The flustered Lola stammered, "I-I just saw how miserable Zayne was after his surgery and wanted to cheer him up with some fried chicken. Don't all kids love fried chicken?"
Clifford shot daggers at Lola as he snapped, "Ms. Perez, even if you lack basic medical knowledge, you should at least follow the doctor's orders. It hasn't even been 24 hours since his surgery, and he's only allowed clear fluids!"
Zayne eating fried chicken could have been a disaster.
Lola's face flushed with both shame and panic as she hurriedly apologized, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Fuller. I've never taken care of anyone, so I didn't know. Please don't get mad."
Her tone might sound sweet and pleading, but deep down, she seethed at Noelle for interfering.
Now that Noelle was finally out of the picture, Lola needed to make a quick move and get pregnant with Clifford's baby. And when that happened, she'd have to find a way to make Zayne disappear.
After all, as long as Zayne was around, Clifford would always find a reason to stay connected to Noelle, and Lola had no interest in playing stepmother to take care of someone else's kid.
Zayne piped up in Lola's defense, "Don't blame Mom, Dad. She just wanted me to be happy and did it for my sake."
The word "Mom" directed at Lola stirred an inexplicable irritation in Clifford. "You have a mom, so stop calling her that! From now on, she's just Ms. Perez!"
Maybe Noelle had blown up in rage earlier because Zayne kept calling Lola "Mom".
Having been scolded, Zayne immediately sulked, while Lola's heart sank deeper.
…
After leaving the hospital, Noelle bought a bouquet of sunflowers and visited her parents at the graveyard.
To her surprise, their graves were impeccably clean, adorned with fresh flowers and the grass perfectly trimmed.
During her years of marriage, she'd only managed to visit once a year on their death anniversary. And now, that date was still some time away.
She spent a long time talking softly to their tombstones before finally preparing to leave.
On her way out, she met the security guard, whom she always greeted with small gifts every year and knew well, and asked, "Sir, has anyone been visiting my parents' graves recently?"
The old guard recalled. "A young man was here a few days ago. He comes several times a year and sometimes even brings a birthday cake. I always thought he was your husband. Don't you know him?"
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