Chapter 3

Lauren froze for a moment, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Arielle, how could you slander me?"

The way Lauren looked so hurt only made Carter believe that Arielle was lying.

In his mind, Arielle was trying to protect Rhea, which was why she intentionally slandered Lauren.

After all, what kind of mother would hurt her child?

Carter firmly said, "Arielle, children shouldn't lie. And she's not some stranger. She's your and Adrian's biological mother. Without her, you wouldn't even exist."

"I'm not lying!" Arielle insisted.

Tears shimmered in Lauren's eyes, but she managed a smile. She quickly tried to calm Carter down, saying, "It's okay. Kids don't lie. They only lie because they want to protect the people they love. It's fine if they like Mrs. Jamison. It means that she's been good to them. That's what matters."

Her statement about how kids wouldn't lie implied that Rhea had told Arielle to say that.

Seeing the hurt and grievance in Lauren's eyes only fueled Carter's anger. "Where are the maids?"

A nanny, Alisha Berry, rushed in.

Carter fixed his eyes on Rhea as he ordered, "Take the kids away." He was clearly trying to keep the children away from her.

Once Alisha had carried both children out, Carter—still fuming—left with Lauren without looking back.

Rhea stood frozen in place.

They were the twins' birth parents. So, she felt that she had no right to say anything.

Her chest constricted at the sight of the bloodied swab. But beneath the pain, it was the disappointment that cut deeper.

Throughout their six years of marriage, she managed the household and cared for the children, just so he could devote himself fully to his work.

She thought she was special. After all, Carter had remained loyal over the years. He had treated her with care and fulfilled his duties as a husband.

But now, she realized that all of that only held true because Lauren hadn't been around.

In just one evening, the way Carter defended Lauren far outshone anything he had done for Rhea in the past six years.

Suddenly, all the care he had shown her felt like a cruel joke.

…

Later that night, after Rhea had showered and lain down, footsteps soon followed.

Carter had also taken a shower and gotten into bed. They lay back-to-back in silence.

After a long pause, Carter said, "Lauren only came because she missed the children. You didn't have to be so defensive, and you certainly shouldn't have taught Arielle to lie. Don't let this happen again."

Rhea couldn't believe her ears. She clenched her jaw. "I've been raising them for six years since they were newborns. I want what's best for them more than anyone. So what makes you think I'd teach them to lie?"

"If it wasn't you, then who? Lauren?" Carter's tone turned ice-cold. "Do you need me to remind you that she's their birth mother?"

Those words hit her like a knife to the chest. She had given six years of her life, yet one emotional moment from Lauren outweighed it all.

Did those years mean nothing at all?

…

The night passed without Rhea and Carter exchanging another word.

The next morning, Rhea woke up to an empty bed.

It was the weekend, which meant that it was family day. Carter always stayed home with the kids on weekends.

As Rhea walked downstairs, Devan met her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Mrs. Jamison, breakfast… is ready." He looked like he wanted to say more, but bit his tongue.

Then Rhea stepped into the dining room and understood why.

Lauren had made breakfast. And it was elaborate.

"Mrs. Jamison, good morning. Come eat!" Lauren's smile was gentle.

But in Carter's eyes, it only looked like Lauren was trying to please Rhea.

He couldn't bear to see that. "You don't have to do that. This is your kids' home. You have every right to live here with peace of mind."

Rhea froze mid-step. It felt like someone had just slapped her across the face.

Lauren only smiled. "Alright."

Once Rhea took a seat, Lauren said, "Try this. I used to be great at making crab quiche. Carter used to love it. So, I thought I'd make some for you and the kids to try."

He did love crab quiches.

Carter didn't hold back his praise. "It's even better than I remember. Thank you for making it. But you don't have to cook next time. Rhea knows how to make it, too."

Thank you? Rhea knew how to make it, too? So what, Lauren didn't need to cook, and she had to?

Rhea stared down at her oatmeal. She recalled that she had stayed up two nights straight caring for a feverish Adrian. Her eyes were red with fatigue, but Carter hadn't even thanked her.

Nevertheless, she swallowed the urge to argue. She chose to believe that Carter was simply treating Lauren like a guest and being polite.

So, she lifted her head and said, "Yeah, I know how to make it too. But Arielle's allergic to crab. She can't have this."

Lauren was surprised. "Allergic? Carter, that's probably because she wasn't properly weaned. You can't be too overprotective with kids. They need exposure to germs when they're young. It helps build a stronger immune system."

Carter paused at those words and glanced at Rhea.

But to be fair, Rhea had taken immaculate care of the kids all these years. He had nothing to criticize. So this time, he didn't go along with what Lauren said.

Lauren noticed his silence and quickly changed the subject. "I was thinking of taking the kids out for the day. Carter, can you come with us?"

Then she turned to Rhea and said, "Mrs. Jamison, you should come too."

Carter cut in. "Just call her Rhea."

Lauren complied. "Alright, Rhea."

They just talked among themselves without even asking Rhea what she wanted.

Rhea hadn't touched her food. "You guys go. I'm meeting a friend today."

Carter asked, "What friend? You don't have friends."

"I had a friend who moved to Colburn. I'm going to catch up with her."

She used to have a wide circle of friends, but after marrying Carter and relocating to Colburn, the distance made it hard for her to keep in touch with them. Almost all of her friends were still in Draventh, which was the capital.

Carter didn't press. He simply reminded, "Be careful. Don't come back too late."

Rhea nodded and went upstairs to get ready.

After she was gone, Carter reached over and plated some more food on Lauren's plate. "So your health's really back to normal?"

Smiling, she nodded. "I'm fine now. Don't worry."

"You must have been through a lot."

Lauren lowered her gaze, sorrow flickering in her eyes. "It was fine. Things have finally turned around, haven't they?"

In truth, she hadn't really suffered. Life had been fairly comfortable. She just couldn't speak of the past.

…

Once the kids woke up, Rhea helped them get ready to head out. She packed water bottles, wet wipes, kid cameras, and spare clothes.

"I'm not coming with you today, okay? So, be good and listen to your dad. Don't run around yourselves," she said while crouching down to adjust their collars.

Adrian pouted. "Then who's coming with us?"

"Your dad and…" Rhea paused before saying, "...your birth mother."

"We don't want her!" Arielle's temper flared. "How could you not be our birth mother? That lady's lying! We've never even seen her before!"

Rhea patiently said, "Arielle, she is your birth mother. If you keep resisting her, your dad will be upset."

The kids were upset, but they nodded in agreement. After all, they had always listened to Rhea.

They still couldn't accept that Lauren was their biological mother. That rejection had only grown deeper with time.

After descending the stairs, Rhea placed a piece of paper on the dining table. "Here's a list of the kids' food allergies and eating preferences."

She didn't stick around after that. She changed her clothes and left.

…

Rhea stayed at her friend Maeve Corbin's bar until just before evening.

"It's family day, and here you are spending half of it with me. That's rare," Maeve said, setting down a plate of fruit.

Rhea gave a soft chuckle. Her tone was laced with self-deprecation as she spoke. "What's there for me to do when the perfect family of four is off having fun?"

"You could start your own business."

Rhea shook her head and said, "There's no space for my kind of work in Colburn."

She had studied venture capital. However, Colburn was home to several mid-sized manufacturing businesses. At the moment, there weren't any massive, billion-dollar projects that would call for mergers or partnerships.

The only business with real growth potential here was Carter's. Jamison Group had basically become the dominant force across the entire southern tri-state area.

But Rhea never got involved in Carter's work.

"You're wasting your talent." Even Maeve couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

Rhea had grown up under the influence of the men in her family. By the age of 17, she was already learning about investments from her father.

Sharp-eyed and astute even at a young age, she had helped the Ravelle family earn more money than they could count.

It was precisely because of this that Rhea faced such fierce opposition from her family when she insisted on marrying Carter. After all, he had two children out of wedlock. The conflict ran so deep that it eventually led to a complete severing of ties.

But the young man she had secretly loved since her school days had become her husband. Naturally, she was going to give him her all. Maeve couldn't blame her for that. Not that Carter ever knew any of it.

He simply assumed that Rhea had come from an ordinary family, tucked away in some distant, remote town. And that was why her parents had never shown up all these years.

Rhea's head was starting to spin. "No more drinks. I should go—"

Suddenly, her phone vibrated, cutting her off. It was Carter.

Rhea guessed that it had to be something about the kids, as he hardly ever called her. Most of the time, they just communicated through text.

She picked up the call. "Hello?"

Carter's voice was cold and tight as he said, "Get to the children's hospital now."

Rhea didn't even say goodbye to Maeve. She just ran out of the bar.