Too Late for Sorry, Mr. Billionaire (Chasing my Wife Back) novel Chapter 61

HAZEL safely got home.

The minute she stepped into the living room, Gabriel and Gaddiel— who had been sitting cross-legged on the couch watching a cartoon— snapped their heads toward the door.

“Hazel!” Gaddiel cried out first, jumping to his feet.

They both ran to her at once.

“Where have you been?” Gabriel asked, grabbing her hand. “Mommy has been looking everywhere for you.”

“Yes!” Gaddiel added quickly. “She was shouting. She is worried. Where did you go?”

Hazel dropped her bag by the door and pulled both boys into a tight hug. She squeezed them harder than usual, her chin resting briefly on Gabriel’s head. She inhaled deeply, her chest rising and falling.

But she said nothing.

The boys pulled back slightly, studying her face.

“Why are your eyes red?” Gabriel asked.

Hazel hissed softly under her breath and began walking past them into the living room.

“Why is she worried about my whereabouts when she has decided to send me away?” she muttered bitterly.

The twins froze mid-step and looked at each other.

“Send you away?” they chorused in confusion.

Hazel let out another long hiss and was just about to sink into the couch when a firm voice cut through the air.

“And where do you think you are coming from, young lady?”

Hazel straightened immediately.

Amelia stood by the hallway entrance, leaning against the doorframe. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest, her face composed but far from calm.

Hazel turned to face her mother.

She said nothing.

“Am I not talking to a human being?” Amelia asked sharply.

Hazel lifted her chin slightly.

“It is none of your business, Mom.”

The twins gasped in unison, eyes widening as they looked from sister to mother.

Amelia’s jaw tightened.

“Hazel, do not get on my nerves this evening. I have had enough already. Where the hell are you coming from?”

Hazel rolled her eyes in open defiance.

“I went out for a walk.”

Amelia gave a short, humorless laugh.

“You and I both know you are not telling the truth.”

Silence.

“You have been to your dad’s, haven’t you?” Amelia pressed.

Hazel hesitated just briefly before shrugging.

“So now you know. Can you let me be now?”

Amelia pushed off the doorframe and walked further into the living room.

“You left this house without informing me.”

“And you make decisions about my life without informing me,” Hazel shot back instantly.

The twins shifted uncomfortably, slowly stepping backward toward the couch.

“Lower your voice,” Amelia warned.

“Why?” Hazel challenged. “So you can pretend everything is fine?”

“Everything would be fine if you stopped behaving like this.”

“Oh, I’m the problem now?”

“You are making things difficult.”

“For you or for Charles?” Hazel fired.

Amelia’s eyes flashed.

“This has nothing to do with Charles.”

“Everything has to do with him!” Hazel’s voice cracked despite her effort to stay composed. “Ever since he came, everything changed.”

“That is not true, Hazel.”

“It is! You are sending me away because you think I’m in the way.”

Amelia exhaled slowly, forcing control into her tone.

“You are not in the way.”

“Then why am I the only one being moved?” Hazel demanded. “Why not the twins? Why just me?”

“Because you are older.”

“That is not an answer!”

“It is the answer,” Amelia said firmly. “You need structure. Discipline. A different environment.”

Hazel laughed bitterly.

“So I’m being punished.”

“You are not being punished.”

“It feels like it!”

The twins exchanged another look. Gabriel grabbed Gaddiel’s hand quietly.

Amelia’s voice lowered slightly.

“Hazel, I am your mother. I make decisions based on what I believe is best for you.”

“No,” Hazel whispered, shaking her head. “You make decisions based on what is best for your new life.”

“That is enough,” Amelia snapped.

Hazel’s eyes filled, but she blinked rapidly, refusing to cry in front of her.

“I can’t believe you,” Hazel said softly. “I thought at least you would choose me.”

Amelia stiffened.

“Do not twist this.”

“I’m not twisting anything,” Hazel replied. “I see it clearly.”

“You are too young to understand.”

“And you are too blinded to see!”

The words hung heavy in the air.

Amelia took a step forward.

“You will not speak to me that way.”

Hazel stared at her for a long second, then grabbed her bag again.

“Fine,” she muttered. “Do whatever you want. You always do.”

She turned toward the hallway.

“Where are you going?” Amelia demanded.

“Anywhere but here.”

“Hazel!”

But Hazel didn’t stop.

She disappeared down the corridor, the sound of her bedroom door slamming echoing through the house.

Silence fell over the living room.

Amelia stood still, her chest rising and falling slowly.

Gabriel looked up at her cautiously.

“Mom?” he asked softly.

Amelia blinked, pulling herself together.

“Mom,” Gabriel repeated, stepping closer. “Are you sending Hazel away?”

The question caught her off guard that she froze. For a split second, her expression faltered.

How did they know? How much had they understood?

She forced a smile onto her face and crouched slightly to their level.

“Of course not, my love,” she said gently.

“But she said—”

“Hazel is just upset,” Amelia interrupted lightly. “She says things when she is angry.”

The twins looked uncertain.

“You are not sending her away?” Gaddiel asked again.

Amelia’s smile remained in place, though it didn’t reach her eyes.

“No. Go finish your show.”

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