NovelOnlineSkylar stood awkwardly at the door of the living room.
Did Willie get it wrong? Am I even invited? Skylar reflected. Gritting her teeth, she felt a surge of
exasperation rise within her. Is it too much of me to expect to be treated as a guest?
Incensed, Skylar dumped her fruit basket unceremoniously onto the dining table. Raising her voice, she
announced brightly, “Mrs. Ford, my apologies for coming over so late.”
Skylar’s smile was entirely stiff and insincere. She already deeply regretted allowing Willie to drive her
over.
Tobias’ head suddenly snapped in Skylar’s direction, alerted only at the sound of Skylar’s voice. He
turned to Claudia and explained, “Mom, Skylar’s here. I won’t be staying here tonight, then. Have a
good rest.”
Claudia turned lazily to face Skylar, scanning her from head to toe.
The smile on Skylar’s face faded, and she met Claudia’s eyes stonily. Respect was mutual, and if
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtClaudia did not even show Skylar the courtesy of inviting her to take a seat or offering her a drink,
Skylar would take no pains to be polite, either.
“It’s late. Why don’t you stay here with her? Aren’t the two of you already in a relationship?” Claudia
finally said with a disdainful sniff.
Skylar was momentarily bewildered by the change in Claudia’s attitude.
If that had occurred before, Skylar would have stayed without hesitation. Nevertheless, she resented
being commanded by Claudia’s whims. Even though Skylar loved Tobias, she was not willing to
sacrifice her dignity.
Skylar thus simply answered, “It’s late, Mrs. Ford. I’ll be heading back home. It wouldn’t be good for me
to stay here when I’m not married to Tobias. I came for a quick visit, but I’m going home now.”
Tobias finally spoke. His tone was solemn as he said, “Stay with me tonight. My mother’s feeling unwell
and I have to remain here.”
Realization dawned upon Skylar. Tobias had summoned her here because he could not tear himself
away. If not for Claudia’s condescension, Skylar would have stayed in her own accord. However, she
could not endure the fact that she had just stood there and being neglected, in front of Tobias and
Claudia for a whole half an hour.
Skylar was determined not to bow her head to the Fords. She thus lowered her eyes, avoiding Tobias’
probing gaze.
Claudia then asked witheringly, “Are you sure? I guess you’re more conservative than I expected, Ms.
Jones. If you’re not staying, you may take your leave.”
Without another word, Skylar turned to go.
“Stay. Don’t leave,” Tobias called, a new note of urgency in his voice. Skylar, however, refused to take
the insult of being ordered around.
Tobias watched her departing figure, glowering. Suddenly, a dry laugh escaped him.
It looks like she’s Little Miss Independent now. She’s intent on making her own decisions, Tobias
thought, smirking to himself.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmClaudia sighed. “All that popularity must have gone to her head. She has totally disregarded you.”
Tobias chuckled. “We were rude to her. I didn’t want her to overhear what we were saying about
Sheldon, so I treated her coldly on purpose. Skylar must have gotten offended. It’ll be alright. I’ll give
her a call later to coax her a little.”
An unhappy expression hung over Claudia’s face. “When are you planning to put a stop to Sheldon’s
foolish act? What can he actually do? Will he only stop only after creating havoc?”
Thoughtfully, Tobias replied, “Everyone must be given a chance to figure things out on their own. We
need to give him some space to grow.”
Claudia never expected that her two sons would come to be at odds with each other. As children,
Sheldon had clung to his elder brother. The two had been inseparable when they were young.
In order to pay off her debts, Claudia had worked from dusk to dawn. She barely had any time for her
sons. Therefore, Claudia felt that she had not fulfilled her responsibility as a mother to both of them
even until now.
When Claudia was absent, Tobias had taken on the mantle of raising Sheldon during the family’s
darkest days of battling poverty. Claudia hated being reminded of that period. The suffering she had
undertaken was still raw in Claudia’s mind. She blamed Xander and hated him squarely for it.
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