You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 800

Morning sickness had settled in for the long haul, and it was every bit as miserable as Patricia had heard. For weeks, her days started the same way—she’d barely open her eyes before she was running for the bathroom. After the worst of it passed, she’d stumble back to bed and sleep for hours. On good days, she’d wake up feeling like herself again, maybe even get some work done. On the bad ones, the nausea would hit again and that was it, her whole day was shot.

Winter in Riverdale dragged on with endless rain. The dampness was everywhere, clinging to her skin and making everything feel sticky, like putting on clothes that hadn’t dried all the way. The only relief was inside Cloud Peak, where the heating was always on high for Patricia’s sake. She wore long sleeves and pants, but everyone else lounged around in shorts and t-shirts. Walking through the front door felt like crossing between two different seasons.

Lately, Jaxon had been coming to Riverdale a lot for work, and Selara always tagged along. Every visit, she’d show up carrying bags and boxes—gifts and supplements from their elders in Golden Bay. It was a steady stream, and soon the stash in Oliver’s first-floor storage room had piled up so high that Johns spent half his day sorting it out. Patricia even overheard him suggest expanding the storage, but Oliver just told him to use an empty room for now and left it at that.

This afternoon, Patricia was curled up on the sofa, propping her chin in her hand as she watched Sara crouched on the floor, tearing into a spicy duck neck. Sara was in full gossip mode, raving about Marian’s cooking while spilling family drama.

“You should’ve seen Grandma Grace’s face when she found out you were pregnant, Aunt Patricia. She looked like she’d swallowed a lemon. And then, a few days ago, she heard some rumor that you and Uncle Oliver had a fight. When she came over to visit Grandpa, she couldn’t stop making these weird little comments about people from small families not being on the same ‘intellectual level’ and stuff.”

Sara made a face. “It was gross, honestly. But Grandma didn’t let her get away with it. She snapped right back. And don’t even get me started on our cousin’s mistress. She doesn’t just have a humble background—she has no background at all. But her son’s still been spoiling her rotten for years…”

Sara trailed off, suddenly remembering herself. She glanced at Patricia with wide, guilty eyes.

Patricia just laughed. “What’s up?”

With a sigh, Patricia turned off her phone and rubbed her face. She got to her feet and called out to Marian, who was hovering nearby. “I’m going upstairs to change. I need to head out for a bit. Can you ask Aiden to get the car ready?”

“Now?” Marian sounded worried. “The weather report says it’s going to start snowing at three.”

Patricia waved it off. “I won’t be outside long.” She headed upstairs, changed into something fresh, and dabbed on a little tinted sunscreen to brighten up her tired face.