Amber scoffed in disbelief.
"Dad, I hope you heard that clearly. Neither mother nor son needs you rushing in to play the hero. They've got plenty of pride, and plenty of cash," Amber said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
No wonder he was acting so calm. He was banking on the Olympiad prize money.
Arthur furrowed his brows, his face caught in an agonizing conflict.
While Grace was thrilled that her son was going to win her fifty grand next week, she was firmly against the idea of him spending any of it on a nurse. "Lucian, I know you're just trying to be a good son, but there's really no need to hire a nurse. Arthur is here, and I'm totally committed to building a life with him. The adults will handle adult matters; you kids shouldn't meddle so much."
"Right, Arthur?" Grace reached out, tugging gently on Arthur's sleeve, looking up at him with eyes brimming with manufactured affection.
Hire a nurse? Why on earth would she do that? Wasn't Arthur already a free nurse? Would some random nurse be as attentive as him? Would a nurse know how to manage the diner's inventory and run the register?
Her dramatic crying fit was nothing more than an excuse to put Amber in her place, a warning that read: *Stay out of adult business. You're just a girl who's going to get married and leave eventually. Your dad is going to have to rely on my son to care for him in his old age.*
Blood relations? Didn't everyone know daughters always belonged to someone else's family in the end? Amber could try to drive a wedge between them all she wanted, but her dad knew exactly where his bread was buttered. If Amber just learned to behave like she used to, Grace might turn a blind eye and let her be a decent plaything for Lucian before he actually settled down.
Who knew what the future held? Maybe after finals, Grace wouldn't even need to play the villain—the kids would just naturally drift apart, and all this drama would be left in the past.
The moment Grace's lower lip pushed out in a pout, Amber knew exactly what kind of garbage was running through her head.
Did she really think her precious son was going to bring home fifty grand from the physics Olympiad? Ha! Amber desperately wanted to tell her: *Your son stealing from you to spoil Joanne is the least of your worries. He's even planning to enroll in the same trash community college as her.*
Right now, Grace had only thrown her back out. Whether she'd end up losing her life down the line, Amber couldn't say. But the real show hadn't even started yet. They'd see who got the last laugh.
"Alright, adult matters. As the daughter, I'll step back. Dad, is that what you think too?" Amber figured her dad would need a little more time before he truly saw the mother and son for what they were.


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