What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 68

Hearing this, Elaine's temper flared. "That old woman just loves having someone kiss the ground she walks on. It just so happens Kaia is good at herbal medicine and treatments, which played right into her hands."

"Mom, I'm not afraid of Grandmother, no matter how tough she is, because I have you." Noelle leaned in and gave Elaine a gentle hug. "You're my lucky charm."

Elaine's heart completely softened at the sweet words. She reached out and rubbed Noelle's arm. "Your soup is getting cold. Eat it before it's ruined."

Noelle wiped the last of her tears away and quietly finished half the bowl.

As she ate, she let out a sigh of helpless frustration. "Mom, at the party tonight, I tried to pull Kaia aside for a chat. I figured, since I'm taking over Aethelstan and she's running Veridian, we have different roles but we're both under the Sanders Conglomerate umbrella. Plus, we're family. I wanted to talk about collaborating in the future. But Kaia... she seems to have this deep-seated prejudice against me."

Elaine frowned, listening intently.

Noelle set her spoon down, wringing her hands nervously. "She pretty much spelled out that she wants nothing to do with me or Aethelstan. She said business is business, personal is personal, and that I should stop throwing around the word 'family.'"

Elaine's expression visibly soured. Kaia had an aloof, untouchable aura, always relying on her own brilliance to stand tall. In a way, she shared a lot of similarities with Josephine.

"Mom, is it because Finnian gave me this promotion? Does Kaia misunderstand my intentions? I was married to Rafael for eight years. When he was alive, I was so happy just burying myself in my work. But since he passed... it feels like no matter how hard I try, no one likes me. I feel like I'm just in the way."

"I've been agonizing over whether I even have the right to stay. Maybe Grandmother is right. Maybe I should just leave everything I know behind. It would probably be better for everyone..."

Looking at Noelle's fragile, self-sacrificing demeanor, how could Elaine not be heartbroken?

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