voice in the background, dripping with his usual cynical playfulness. "Who are you talking to, wife? Do you have a lover?"

The call abruptly disconnected with a beep.

She stared at her phone and frowned.

It was obvious from the fact that Jude clearly liked Gardenia, yet married Cora, and then abandoned her to go abroad the moment she got pregnant—that Jude Sheridan possessed zero moral compass or sense of responsibility.

Mia was six years old, yet he couldn't even manage to call her by her actual name. It was glaringly obvious how little he cared for the mother and daughter.

Suddenly, Natalie saw a reflection of herself in Cora.

The more she drank, the more bitter the alcohol tasted, and the heavier her heart felt.

Nancy, a lightweight, fell asleep first. Natalie draped a blanket over her and retreated into the study.

Terrified of what a madman like Jude might actually do to her, Natalie locked herself in the laboratory for the next two or three days, burying herself in her research.

Her excuse to Cecily was that her dance troupe had taken on an urgent gig and she needed to rehearse.

But that afternoon, she received a call from Hassan's grandmother.

The voice on the other end was frigid. "Natalie, where are you?"

She froze instantly, guessing that Cecily had figured out she wasn't at the rehearsal studio. "Did you need something?"

"I'm at your dance studio right now, and Quinn Harper is standing right next to me. Where are you?" Cecily demanded icily.

Natalie sighed. "I actually haven't been at the studio for the past few days. I just went out for a walk to clear my head."

She pulled out her readymade excuse. "You told Hassan not to go to that kid's parent-child activity, but he went anyway. I was upset."

Marvin glanced at it, but suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

The wallpaper was a photo of two smiling girls. Their features were somewhat similar, both possessing radiant, striking looks, and sitting between them was a robot.

It was the robot that had caught Marvin's attention.

He frowned, his face full of confusion. "Whose robot is that on your wallpaper?"

Natalie looked down. The photo on her lock screen was one she had taken with Nancy a couple of days ago. In the center was the robot Nancy had already sold; Natalie had insisted on taking one last picture with it.

"It belongs to a friend of mine," she said.

Marvin nodded slowly, processing the information. "Your friend's? Are you sure? Because I just saw it at Gardenia's place yesterday. She told me it was the project she was submitting for the tech exhibition."

"Gardenia?" Natalie was confused for a second, but it only took an instant for the realization to hit her.

The person who had bought Nancy's robot was Gardenia.