I Quit Being a Stepmother (Cypress Gem) novel Chapter 233

Chapter 233

Devan, who had arrived after hearing the commotion, wisely chose to stay silent. He stepped back a couple of paces and kept to himself like an observer on the sidelines.

Neither Scarlett nor Lauren had good intentions. The moment Carter was away, they flaunted their authority.

Scarlett trembled. “No, Mr. Jamison. I…”

“Carter, Scarlett was probably just worried that the kids weren’t awake yet and something might happen, but she couldn’t just barge into their room. That’s why she used a bit of force,” Lauren

chimed in.

Scarlett hurried to agree, “Y–Yes! I was just worried that something might happen to the kids in the room.”

Lauren tried to change the topic. “Carter, didn’t you go back to your room? Where’s Rhea? Is she still sleeping?”

Carter looked up. “Since you knew that there were adults in the room, why all the banging?”

At that moment, Arielle walked out of the room clutching her doll. “Ms. Norton, were you just calling someone a bitch?”

Lauren quickly scolded her. “Arielle, don’t pick up those swear words.”

Arielle pursed her lips.

Carter shielded Arielle and said, “If you don’t want the children to pick up swear words, make sure to manage the people you bring here. If they don’t say it, Arielle won’t pick it up.”

Terrified, Scarlett didn’t dare utter another word.

Just then, Arielle said, “Dad, it’s not the first time I’ve heard it. There were several times Ms. Norton said those things in the living room with her.”

The “her” referred to Lauren.

“I didn’t say that,” Lauren retorted. “Arielle, you must have misheard. Scarlett may be old, but she’s not a bad person. She was just scolding the bad people.”

Arielle shot back, “You mean our mom who raised me and Adrian?”

At six years old, she wasn’t so easily fooled. Besides, she had just heard Scarlett’s words and knew that she was scolding Rhea.

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Chapter 233

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Carter held Arielle’s hand. Adrian followed behind. “Come on. Let’s go downstairs and have

breakfast.”

“Carter, you misunderstood-”

Carter left without saying another word.

Lauren’s rebuttal stuck in her throat, caught somewhere between rising and falling.

Once they left, Lauren was the first to enter the children’s room. But after looking around, she didn’t see Rhea anywhere, not even in the bathroom.

She wondered where Rhea had gone and if she had left already.

Lauren smiled and went downstairs.

At the table, Arielle stayed close to Carter and whispered, “Dad, we weren’t lying. They really do talk

like that at home all the time.”

Carter asked, “Even Mrs. Thayer Senior?”

During those 20 minutes when Scarlett and Chloe were hurling insults at Rhea in the hallway, he heard every single word.

Adrian rubbed his eyes and said, “Yes. She sometimes scolds even harsher, but it’s always at Mom.”

Carter’s expression darkened. He believed that people like that shouldn’t be around his kids.

At that moment, Lauren approached the dining table, her smile bright. “Carter, I had the kitchen to make all the dishes you and the kids love.”

The breakfast spread was extensive, though the portions weren’t large.

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