When She Walks Away (Teresa) novel Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Teresa looked down at Yolanda, who clearly had complicated emotions in her eyes, but Teresa chose to overlook them. “Yes, you’re not feeling well, so I’m here to stay with you,” she said softly.

Yolanda’s face scrunched up. “Mom, did Dad tell you I wasn’t feeling good?”

Teresa pulled out Yolanda’s pajamas from the closet before answering. “Yes.”

When Yolanda heard that it was her dad who had told Teresa about her illness, she didn’t say anything else.

After thinking for a moment, Yolanda suddenly acted like she just remembered something and said to Teresa, “Mom, wait for me. I’ll go downstairs for a glass of milk and be right back.”

Yolanda did have the habit of drinking milk before bed, but usually, Teresa would bring it to her.

Even when Teresa wasn’t around, Sharon would bring it to Yolanda’s room, so there was really no need for her to go downstairs herself. Teresa could guess what Yolanda was really up to.

After Yolanda left, Teresa sat on the sofa for a while, holding Yolanda’s pajamas, not really doing anything. She was still wearing her gown, which made it hard to move; so she went back to her closet to find her own pajamas.

After some searching, she finally found an old nightgown from when she had been raising Yolanda. It had once been light yellow but had faded to a creamy white over time.

If this were Naomi, there was no way she’d still have something that old in her closet.

But Teresa was just Teresa. No one ever cared about these little things when it came to her.

After changing out of her gown, Teresa slipped into the nightgown she hadn’t worn in years. She carefully folded the gown and placed it in a bag.

It was the dress Troy had sent her, and she planned to return it to him when she had the chance.

Yolanda hadn’t come back, so Teresa decided to wash up first. She took a quick shower, finishing in less than ten minutes. When she stepped out, Yolanda still wasn’t back.

Feeling uneasy, Teresa left the room to check on her. Just as she was about to head downstairs, she saw Yolanda and Naomi sitting together in the living room.

At that moment, Yolanda was curled up on Naomi’s lap, clinging to her arm and whining playfully, “Naomi, don’t be mad, okay? I didn’t know Mom would suddenly come home tonight. Next time, I’ll stay with you, I promise.”

Naomi pouted, turning her face away and saying nothing.

Yolanda, seeing Naomi ignore her, leaned in and nuzzled her cheek against Naomi’s, her voice pleading, “Naomi, don’t ignere me, please? Give me a smile. Look at me,” Yolanda said, pulling silly faces, doing everything she could to make Naomi laugh.

Teresa watched from upstairs, her heart heavy and bitter.

When Yolanda was just learning to talk, Teresa had spent day and night with her, making sure she always responded to her daughter’s words, never wanting her to feel neglected. Now, all that care seemed like a cruel joke.

For Naomi’s smile, Yolanda would probably do anything. Thinking about this, Teresa couldn’t hold back her tears.

She couldn’t bear to watch any longer. Turning away, she went straight to Charles’s room, feeling thirsty and just wanting a glass of

Water.

After she finished her water and returned to Yolanda’s room, Yolanda happened to be coming out at the same time. When Yolanda saw Teresa, she looked guilty and softly said, ‘Mom?

Teresa looked at her daughter, now looking so grown–up, and thought about how meek she had been in front of Naomi. Her heart ached. But Teresa was powerless–her daughter and her husband both liked Naomi

“Mom, where did you go just now?” Yolanda walked over and slipped her little hand into Teresa’s palan,

Teresa snapped out of her thoughts. She knew Yolanda was testng her, trying to see if Teresa had overbeard their conversation

It wasn’t just Yolanda–Charles carried that same scent on him too. Her husband and daughter, once hers, now belonged to someone else. If they all liked Naomi so much, Teresa saw no point in caring anymore.

Yolanda had finally managed to cheer Naomi up, and she was in a rare good mood. She was even happy to have her mom sleep with her tonight. But to her surprise, her mom actually said no.

With Yolanda staring at her in shock, Teresa went straight to the sofa and lay down. She didn’t even care if Yolanda was in bed yet–she just turned off the lights.

The bedside lamp was still on, and though the light was dim, it was enough to see everything in the room.

Yolanda, frustrated, could only lie down helplessly. Kids got upset quickly and got over it just as fast–especially since Teresa never really mattered much to her. After that night, Naomi would be nice to her again the next day.

Once she lay down, Yolanda drifted off to sleep in no time.

But Teresa couldn’t sleep at all. The more she thought about Yolanda’s attitude, the sadder she felt. She ended up sitting straight up on the sofa. Out of nowhere, she suddenly wanted a drink.

Even when Charles treated her like she didn’t exist, she never thought about drinking–because at least she had Yolanda with her. But now, she truly had no one left.

She put on a jacket and walked out of the room. As she passed Charles’s study, she noticed the door was half open, and the lights were still on inside.

She was just going to see if Charles was still working, but when she peeked in, what she saw was Naomi perched on Charles’s lap, her slender arms draped around his neck, head lowered–it looked like they were kissing,

After just a glance, Teresa snapped her gaze away and bolted downstairs, barely able to breathe. She knew full well that Charles and Naomi had already crossed the line, but seeing it with her own eyes was a whole different kind of pain.

The scene of them kissing was burned into her memory, haunting her no matter how hard she tried to shake it off.

She went to the kitchen, poured herself a glass of red wine, and stood by the window, swirling the wine. As she thought about her marriage with Charles, she couldn’t help but feel it was both ridiculous and pathetic..

With a heavy heart, she tipped her head back and knocked back the whole glass of wine in one go.

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