Too Good for You The Ex-Wife You Lost novel Chapter 11

That night's drinking plan was derailed, but Sadie didn't mind. Instead, she texted Noelle.

"I saw you get into a car with some ridiculously young, hot guy. He looks like a freaking male escort! Get it, girl! I won't keep you. Go have fun!"

Noelle laughed to herself as she popped a frozen pizza into the microwave.

Hunter had dropped her off at home and left. They'd exchanged numbers, but there was none of the entanglement Sadie had imagined.

Still, Noelle couldn't stop her mind from circling back to the kiss from that night. She pressed her hands to her cheeks, trying to steady her thoughts.

After eating, she forced herself into bed and was determined not to overthink just so she could get some sleep. In her own apartment, she slept more soundly than she had in years.

When she woke up, she found dozens of missed calls, all from the same unknown number. She called back, and Clifford's furious voice exploded through the line.

"You finally picked up, Noelle! While you were out messing around with some man, your son was at home in agony. And as a mother, you didn't even bother to care!"

Noelle frowned. "Clifford, in case you've forgotten, we're divorced. You're the one responsible for caring for Zayne now."

Plus, she'd just blocked Clifford's number and not Zayne's. Her son could have easily reached out to her if he had wanted to.

Still, Zayne was her biological child, so she softened her voice to say, "What happened to him?"

Clifford's tone was sharp as he snapped, "He had emergency surgery this morning, and he's in the hospital right now. Come see for yourself."

After thinking about it, Noelle decided to visit the hospital to check on Zayne.

As she approached the ward, she heard Lola's sweet, cloying voice. "You're so sweet, Zayne. Shall I order you some takeout? This place has the most delicious fried chicken."

Zayne's small face was crunched in a frown. "Really?"

"Of course. Your mom was always so stingy and never wanted to spend money on takeout. But now that I'm here, you can have as much as you want.

"Don't worry. Your dad is rich. Isn't fried chicken your favorite?" Lola comforted him in her most "thoughtful" tone.

Noelle frowned at that. Zayne had just had surgery, so he should be eating light, clean food to recover and not greasy fried chicken.

Just as she was about to step in and object, Zayne nodded in agreement. "She was stingy. Every time I got sick, she'd just make broth or oatmeal and say it was to help me get better. I think she just didn't want to spend on fried chicken. I'm so sick of her food anyway!"

"Zayne, you said you wanted a new mom, so I gave you that. You said you never wanted to eat my cooking again, so I stepped aside for that, too. You have my word.

"From now on, whether you live or die is no longer any of my concern."

With that, Noelle turned to leave, only to walk straight into Clifford. He grabbed her arm and hissed through gritted teeth, "You've finally decided to show up! You're his mom, Noelle. Don't you have any sense of responsibility?"

Noelle pried his fingers off, her face expressionless as she looked at him. "Oh, so tell me, Clifford. While he was at home and in pain all night, where were you and your secretary?"

His expression froze and flickered with traces of guilt, while she continued with a sharp, mocking smile, "I've cared for him for five years, and now it's your turn."

She took a step forward. The next instant, as if a thought crossed her mind, she suddenly stopped.

Then, she turned to Lola and said, "Feeding fried chicken to a kid fresh out of an appendix surgery is the same as trying to kill him. Your little tricks might fool these two idiots, but they won't fool a doctor."

With that, Noelle walked out without looking back.

Clifford's face turned sullen as he turned to Lola. "What did she mean by that?"