Sophia Shaw ignored him. She peeled a chestnut from the pile before her and placed the soft, fully cooked ones in front of her grandma.
She saved the ones that weren’t as tender for herself.
The chestnuts were scalding. Sophia Shaw struggled to peel them, her slender fingers turning bright red from the heat.
She liked her chestnuts piping hot, so she had no choice but to endure the burn.
Still, the chestnuts crumbled in her hands.
Suddenly, her fingers were empty.
Soone had taken the chestnut.
With a few deft movents, Vincent Grant’s slender fingers peeled the chestnut clean and placed it gently on the empty plate in front of her.
The two of them didn’t exchange a word.
Vincent Grant naturally took the roasted chestnuts and began to peel them, his movents so practiced they seed to have been repeated thousands of tis.
’The only person he would ever deign to do this for was Joanna Sherman.’
Sophia Shaw suddenly lost her appetite. "I’m going to look for my aunt," she said.
She got up and walked away.
"Mom, I’ll go with you!"
Cedric Grant hurried to catch up.
"That’s not necessary," Sophia Shaw said coolly.
’They had severed their relationship. Her family had nothing to do with him anymore.’
But Cedric Grant stubbornly followed her. "Mom, I didn’t an to hide your insulated container last ti. It’s just that Auntie Joanna made a special trip to bring soup, and I was afraid she’d be embarrassed if she knew I’d already eaten, so I..."
"Can you please not be mad at anymore?"
Once they were out of earshot of Yancy Shaw and their grandma, Sophia Shaw finally spoke. "Cedric, were you really just afraid of things being awkward? Or were you afraid your Auntie Joanna would be unhappy to find out you still cared about ?"
"I..."
’That was exactly what he had been thinking!’
Sophia Shaw could see right through the son she had given birth to.
"Since you’ve already made your choice, there’s no need to keep contacting ."
"But you’re my mom," Cedric Grant said, his eyes red and welling up with tears.
"I miss you, Mom."
"You don’t miss . You just miss having wait on you," Sophia Shaw said, looking him in the eye and enunciating every word.
"You give all your affection to your Auntie Joanna and your sister Stella, wanting to be a hero in their eyes. But at the sa ti, you want soone who will be there for you unconditionally when you’re tired or sick, soone to wait on you hand and foot."
"But Cedric, your heart isn’t with . Why should I keep taking care of you like I used to?"
"I didn’t... I didn’t..."
Cedric Grant shook his head, his voice cracking.
"But those are your own words."
Cedric Grant’s denials died in his throat as he recalled what he himself had said at the hospital.
’That was exactly what he had thought.’
’His mom was useless anyway; at least she was good for taking care of him.’
’Auntie Joanna was so amazing. If he didn’t treat her and his sister Stella well, they might stop paying attention to him.’
"Mom, Auntie Joanna is really incredible. Why aren’t you happy that I’m spending ti with such an outstanding person?"
Cedric Grant protested in a low voice.
He was sad.
But more than that, he was resentful.
Sophia Shaw swallowed hard. "But I’ve told you before, Joanna Sherman has hurt , and her family hurt your grandma."
"Why should I be happy that you’re so devoted to my enemy?"
’There are countless outstanding people in the world; Joanna Sherman is nothing special.’
’She had often told Cedric about truly remarkable people, like her teacher Old Master Sloan, or Levin Sherman, and many others with extraordinary achievents.’
’How had Cedric’s judgnt beco so warped that he put Joanna Sherman in the sa category as them?’
’With her ager abilities and accomplishnts, she wasn’t even fit to carry their shoes!’
Cedric Grant stared blankly at Sophia Shaw, and in a flash, a mory surfaced.
Sophia Shaw was squatting, holding his hand as he sat on the sofa, her voice a soft whisper. "Cedric, Mom won’t stop you from befriending people you like. But Joanna Sherman once hurt very deeply, and what’s more, your grandma passed away because of her family."
"I can’t just stand by and watch my son get close to my enemy. Can you understand that?"
’But at the ti, his mind had been consud with the thought of the amazing gift Auntie Joanna promised to give him the next ti they t. He had forgotten his mother’s words in an instant!’
Seeing the look on Cedric Grant’s face, Sophia Shaw knew.
’He’d forgotten her words!’
’If he could forget sothing so important, how could he lie to himself and say he still had a place for her in his heart?’
"What’s wrong with you?"
"Why do you always make Cedric cry?"
Chad Jennings appeared out of nowhere, his face grim as he bellowed at her.
Sophia Shaw didn’t want to deal with him and started to walk away.
The more she tried to leave, the more Chad Jennings hounded her. "Sophia Shaw, what are you so guilty about? You can’t even handle a child! No wonder Vincent Grant never liked you after five or six years of marriage!"
"If you ask , you should just..."
Sophia Shaw rounded a few corners, waiting until she was sure her grandma and uncle wouldn’t notice, then whipped around.
Chad Jennings had been following close behind and nearly collided with her.
He barely managed to steady himself and was just about to start cursing.
But then he looked up and t Sophia Shaw’s bone-chilling glare!
Chad Jennings shivered in fear, suddenly recalling the look Brianna Shaw had given him through her car window right before the crash.
’It was the exact sa look!’
’A look that could eat you alive!’
’Utterly reckless!’
’Insane. Terrifying!’
That mont was Chad Jennings’s recurring nightmare. Even after all these years, the mory still sent a cold sweat prickling down his spine.
The words on the tip of his tongue fizzled out. He didn’t dare utter another syllable.
Sophia Shaw returned to the campsite.
Vincent Grant was already on his feet, but Grandma was still holding onto him. "Oh, Vincent, I’m turning eighty next month. You’ll co for the celebration, won’t you?"
"I will," Vincent Grant nodded.
"Good, good." Grandma was overjoyed. "Your uncle said we’re going to take a family portrait that day. You missed it last ti, so we can finally get a proper one."
"My health is failing day by day. I just want to have a family photo to take with when I go, to show the old man and Faye’s mom."
Seeing how happy her grandma was, Sophia Shaw couldn’t bring herself to say the words on the tip of her tongue: ’He doesn’t need to co.’
She walked quietly to her grandma’s side. "Co on, I’ll help you get so tea."
"Don’t mind ." Instead, her grandma pushed her toward Vincent Grant. "Vincent said he has to leave early for sothing. Go on, walk him out!"
"Let’s go."
Vincent Grant took her hand.
Sophia Shaw froze, her gaze falling to the hand that now held hers.
He had already started walking.
Sophia Shaw followed passively.
Her eyes remained fixed on their joined hands.
She and Vincent Grant had been married for five or six years. In all that ti, they had only shared such intimate contact once before. It was during their fifth year, amidst a heavy snowstorm. He hadn’t co ho for a long ti, and she had grown so worried that she went out to look for him, only to get trapped in the snow herself. When he finally found her, he had pulled her out. They hadn’t touched like this since.
That mont had been incredibly precious to her. With that one touch, she had thought her suffering was finally over, that she had at last earned his acceptance.
Lost in her thoughts, Sophia Shaw didn’t even notice when they reached Vincent Grant’s car.
She only snapped back to reality when her face bumped hard against his unyielding back.
When Vincent Grant turned to look at her, she yanked her hand free and retreated several steps.
Drawing a clear line between them.
They had nothing to say to each other; it had all just been for their grandma’s benefit. Sophia Shaw turned to leave.
"Sophia Shaw," Vincent Grant called out to her. "Na your price."
Sophia Shaw turned back to look at him.
She didn’t understand.
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