Chapter 7

Helena and Susan both froze, stunned. The air felt dead and heavy.

Gabrielle's eyes turned red in an instant. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry, Grandma. It's all my fault for spoiling Casper."

She turned to Casper. "Casper, apologize to Nana and Great-Nana now."

"I won't!" He scowled and turned away.

He didn't believe for a second that Gabrielle would punish him. She'd never so much as raised her voice at him since he was born. Besides, even if she dared to punish him, Morgan and Tina would never allow it.

"Casper…" Gabrielle's tone hardened.

Helena spoke up quietly. "Just let it go. Casper's still little…"

Susan chimed in as well. "Kids are all like this. He'll grow out of it."

Since things had already gone sour, Gabrielle had no choice but to take Casper and leave. The alley outside was long, narrow, and dim, with only a single streetlamp at the far end casting a thin wash of yellow light.

Gabrielle and Casper walked side by side, both of them looking stony.

"Casper, you really let me down today," Gabrielle said.

He bit his lip, looking stubborn.

"Nana and Great-Nana both love you very much. When you act like this, it really hurts them," she went on, wanting him to be more sensible.

"But I just wanted you to go home with me. I hate coming here. What's wrong with that?" Casper pressed his lips into a hard line, his face full of defiance. His icy temperament was a dead ringer for Morgan.

Gabrielle took a deep breath. "When you were little—"

"I don't wanna hear it! I don't!" Almost as if he was defying her just for the sake of doing it, Casper clapped his hands over his ears and shook his head.

She gave him a disappointed look, having no choice but to drop the subject.

The drive back was completely silent. Casper stared out the window, looking sullen. It was hard to tell what was going through his head.

They pulled into Fairmont Estate, then got out of the car together. Up ahead, a woman's bright laughter suddenly carried over. Gabrielle looked up.

Morgan was standing with a few of his friends. He wore a white shirt and black slacks, his suit jacket slung casually over one arm. He was all lazy, effortless sex appeal.

Winona stood in front of him, smiling softly as she reached up to straighten his crooked tie.

"Look at you, playing the perfect little wife. When is Morgan gonna make it official and put a ring on your finger?" a friend teased.

"Oh, get lost." Winona scoffed, shooting him a mock glare.

"Marrying Ms. Slater here is no easy feat. She's a modern, independent woman. No way she's signing up to be some guy's stay-at-home housewife."

"That might be true for us, but do you really think she'd say no if a certain someone asked?"

They all burst out laughing.

Morgan had his hands in his pockets, his head lowered slightly as he watched Winona with a faint smile. He seemed to be waiting to see how she reacted.

"Seriously, you two are basically childhood sweethearts. Shouldn't you have ended up together ages ago?" another friend asked.

"Do you even have to ask? Some scheming witch beat her to it."

Gabrielle's stomach flipped. The dinner she'd just had felt like it was about to come back up. That scheming witch they were talking about was her.

Morgan's friends all knew she existed, but none of them had ever given her the time of day. Everyone hated and resented her, as if she'd somehow contaminated Morgan just by being in his life.

"Winona!" Casper suddenly shouted.

Morgan and his friends turned to look. Gabrielle panicked and ducked down behind the car.

Casper ran across the driveway. "Winona, it's really you!"

"Casp? Why are you all alone?" Winona asked.

Casper saw the concern on her face and thought back to how stern Gabrielle had been with him earlier. A wave of hurt crashed over him. His lips quivered, and he burst into tears.

"What happened? Who upset my little man? Tell me, and I'll take care of it for you," Winona coaxed, squatting down in front of him and gently dabbing at his tears with a handkerchief.

The kinder she was, the more aggrieved Casper felt. His tears came down faster.

"What's wrong?" Morgan asked.

Casper choked on his sobs and forced out, "D-Daddy, I don't want Mommy… I don't want Mommy to be my mommy anymore…"

Morgan frowned and glanced toward the car.

"What happened, Casp? Did that witch yell at you?" one of Morgan's friends demanded angrily.

Casper nodded, still sniffling.

"Unbelievable. Who does she think she is, yelling at Casper?"

"Does she think the Quiltons would've ever allowed her to marry Morgan if she hadn't had Casper? She got to play Mrs. Quilton for a few years, and now she's forgotten who she really is."

They all took turns ripping into Gabrielle like it was all her fault.

Gabrielle crouched behind the car, slowly sinking all the way. Humiliation and fury crashed over her like a tidal wave, threatening to swallow her whole.

What had she done that was so wrong? What gave them the right to talk about her like that? And what right did the child she'd poured her heart into have to stand in front of Winona, of all people, and voice his grievances?

Morgan knew perfectly well Gabrielle was hiding behind the car. He stared in her direction for a long moment before finally looking away, his expression indifferent.

Before long, his friends changed the subject. Taking advantage of the distraction, Gabrielle slipped away and practically fled inside the house.

Once inside, she bolted up to her bedroom and threw herself onto the bed. Images kept looping in her mind—Morgan looking at Winona tenderly and Casper sobbing his heart out in front of Winona.

"Shouldn't you have ended up together ages ago?"

"Some scheming witch beat her to it."

"I don't want Mommy to be my mommy anymore…"

Those words echoed over and over in her ears.

Gabrielle clutched her head, a dull ache throbbing through her skull. She desperately wanted to drive the voices and images out, but she couldn't.

At some point, she drifted off.

…

After saying goodbye to his friends, Morgan brought Casper back into the house.

"Where's Gabrielle?" Morgan asked.

"Probably asleep," Judy answered, then took Casper to wash up.

Morgan headed upstairs. His footsteps sounded too loud in the spacious, silent house, like a drumbeat as he marched forward, stopping at Gabrielle's bedroom door.

He hadn't set foot in her room for a long time. Honestly, he'd barely been home at all these past two years.

The door creaked open. Light from the hallway sliced through the darkness, landing right across the bed where Gabrielle lay.

She jolted awake, but she didn't sit up or turn around. She just bit down hard on her knuckles. She didn't need to look to know it was Morgan standing there.

She waited for him to speak, but he simply pulled the door shut again after a few seconds. Darkness swallowed the room once more.

…

Gabrielle woke up late the next morning. A maid had already taken Casper to preschool.

Morgan was sitting at the dining table.

Gabrielle blinked in surprise. She couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten breakfast at home.

He was all buttoned up in a suit, looking like the very image of a high-powered executive. His broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs were on full display.

His sharp features were striking against his skin, and his eyes were so deep-set they almost gave him a dangerous edge. The air around him crackled with an aloof, intimidating authority.

The memory of him gazing tenderly at Winona last night flashed in Gabrielle's mind again. He was like a completely different person now.

"Why did Casper cry last night?" Morgan asked abruptly, lazily stirring his soup without even looking up at her.

Gabrielle took the seat across from him. She noticed him frowning because green scallions floated on top of the broth.

He had the weirdest quirks. He could handle the taste of onion, garlic, and ginger, but he couldn't stand seeing them. Back when she used to cook for him, she always pureed the aromatics, strained them out, and only then poured the juice into the food.

She'd always handled meals for both Morgan and Casper herself; the maids never really learned their preferences.

"It was a small matter. He messed up, and I called him out on it," she explained.

"His health is fragile. I expect you to go easier on him," Morgan said flatly.

Gabrielle felt as though her head were exploding. For a second, everything went blank. Wasn't she already good enough to Casper?

"Every kid makes mistakes. If I don't correct him now, people in the real world will teach him a lesson in the future."

"All Quilton children will be raised the Quilton way. He doesn't need you lecturing him."

With that, Morgan lost his appetite. He dropped his spoon into the bowl with a loud clatter, yanked a napkin from the holder, and wiped his mouth.

He said to Judy, "Cut off her allowance for the next six months."