Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 176

“Oh, Grandma’s just tired of my parents arguing all the time. She wanted a break—out of sight, out of mind. So, after dinner, I bought her a train ticket to visit some old friends in the next city. She’ll have some fun, catch up with her girlfriends.”

“That sounds reasonable.” Theodore nodded. “But that means Grandma won’t be coming with us on our trip. When will she be back? Should we wait for her?”

He actually remembered the trip?

She’d assumed he’d forgotten all about it!

“We’ll see,” she replied, brushing him off.

What was there to wait for? The trip was going ahead, but it had nothing to do with him—it would be her trip, and hers alone.

After that, Theodore watched as she kept folding and sorting clothes.

“Why so many clothes today?” he asked, puzzled.

“I’m packing away my fall and winter stuff, bringing out the summer things,” she answered casually.

Of course, she wasn’t about to tell him she was getting rid of most of them—she couldn’t take that many clothes with her. She’d already listed them on a secondhand app. If someone bought them in the next couple of days, great; if not, she’d just call for a charity pickup and have the rest taken away.

Suddenly, her phone chimed. A buyer on the app was asking about one of her listings.

She reached for her phone, but Theodore was quicker and snatched it up first.

“Secondhand app? Are you buying or selling?” He couldn’t see the details, just the notification.

“You know about those apps?” She reached for her phone.

“Why wouldn’t I? Let me take a look.” He knew about these apps thanks to Cecilia, who once showed him how you could get designer bags for cheap. Of course, he hadn’t let her buy used—he just bought her a new one instead. Not that it mattered now, since Emma had taken everything back from Cecilia anyway…

Suddenly recalling something, he held the phone up to her face, letting the facial recognition unlock it. He glanced at the message—a buyer was haggling over the price of a coat.

Theodore frowned. “Mrs. Whitman, am I not providing enough for you? Why are you selling your clothes?”

Emma rolled her eyes and snatched her phone back. “What would you know? I just have too many clothes. There’s no room for all of them, so I’m getting rid of the ones I don’t like.”

“So you’re hinting the house is too small?” Theodore glanced around the closet. “It’s true, it’s a bit cramped. But didn’t we already buy a new place?”

“Well, I’m not going to wear things I don’t like, no matter how big the closet is. Might as well let someone else have them for cheap,” she said, quickly agreeing to the buyer’s counteroffer.

He nodded, a little impressed. “Actually, that’s pretty eco-friendly of you.”

Emma was too busy typing to respond. The deal closed almost instantly—the buyer paid as soon as they agreed on a price.

When she finally put her phone down, Theodore looked at her in surprise. “That’s it? You just made a sale?”

Emma nodded.

Emma winced—he’d really pinched her hard. Judging by his expression, he didn’t appreciate the joke. In fact, he looked genuinely upset.

Well, no wonder. Cici was his darling, and now Emma had taken back everything he’d ever gifted Cecilia—costing Cecilia a small fortune. He was probably still fuming about it.

“Don’t overthink it. Cici and I aren’t what you think. I told you before, you’ll always be Mrs. Whitman.” He didn’t seem interested in talking anymore and disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower.

Emma had no time to dwell on his moods anyway. She only had four days left, and there was still so much to do.

At least she didn’t have to worry about money. For all their problems, Theodore had always been generous with her financially in their five years of marriage.

Her phone pinged again—another inquiry, this time about a limited-edition winter coat.

Funny. That one was the only piece Theodore ever bought for her himself.

It was years ago, at Christmas, when Theodore’s father came home for the holidays.

Normally, Theodore never went back to the Whitman estate for the holidays. In his own words: “Why bother with a bunch of distant relatives?”

But when his father returned, he had no choice.

Emma always suspected it wasn’t really his father forcing him back—he went of his own accord. It was all about showing off in front of the family, especially his father, to prove that he could thrive without the family’s help.