I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 170

Nora nodded, bent down to put on her shoes, and opened the door to leave.

She didn't drive away immediately. Instead, she parked the car at a discreet corner along the street in the residential community, killed the engine, and sat quietly in the driver's seat.

The night wind poured through the half-open window, bringing a slight chill.

Before long, a familiar Maybach slowly rolled down the neighborhood's inner driveway.

The moment the headlights swept past her, she recognized the license plate. It was Seraphina's car.

Nora's heart felt as though an invisible hand had ruthlessly twisted it. Her legs felt like lead, too heavy to lift.

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she looked toward the villa's living room. The lights were on.

Cassie stood on her tiptoes, retrieving a thermos from the cabinet. Carefully, she poured the bowl of seafood chowder from the dining table into it. A brilliant smile—one Nora hadn't seen in a very long time—bloomed on her face. Through the glass, Nora couldn't hear what was being said, but she could read her daughter's lips perfectly.

"Seraphina, you have to try this. My mom just made it fresh. Didn't you say you wanted some?"

Nora sat motionless in the driver's seat, her eyes growing damp.

So, Cassie had been in such a rush to call her back to make the seafood chowder, not because she wanted to share a dinner with her mother, but simply because Seraphina had mentioned wanting to eat her cooking.

She had summoned her mother back to play chef, just so she could hand the results over to Seraphina.

What an obedient, dutiful daughter...

Nora wrenched her gaze away, turned the key in the ignition, and stepped on the gas, speeding out of the residential area. This time, she didn't look back.

Sienna's cheerful tone burst through the receiver, her loud voice buzzing in the earpiece. "Nora! I was out of town for the past few days and didn't tell you. The signal was terrible, so I barely had my phone on. I just got off the plane and heard you got hurt! How are you doing? Are you feeling any better? What kind of psycho would dare hurt you? Tell me, I swear I'll punch their lights out!"

In the past, hearing Sienna speak like this would have filled Nora with warmth. She would have felt that someone in this world still cared about her, someone who would roll up their sleeves and fight for her.

But now, there wasn't a single ripple of emotion in her heart. She had been hospitalized for days, and Sienna was only just finding out. If she truly cared, she wouldn't have been completely oblivious to her best friend spending a week in the hospital.

This just proved that the weight she held in this friendship was entirely different from what she had always believed.

Sienna had likely just heard something from Finnegan or Seraphina, which prompted her to reach out.

Just like Cassie's concern, it was laced with ulterior motives.

Nora didn't put much stock into it. Her voice was perfectly calm as she asked, "I'm fine. What do you want?"