I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 168

Halfway through the meal, Nora's phone rang. It was Cassie calling, urging her to come pick her up from school.

Nora hung up, stood up, and grabbed her coat, telling the table, "Cassie is hurrying me, so I'll head out first. Take your time, everyone."

Arthur watched Nora's retreating figure. He tapped his fork lightly against his plate twice, before suddenly blurting out an utterly unprompted question, "Is Nora single?"

Hearing this, Zelda instantly caught his meaning. She set down her fork and glared at him protectively. "Don't you go getting any ideas. Our Nora has absolutely no intention of remarrying right now. Don't go playing matchmaker."

Arthur hurriedly waved his hands, his expression unusually serious. "Look how defensive you are! That's not what I meant. What I was trying to say is..."

He called out to Julian, waiting until the boy looked up before continuing, "I have to go out of town for a few days to attend a couple of academic conferences in different cities. It's inconvenient to take Jude with me. Do you think I could leave him here at the institute to study for a few days, and have Nora mentor him a bit?

"Of course, I wouldn't let her do it for free. If she ever needs anything in the future, she can come straight to me. I, Arthur Caldwell, will owe her a favor."

Xavier snorted coldly from the side, but his tone softened. "You need to ask the kid if he's willing first."

He looked at Julian, the implication clear: Arthur should ask Julian for his opinion before the adults made all the decisions for him.

Julian shook his head, his tone calm and perfectly polite. "I have no objections. It would be my honor to learn from Nora. Thank you, Nora, Professor Vance, and Mrs. Vance."

Arthur beamed with a triumphant smile. "I suppose you'll agree to it now?"

Xavier, however, didn't immediately cave. "I still have to ask Nora first. She has a lot of projects on her plate, and she just got out of the hospital, so she's not fully recovered. Whether she can handle taking him on is up to her."

Cassie pulled back, walking around to the passenger side. She opened the door, climbed in, and buckled her seatbelt, saying, "Then can you make seafood chowder for me tonight? I want some. You haven't made it for me in so long, Mom."

Nora nodded and said yes, starting the engine and driving toward home.

As soon as she got into the car, Cassie secretly pulled out her small phone. Huddled in the passenger seat, she turned the screen brightness all the way down and quickly typed out a message to Seraphina.

After sending it, she purposefully angled her body to shield the screen, making sure her mother couldn't see.

Nora caught all of this out of the corner of her eye but pretended not to notice. Her hands gripped the steering wheel firmly, her gaze fixed straight ahead.

A child's energy flares up quickly and fades just as fast. After just a few minutes of excitement, Cassie's head began to bob. Clutching her little backpack, she slumped against the seat and fell fast asleep.