Page 20 of The Billionaire's Wife (An Heir At Any Price 2)

“Yeah, she’s really nice,” Mark said.

“What grade are you in, Mark?” Holly asked him. I looked at her and in that moment if no other, I knew why I loved her so much. She was fuming angry at me, yet she was putting that aside to make this little boy feel more comfortable.

“I’m in second grade,” he told her. “I can read now.”

“That’s amazing,” Holly said. “Maybe someday you can help Eric learn how to read, when he gets old enough.”

I wanted to get up and hug her tight. She was amazing. I glanced at Cecile and something about the look on her face told me that she wasn’t as impressed. She suddenly leaned across Mark, blocking Holly’s vision of him and said, “Here, let me cut that meat for you.”

“I can do it, Mom,” he told her.

“Let me do it, I don’t want you choking. You know how I worry about you,” she said. I couldn’t see Mark’s face, but I imagine he was rolling his eyes. Even a seven year old had to be able to see through his mother’s act. I was troubled by the fact she seemed so determined to keep Holly from trying to forge some kind of relationship with the boy she had lately insisted on calling my son.

I looked over at Holly who was helping Eric get a drink from his sippee cup. When she looked at me, I smiled. She didn’t smile back, but she didn’t throw her fork at me either…I guess that was a start.

HOLLY

We sat down at the dinner table and for a few minutes Aiden and Mark had talked about Mark’s school and his friends. I was okay with that, except for the looks that Cecile was giving me every time she thought that Aiden wasn’t looking. The little boy was sweet, surprisingly so since he had Cecile for a mother. I knew I’d been in a terrible mood since they’d gotten there and I felt bad for not trying to make Mark feel more comfortable. I reminded myself again that none of this was his fault. I started talking to him about reading and how maybe, someday he could help Eric learn how to read. He seemed taken aback with the baby.com. Cecile, proving again what a nut job she was when she leaned across him so that I couldn’t even see the boy and began cutting his meat. He told her that he didn’t need her to. It was so obvious what she was doing that even Aiden figured it out. I could tell by the look on his face and the way he tried to smile at me. I almost felt bad for not smiling back, but I was still too mad at him to even force one.

While she put on her little show on her side of the table, I fed Eric on my side and tried to ignore Cecile completely. I was trying to do some positive self-talk in my head to calm down…it wasn’t really working. That could likely be because Cecile suddenly wouldn’t shut-up. She’d stopped fussing with her own son and now she was focused on mine again. Yet again, trying to make it look like I was a bad mother. I really hoped that my husband can see through her B.S.

“Oh, Holly! I think he needs his chin wiped. Do you have a wipee? Oh, Holly! He’s fallen over sideways! Oh, Holly! Do you think he’s really old enough for Zwieback toast?” The whole time she was nagging me about how to feed my own son, my husband didn’t say a word to stop her. He should have been defending me and telling her that I knew what I was doing and that I didn’t need her input. Instead, the coward just stuffed his mouth with roast and potatoes. Cecile droned on, mostly about herself and what designer labels she wears, and by the time we finished dinner, I was afraid that I might be homicidal. I got up and used a few wipeys to clean Eric out of his high chair before I went to put the dishes away.

I was going to sit him in the playpen when Cecile said, “Oh, can I hold the little cherub, please? How are his poor little arms?”

I continued to hold onto him as I said, “Did you happen to tell Aiden that you were the one who burnt him?” Cecile and Aiden seemed to share everything else, why not that? Cecile narrowed her eyes at me and then turned to a shocked looking Aiden with a fake sad expression.

“I bumped into the table, I felt so bad. I did counsel Holly on leaving the coffee so close to such a young baby. I hardly slept the whole night worrying about him. I didn’t know who he was or how to get in touch with Holly so I could check on him. I tried to find out from the staff at the café, but they were all very rude to me.” I swear the fake witch had managed to work a tear into the corner of her eye.

Aiden looked at me and then back at Cecile like he was confused by the news.

“I don’t understand. What were you doing at the café, Cecile?”

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