Left Them Loved Myself (Stella Spencer) novel Chapter 38

Chapter 38

And contacting Ernest? No way at all. The banquet incident was still fresh in Stella’s mind.

“Forget it. No rush. I’ll check tomorrow,” Stella muttered, putting her phone away and heading to wash up.

Meanwhile, at the Lloyd Villa, Irene had been sulking earlier because Stella had left and Ernest wasn’t playing with her.

But the moment she saw her dad come home-Sylvia in tow, holding snacks-her mood flipped instantly.

She snuggled into Ernest’s arms, opening wide to eat the treats Sylvia offered, her eyes squinting in pure delight. “Dad, were with Ms. Jansen the other day, so I totally forgot about the parent-child activity.”

Ms. Jansen really was the best, thought Irene. Unlike Mom. She hadn’t even bothered feeding her oatmeal.

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‘I’ve already apologized, so couldn’t Mom just make another bowl and pretend nothing happened?’ Irene sneered inside. ‘How petty!’

“Good thing your teachers reached out to your dad in time. Otherwise, you might have missed the whole thing,” Sylvia said, a faint, bittersweet smile tugging at her lips. “I can’t wait to see how awesome you’ll be that day.”

She then glanced at Ernest. “Ernest, make sure you take plenty of photos and videos for me, alright?”

“Sure.” Ernest nodded.

Sylvia paused, slightly puzzled-his calm response wasn’t what she’d expected.

“You can come too, Ms. Jansen!” Irene exclaimed. She swallowed a bite and babbled nonstop, brimming with excitement. “I want you to play with me. The teacher said the games are super fun, and I want you to be there.”

“But this is a parent-child activity,” Sylvia reminded gently, a tinge of regret in her tone. “It’s supposed to be your mom who attends.”

Mentioning Mom immediately soured Irene’s mood. She pouted fiercely. “I don’t want her there! She didn’t even give me oatmeal today before leaving.”

Even Betty, standing nearby, flinched at that. “Miss Irene, you were the one who…”

“Betty! Shut up!” Irene shrieked, her glare sharp enough to make even Betty step back in fear, as if the girl could slice her in half.

Seeing that Ernest remained completely unfazed, showing no concern for what Irene had done to Stella, Betty wisely held her tongue and quietly backed away.

The living room fell silent-just the three of them, like a distorted little family. The tension was thick enough to hear a pin drop.

Irene glanced up at Ernest, unsure. He didn’t react, so she peeked at Sylvia, whose face remained gentle and calm, as if she hadn’t heard Betty at all.

“What’s wrong?” Sylvia asked softly. “Are you already full?”

Irene’s expression softened, and she beamed. “No, I’m still hungry! Feed me more.”

“Okay,” nodded Sylvia.

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The next day, when Stella called to ask about the parent-child activity, Irene didn’t hesitate to reply, “I don’t want you to come. Sylvia will be with me!”

“Alright,” Stella said calmly, unsurprised. “Then I won’t make any preparations.”

**

Meanwhile, back at the Lloyd Villa, Irene was tilting her head, whining at Ernest.

“Dad, Mom won’t make my cookies and cupcakes,” she complained. “What should I do?”

“Then just eat something else.” Ernest ruffled her hair. “And Sylvia cannot attend the parent-child event. Only your mom

can.”

At a top-tier elite kindergarten, while the school wouldn’t meddle in family affairs, they conducted background checks: parental status, marital status, and even weekly psychological assessments of each child.

If the information provided didn’t match the school records, the student would be expelled with no exceptions.

This strict approach prevented negative influences from spreading. After all, children often mirror their parents.

2/3

A top-tier elite school was not so easy to manipulate. Multiple stakeholders, institutional support… even Ernest couldn’t override it easily.

Hearing that Sylvia couldn’t go, Irene’s eyes went wide. She slumped, crestfallen. “Why? If Ms. Jansen can’t go, then I don’t

want to either.”

More importantly, she didn’t want Mom to go either-not at all.