Unmatched Wife: Not His To Claim Anymore novel Chapter 116

Chapter 116

Chapter 116

THEO

“I’m sure. Healing from grief doesn’t mean forgetting the person you lost. It means learning to carry their memory in a way that doesn’t hurt quite so much.”

The session ended, and Mrs. Davies walked me back to class for afternoon lessons.

We were doing art–drawing pictures of our families—which was the kind of assignment that made my stomach hurt now.

I drew Dad and me. Just the two of us. Because Mama was gone and Aunty Mia wasn’t family anymore.

Sophie, who sat next to me, was drawing a big family with lots of people.

“That’s a lot of people,” I observed.

“My whole family,” she explained. “My mom, my dad, my two brothers, my grandma, my grandpa, my aunt, my uncle, and my three cousins. We’re all going to the beach this summer.”

“Oh.”

“What about your family? Do you have brothers or sisters?”

“No. Just me and my dad.”

“What about your mom?”

The question I’d been dreading.

“She’s “I stopped. Dr. Fisher’s words echoed in my head: *Real friends don’t leave just because something sad happened to you.*

“She died,” I said quietly. “A while

ago.”

Sophie’s eyes went wide. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” It wasn’t okay, but I didn’t know what else to say.

“My goldfish died once,” Sophie offered. “I was really sad.”

I wanted to be mad that she was comparing my mama to a goldfish. But she was trying to be nice, trying to understand.

“Yeah,” I said. “It’s like that but bigger.”

“Do you miss her?”

“All the time.”

Sophie nodded seriously. Then she went back to her drawing, and I thought she was done talking about it.

But after a minute she said, “I’m still your friend. Even though something sad happened.”

The relief I felt was so big I almost cried.

“Thanks,” I managed.

“You’re welcome. Hey, want to play on the swings at recess?”

“Okay.”

Chapter 18

+25 Bonus

Recess was the best part of the day. Sophie and I went on the swings, then played a game where we were dinosaurs escaping

from a volcano.

I was a Triceratops (obviously) and she was a Pteranodon (which was technically not a dinosaur but I didn’t correct her because that would be rude).

We were in the middle of our escape when Mrs. Patterson walked over.

“Theo? Can I talk to you for a minute?”

My stomach dropped. Adults only pulled you aside for bad things.

“Am I in trouble?”

“No, sweetheart. You have a visitor. Someone who wants to apologize to you.”

A visitor?

Mrs. Patterson led me away from the playground to a quieter corner near the school fence. And there, standing by the gate, was Aunty Mia.

My whole body went cold.

“I’ll be right over there,” Mrs. Patterson said, pointing to a bench about twenty feet away. “You can wave if you need me, okay?”

I nodded, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Aunty Mia.

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