Side Chick Era Over (Sharon and Carter) novel Chapter 376

Chapter 376

As for Kelly’s so-called terminal illness, Madeline had already heard the full story from Nate not long ago. Apparently, they’d found a cure. As long as Kelly cooperated with the treatment, she’d recover completely.

Madeline, however, wasn’t convinced. Not one bit.

Terminal illness? More like a clever excuse to stay close to Carter. She’d seen enough women like Kelly. She knew exactly how this game was played.

Had this been the past, she would’ve exposed the lie right in front of Carter without hesitation. But now… now, she chose to stay

silent.

She saw through it, but said nothing. Because something else had started bothering her.

She realized… Carter actually had thoughts of getting back together with Sharon, of letting Sharon return… and once again become Theo’s mother.

The mere thought sent a ripple of panic through Madeline.

She’d already burned every bridge with Sharon. If Sharon came back… wouldn’t that be absolutely embarrassing for Madeline?

No. Absolutely not.

Madeline would rather see Kelly marry into the family than ever let Sharon back through the family doors.

Leaning back in her chair, Madeline watched the scene in front of her unfold like a good show.

Sharon and Matty’s performance wasn’t bad. But in her eyes… it was nothing more than the result of rote memorization.

Who knew how many late nights Sharon had spent cramming for this competition? How many tutors she’d hired?

Madeline didn’t believe for a second that Sharon actually knew Spanish.

Just then, Carter returned from his phone call. His schedule had been packed lately. Today, he’d managed to clear some time, just to watch Theo’s performance.

Even so, his phone hadn’t stopped ringing.

But when Theo’s performance started, he’d powered it off. For those few moments, nothing else mattered.

Given their performance, the high score didn’t surprise him. He knew exactly how capable Kelly was. He knew better than

anyone.

Theo’s academic progress had never faltered. Them winning first place was practically a foregone conclusion.

His last call had dragged on longer than expected. By the time he returned, the next group onstage had already finished performing.

His gaze swept to the two people still standing under the stage lights-Sharon and Matty.

His expression darkened, brows furrowing slightly.

Turning to Denise, he asked, “What happened? Did they forget their lines?”

Denise’s mouth was still open, staring at Sharon as if seeing her for the very first time.

She snapped her head toward him. “Forget their lines? Why would you think that?”

Carter glanced around at the restless audience. “Then…. what? Did they mess up?”

312

It had to be one or the other.

Clearly, in his mind, Sharon wasn’t capable of anything else.

Denise’s lips pressed together. “No… They didn’t mess up. They were incredible. Practically flawless. A bunch of the judges gave them perfect scores. But… one of the judges thinks they cheated.”

She quickly explained the whole situation.

Nate laughed, shaking his head. “Ah, Carter… gotta admit, Sharon really put in the work. Almost convincing, I’ll give her that. She really went all out trying to impress you and Theo, huh?

“But, a fake is still a fake. No matter how much you polish glass, it’ll never be a diamond. Now look, she got caught red-handed.”

The words barely left his mouth when suddenly, Sharon spoke.

Fluent Spanish spilled from her lips.

The entire hall froze.

Even the sneer that had started forming on Kelly’s face hadn’t finished setting before it stiffened completely.

Sharon said, “Mr. Finch, using someone’s education as a way to belittle them says more about your lack of class than mine.

“To see a judge openly mocking stay-at-home mothers, ridiculing someone’s education on stage like this… really makes me question whether this panel is even remotely impartial.”

“And besides, as a judge in a language competition, shouldn’t your foreign language skills be far above the average person’s?”

4