Side Chick Era Over (Sharon and Carter) novel Chapter 562

Chapter 562

Chapter 562

Sharon stopped and turned to look at Theo.

“What is it?”

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Her voice was calm, her expression composed. There was no warmth in her tone, but neither was there coldness. Just a quiet neutrality.

Theo stared at her, a little dazed.

His mother felt different again. Not like she had been before, but not like she was a few weeks ago either.

Back then, her indifference had made him angry, left him feeling abandoned. But now, there was something heavier pressing against his chest. Something like a weight he didn’t know how to lift.

Children feel these things the quickest. And he could already tell that his mother no longer loved him the way she used to.

He blurted out, “Mommy, about just now… it wasn’t me who told Dad.”

Sharon gave a small nod. “I know.”

That quiet answer, her unshaken calm, extinguished all the urgency he had carried with him. His eyes turned red.

“Mommy… do you not want me anymore?”

Sharon said evenly, “No. Even if custody is with your father, I’m still your mother. That doesn’t change. I’ll take responsibility. Always.”

But her words didn’t comfort him.

Theo looked up at her. “I don’t want to stay with Dad. I want to live with you.”

Sharon looked at him, mildly surprised.

“You want to stay with me for a while?”

He shook his head. “No. I want to live with you. All the time.”

There was a pause. Sharon stood quietly, her gaze softening just a little.

“Your dad and grandma won’t agree to that.”

“I asked the other kids. They said that when parents get divorced, we’re allowed to choose. We can choose who we want to live

with.”

He looked at her with wide eyes, full of fragile hope.

“I choose you.”

Sharon lowered her gaze. “What about Kelly? If you choose me, you won’t be able to see her very often anymore.”

Theo clearly hadn’t thought that far ahead. He froze, caught off guard.

He didn’t answer. Maybe he didn’t know how to.

He wanted to be with his mom. But he didn’t want to lose Kelly either.

Even if his mom hated her, Kelly had always been kind to him. She’d even risked her life to save him.

Sharon didn’t push him for an answer. Instead, she said simply, “Your custody is already with your father. If you really want to

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Chapter 562

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live with me, you’ll have to talk to him about it. I have something to do now, so I’m leaving.”

She turned and walked away.

Theo stood there, watching her go. His small mouth quivered, and his face crumpled with sorrow.

The door to the hospital room opened again. Carter stepped out.

When he saw his son’s reddened eyes, something shifted in his expression.

“Your mom thought it was you who told me about what happened?”

Theo shook his head listlessly. “No… she didn’t even ask. I tried to explain, but she didn’t really say anything.”

He looked up at Carter. “Dad, do you think… do you think Mom really doesn’t want me anymore?”

“No,” Carter said, gently. “If she didn’t want you, she wouldn’t have risked her life to save you.”

After a moment of silence, Theo asked, “Is Mom mad at me because she thinks I told you? Can you explain it to her? Tell her I didn’t tell anyone. It was that bad man… he left behind a recording.”

That was how everyone had learned about Sharon’s connection to the kidnapper-through a recorder found in Dillon’s room. It had captured a conversation between Sharon and the man.

When Carter asked Kelly, she’d dodged the question. Said maybe it was a misunderstanding. Theo had been vague too, pretending not to know much.

But no one knew Theo better than Carter. One look at his son’s face, and he could tell-Theo was lying.

Still, he didn’t press him. He didn’t scold him. Asking a five-year-old to stand up and accuse his own mother-that was far too cruel.

So instead, he took the recording and brought it to Kelly.

Theo, sensing what was coming, had secretly gone to talk to her first.

She had crouched down and said, “Theo, I believe your mom isn’t like that. Maybe this is just a misunderstanding. If that’s true, let’s not tell your dad for now. Okay?”

And that was exactly what he’d wanted to hear. Kelly always knew just what to say. (1)

She kept her word too. Never said anything; not until Carter played the recording, and she couldn’t avoid it anymore.

That was when she finally told the truth.

But Mom misunderstood.

He’d tried to explain, really, he had. But when he saw her unhappy expression, all the words caught in his throat. He swallowed them back down. (1

Maybe he’d try again when she was in a better mood.

Now, thinking of their conversation, he looked up and said, “Dad, I’m five now. I think I can decide some things for myself. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“What is it?”

“I want to live with Mom,” he said.