I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 70

"Of course. Give me just a bit."

When Nora went downstairs, the kitchen was empty. She checked the refrigerator and found it fully stocked.

Pulling out a small bowl of oats, she rinsed them, tossed them into a pot of water, and set it to boil. Then she diced up some fresh pumpkin and stirred it in.

As she waited, she couldn't help but think about how Bonnie had clung to her. The phantom warmth of the little girl leaning into her embrace still lingered on her skin.

It reminded her of Cassie. Before Cassie turned five, she used to cuddle exactly like that. But as she spent more and more time living with Seraphina, she eventually stopped needing her mother to hold her.

The sound of the front door opening broke her train of thought.

Nora turned around just as a woman draped in head-to-toe designer labels strutted inside.

She wore a camel trench coat over a cream dress and carried a limited-edition handbag.

Her gaze swept over the kitchen and landed on Nora. She frowned, her tone dripping with disdain. "When did Xander hire a new housekeeper? And so young, too."

Without waiting for Nora to respond, she marched briskly toward the stairs, a whirlwind of entitlement.

Before she even reached the bedroom door, her voice echoed down the hall. "Bonnie, Gwen is here to see you!"

Nora glanced down at her apron. The gap between her and a socialite was pretty glaring.

She shrugged it off, turning back to stir the bubbling pumpkin oatmeal.

Upstairs, Bonnie's eyes widened with joy at the sound of the voice. "Gwen! You came!"

Gwen let her pull a few times before turning back with a satisfied smirk. "Alright, alright. I'm just teasing you."

Leaning in closer, she lowered her voice. "Tell me something. Why didn't you go stay at your dad's place?"

A slight blush crept up Gwen's neck. She looked down, gently brushing Bonnie's bangs. "I mean, I can't just keep showing up here out of the blue. But once we're married, we'll get to see each other every single day."

Nora had just reached the bedroom door with the tray of food when those exact words drifted into the hallway.

Xander Harrison had a fiancée? Was this Gwendolyn Quinn the woman he was going to marry?

It was a bit surprising that the stoic Xander had moved on from his late wife, but ultimately, it was none of her business. Nora offered a faint, unbothered smile and knocked lightly on the doorframe.

"Bonnie, your food is ready."