She Was Never Just the Billionaire’s Wife (Natasha and Chase) novel Chapter 84

(Chase)

The invitation arrives on a Wednesday, addressed to the entire household in handwriting I don't recognize.

Sonia picks it up from the hall table before I do and I watch the color leave her face in real time.

"What is it?"

She turns it over in her hands.

"My mother bought a house."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"She bought the old family beach house." She looks up.

"At Shell Cove."

I wait for her to explain why this is a problem.

"Her therapist suggested it," Sonia says, with the careful tone of someone choosing each word individually.

"Exposure therapy. Returning to places associated with difficult memories. I don’t think it’s going to be good for her, but she won’t listen to my advice."

She sets the invitation down on the table like it might bite her.

"She's having a small gathering. She's invited all of us."

"All of us meaning?"

"You. Me. Eleanor." A pause. "Natasha."

"That's very kind of her."

"Yes."

Sonia's voice is perfectly controlled.

"Very kind."

She picks up the invitation again, reads it, and puts it down a second time.

The movement has the quality of someone trying to decide something quickly and not quite managing it.

"Are you alright?" I ask.

"I'm worried about my mother," she says.

"This kind of exposure work can backfire. If she has a bad day and there are guests and it all becomes too much..."

She shakes her head.

"I think it might be too soon."

She says all of this with complete conviction.

I note it without comment, because Sonia's concern for her mother has historically been expressed in rather different terms.

The afternoon of the gathering, Natasha calls.

"I'm sorry," she says, sounding absolutely truthful.

"The Bauer tech team flagged something in the migration data and if we don't address it today the whole second phase stalls. I've tried to push it but Bauer's project lead is flying out tomorrow-"

"It’s fine," I tell her. "I'll give your apologies to Clarice. It’s not like you even know her, I’m sure she won’t mind."

Natasha laughs.

“You’re probably right, but I must admit, I was very interested in meeting the woman who produced children as wildly different as Nathanial and Sonia.”

A small pause.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean that in a bad way.”

“No, I get it. It’s my first time meeting her too. She sounds like a fascinating woman.”

We say our goodbyes and I hang up, turning to tell Sonia.

I find her in the hallway, ready to leave and looking like someone bracing for bad news.

I watch her expression transform completely in the space of three seconds.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify