Betrayed By Husband, Stolen By Brother In Law-Chapter 264: Interrupted

Melody stirred her latte, watching the foam swirl before she looked up with a small smile."So, the new printer in the admin wing is already acting up. Took me fifteen minutes just to get one sheet out. And of course, Mr. Shin was right behind me, needing twenty copies of his monthly report."

Marianne gave a noncommittal hum and reached for her coffee watching Melody talk about everything instead of what was important.

"Oh, and Mrs. Kap’s, the senior teacher I was telling you about, is back from maternity leave. You should’ve seen her face when she found her desk moved three inches to the left," Melody added, grabbing a piece of her croissant. "She made the janitor shift it back mid-day. It was the talk of the entire lunch break.

Silence. Just the soft clink of porcelain as Marianne gave no reply. But, Melody pushed on.

"And guess what? One of my little students tried to convince me he had a rare allergy to putting toys back in the bin. Creative, I’ll give him that—"

Finally, Marianne knew that if she did not put a stop to this, her daughter would continue to talk... so she put down her cup and interrupted her," Melody."

Melody stopped mid-sentence and blinked at her.

"I didn’t come here to hear about printers and seating charts," Marianne said, "I asked how you are."

Melody’s fingers curled around the edge of her saucer and this little nervous gesture did not go unnoticed by her, "I told you-I’ve just been busy."

"With what?"

"Work," she said, shrugging. "There’s been a lot going on. New assistants to train. Parent-teacher meetings. Scheduling nightmares. It’s just... nonstop."

Marianne tilted her head. "That’s not what I’m asking."

Melody looked away. "I’m fine, Mother."

Marianne picked up her cup, took another slow sip, and kept her eyes on Melody. She watched as her daughter shifted slightly in her seat, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her napkin—subtle, but not missed.

Marianne paused, tapping the rim of her cup with a thoughtful finger. There were two things she had been meaning to bring up. One was the sudden silence around Melody’s boyfriend—someone she used to talk about frequently, even fondly, until a few months ago. And the other...

She took a breath, weighing her options, then carefully set her cup down with a soft clink and asked in a casual voice, "So, what happened to that little boy at your school? The one whose mother looked so much like you?"

Melody, who had just opened her mouth- finally ready to confess that she and her boyfriend had broken up a couple of months ago-froze mid-breath. The words stalled on her tongue, caught somewhere between relief and confusion.

She blinked, momentarily thrown. That wasn’t the question she had been expecting.

No pointed remark about her silence. No dramatic sigh or drawn-out comment about "how she always had to dig for information. " Just... a calm question. Unrelated. Almost gentle. And yet, somehow, it put her more on edge than any of her mother’s usual tactics.

Of all things, did her mother just let the interrogation slide?

She narrowed her eyes slightly, studying her mother with muted caution. Was her mother planning to question her some other way.

But still, she answered carefully," You mean Melanie?"

"Was that her name?"

She nodded and tried not to think of the woman’s husband," Yes. Her name is Melanie Collins. She is some big shot CEO of a luxury brand. She came in once or twice to pick Adir. Didn’t stay long. Just the usual parent stuff."

Marianne tilted her head slightly. "You spoke to her?"

"Barely," Melody said, reaching for what was left of her croissant. "We just exchanged pleasantries. She’s not exactly chatty."

Melody didn’t tell her that she did not like to chat much with her so she usually tended to keep a distance when she did come. She had met Melanie Collins thrice only. First on the Parent teacher meeting, then when she had come to inform of Adir’s father passing away and today. And yet, she somehow felt unlikable to Melody.

"So... you don’t know much about her?"

Melody glanced up, brow furrowed at the odd tone. "No. I mean, we don’t really talk. She’s not even around most days, Adir’s father usually handles pick-ups."

Marianne gave a small nod, schooling her expression so that she didn’t look too eager. But she was too disappointed. Why could her daughter not be more curious about Melanie? After all, the woman looked exactly like her.

Still, she let it go. For now. Later, she would talk to Melody about finding more about her... And even her husband. What was his name?

Instead, with a small, too-casual smile, she stirred her coffee and asked lightly, "Alright, fine. Forget her. But at least tell me the name of this elusive boyfriend of yours."

Melody’s hand stilled on her saucer.

And then-before she could stop herself, before she could run it through any mental filter or make herself confess, a name slipped out.

"Adam."

The moment the name slipped from her lips, Melody froze. Her eyes darted to her mother’s face, but it was too late to take it back. Marianne was already watching her closely.

"Adam?" That is such a boring name."

Melody wanted to curse herself. Of all the names to have slipped out? And her mother had even heard it! Dam* it! She should have confessed that she was single again, instead of blurting out that name again.

But now it was too late. Already, she could see her mother getting ready to investigate.

As expected, her mother questioned her immediately," What is his full name? What does he do?"

"I am not telling you mother! I don’t need you to meddle. I will let you meet him when I am ready, okay? But please don’t interfere until then. Please?"

Marianne nodded and gave her daughter another look," Are you sure he is real? You are not fooling me right?"

The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel