hapter 21
As Yolanda was throwing a tantrum in the living room, Charles had just come out of Richard’s bedroom.
Seeing the scattered cards on the floor, he glanced around but didn’t see Teresa.
Confused, he turned to Yolanda and asked, “Where’s your mom?”
Yolanda shot a glare upstairs, fuming, and said, “She went up.”
At her words, Charles was momentarily taken aback.
The woman who once cherished her daughter above all now seemed so indifferent.
After a brief silence, he took Yolanda’s hand. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to wash up.”
Yolanda stopped in her tracks and said, “Dad, I don’t want to sleep with Mom.”
”
N
W
W
W
ww
4
Charles turned and looked at her, his expression unreadable. “Mr. Richard arranged only one room. If you don’t want to sleep with your mom, you can go tell him yourself.”
Yolanda puffed her cheeks, clearly unhappy, but she knew better than
to
argue
with him. So she just gave
- in.
If her mother wouldn’t care for her, then sh
wouldn’t care for her mom either.
When they got to the bedroo
Charles found that Teresa hadn’t prepared any sleepwear
or
toiletries for
them.
The bathroom light was on, so she must have been inside.
Charles didn’t know what had gotten into Teresa. He took off his watch and suit, then sat on the couch.
Yolanda was also upset. Her mom wasn’t running around after her, and it made her angry, though she suppressed it.
Soon enough, Teresa came out of the bathroom wrapped in a bathrobe.
When she saw the two of them sitting on the couch, waiting for her to serve them, she almost laughed.
Yet, she remained silent, never glancing their way, and went on with drying her hair.
Once done, she finally walked over to them.
Charles was holding his phone, likely on a video call with someone, while Yolanda leaned against him, smiling at the screen.
“Miss Naomi, are you about to rest?”
Naomi’s voice came from the other side of the call. “Yes, I’m about to sleep, but if you want to chat, I’d be happy to stay up with you.”
Yolanda, noticing her mother approaching, remained still, nestled in Charles’s embrace.
In the past, Teresa would have felt a pang of jealousy, maybe even asked if they were going to bed.
But now, she didn’t care. Instead, she spoke directly, “I’m sleeping on the couch tonight. You two go to the bed and continue the call.”
Both Charles and Yolanda looked at her, their eyes full of confusion.
Teresa, however, didn’t shy away from their gazes. She repeated, “TH sleep on the couch. You two go to the bed.”
Yolanda’s eyes burned with anger. She wanted to argue, but Charles spoke first, “Aren’t you taking Yolanda to a bath?”
Teresa, smoothing her dry hair, replied, “Let the maid do it for her.
She used to do everything herself, but now, she wasn’t about to serve anyone.
Charles’s face darkened. “You used to do it.”
Teresa shot back without missing a beat, “When I wasn’t at Joyacre Villa, didn’t she manage just fine? Didn’t Sharon give her a bath?”
She knew full well that Naomi had been the one helping Yolanda with her baths, but she didn’t feel the need to bring it up.
1/8
11:29 AM P
Chapter 21
Yolanda, feeling the coldness from her mother, grew angrier. She stood up and pushed Teresa hard. “I don’t need you to do anything. I can do it myself. You’ll never get to bathe me again.”
With that, she was about to storm off to the bathroom.
On the other end of the call, Naomi quickly reassured her, “Yolanda, sweetheart, don’t worry about showering tonight. I’ll do it tomorrow when you’re home.”
Naomi was fine, but mom always did it better.
She got up quietly, careful not to disturb Charles and Yolanda, and went downstairs to freshen up.
To show her filial care, she made oatmeal from scratch and baked pies herself.
After breakfast, Teresa sat with the old man for a while before standing up. “Grandpa, I have to head to the hospital for work. I’ll bring you some homemade cookies next time.”
Richard glanced upstairs. “Aren’t you waiting for Charles and Yolanda?”
Teresa, who had never left the old house without them, just shook her head. “No, I need to hurry for work.”
She grabbed her bag and hurriedly left, as though fleeing.
Richard watched her leave, shaking his head and sighing deeply.
He could no longer meddle in his grandchildren’s matters.
Once, he had forced Charles to marry Teresa, but now, he felt powerless to help them.
Charles woke up early as well, but it wasn’t time for Yolanda to leave for school, so he didn’t wake her.
Walking past the couch, he saw that the blanket was neatly folded, as if no one had slept there.
He figured Teresa must have gone downstairs to accompany grandpa.
When he went downstairs, Richard wasn’t around, which confirmed his
guess.
Susan saw him coming down and quickly greeted him. “Mr. Logan, would you like breakfast?”
Charles, in a rush to get to work, declined. “No, I’m fine.”
At the door, he suddenly remembered something. “When Mrs. Logan comes back, tell her to take Yolanda to kindergarten.”
Susan didn’t know Teresa had left already, so she agreed “Of course, Sir.”
After Charles left, Susan went back to the kitchen to clean the dishes.
2/3
11:29 AM P
Chapter 21
Suddenly, a loud crying noise came from upstairs.
Susan froze for a second, not even bothering to take off her apron before rushing upstairs.
The closer she got, the louder Yolanda’s crying became.
“Daddy…”
Susan pushed open the bedroom door, and there was Yolanda, sitting on the bed with her hair in a mess, beating the covers.
Her tears soaked the bed, eyes red and swollen, like an abandoned kid.
8/3
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: When She Walks Away (Teresa)