The Doormat Wife’s Ultimate Glow-Up novel Chapter 17

Sunlight slipped through the curtains and flickered across Reese’s eyelids, pulling her from a hazy, hangover-tinted sleep.

Even after last night’s fiasco at the Maple Street Diner, her mood—and Millie’s—hadn’t soured one bit. They’d just switched restaurants, devoured dinner, then found themselves at a quiet bar. Laughter and easy conversation carried them all the way to three in the morning.

Reese couldn’t remember the last time she’d let herself have this much fun. No alarms, no rushing to make breakfast for Sebastian—just waking up when her body told her it was time.

She reached for her phone on the nightstand and saw a handful of missed calls. She hit redial.

Robbie answered, sounding seriously annoyed. “Mom, why are you only picking up now?”

He didn’t even wait for her reply. “You don’t have to come to my birthday party if you don’t want to, but you still have to make me a cake. I want mango cake!”

“I already told you—just ask the housekeeper to do it,” Reese replied, her voice scratchy from sleep. She was worried the housekeeper might actually listen to Robbie and make a mango cake. “And you’re allergic to mangoes, remember?”

Robbie’s voice shot up an octave. “That’s not true! You’ve made it for me before! You just don’t want to do it and you’re making excuses!”

His whining made Reese’s head throb. Just like that, her good mood was gone.

Honestly, Robbie was beyond spoiled.

She didn’t even bother arguing. She hung up.

The busy tone on the other end made Robbie fume. Mom was so unfair. He rolled his eyes, then dialed another number.

As soon as the call connected, his tone turned sweet. “Auntie, am I interrupting you?”

“My birthday party’s next week. Can you come? Maybe we could make a mango cake together?”

When he heard a warm yes, Robbie finally broke into a big, satisfied grin.

——

Reese got up, washed her face, and made a quick breakfast before heading to the city library.

Yesterday, Dominic had handed her a long list of books to read, telling her to get through them while she could and get ready for the next project.

She was just about to walk into the library when her phone rang.

“Reese, did you make the ‘Star Trail’ system?”

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