bChapter /bb96 /b

Sally grinned, “I just had a fortune teller bread /bYvonne’s fortuneb. /bbHe /bbsaid /bthe bnext /bbaby will be ba /bboy.”

“Mommy, why not give me ba /blittle brother ASAPb?/bb” /bYvonne bsaid/b, ball /bcheerful as bshe /bshook my hand. “I want a little brother.”

“Alrightb, /bYvonne, don’t say that out loud. bJust /bkeep it in your heart,” Sally said, beaming like she thought I could give her a

bson /bbtomorrow/bb. /b

Jared walked bover/b, and Sally looked at him in surprise. “Jared, didn’t you say you weren’ting?”

Jared replied gently, “Mom, the child belongs to both of us. Praying for a child only works if both husband and wifee together.”

“Daddy?b” /bYvonne spotted him, let go of my hand, and ran over with a big smile.

Jared bent downb, /bscooped her up, and gave her nose a yful tap. “Did you have fun?”

“Yes, Daddy. When are you going to kiss Mommy? Grandma said if you two kissb, /bI’ll get a little brotherb,/b” Yvonne asked, grinning from ear to ear.

bAs /bsoon as those words left her mouth, not just usb–/beven Sally turned red. She hurried to cover Yvonne’s mouth. “Hush now, sweetie. There are so many people here. Your parents will get embarrassed.”

Jared just smiled indulgently, “Don’t worry. It’ll happen soon.”

bI /breally didn’t want to hear their talk. It was like my feelings didn’t even exist to them. Nobody bothered to ask what I wanted.

“Where’s Quinn?” Jared asked.

Sally shot me a reproachful look. “She left right after praying. Her friends wanted to hang out.”

“How about we all have lunch together?” Jared suggested, ncing at me. “Victoria, it’s been ages since we all had a meal out with Yvonne.”

Sally nodded. “Alright, I was nning to buy Yvonne a toy at lunchtime anyway. Let’s go to the mall.”

On the way back, Jared asked me to ride with him. Seeing that I didn’t respond, Sally said, “Victoria, why don’t you talk to Jared? Yvonne cane with me.”

I hadn’t driven over. I’de in Sally’s car, so now I had no choice but to ride with Jared.

He didn’t bring a driver and drove himself. When I went to open the back door, Jared was clearly annoyed. “Come and sit in the front.”

But I ignored him and settled into the back seat.

“So now I’m just your driver, huh?” Jared turned to look at me, looking even more furious.

b“/bbIf /byou don’t want me in your car, I’ll just call a cab,” I said, reaching for the door.

“Alright, quit it,” Jared said, trying to rein in his temper. “Being your exclusive driver isn’t exactly a big deal.”

bI /bkept quiet. It was bstill /bup in the air whose exclusive driver he actually was. Not like I was lucky enough to enjoy that kind of

treatment.

Chugter 96

Jarred looked pretty good behind the wheel, allid–back and casual. He just drove in silence for a long while.

At a red light, a Marcbach squeezed in next to us. Jared nced over, adjusted the rearview mirror so he could see me sitting

in the back

was eyeing the can, too. Upon thinking about how Nathan drove the exact same model, my heart fluttered a bitb. /b

“What? Are you fantastring that Nathan’s the one in that car?” Jared shot back, his words edged with thorns.

I crossed my arms over my chest, my tone cool. “And what if I amb? /bAre you going to police even my thoughts now?”

Jared tagged his long fingers on the steering wheel Victoriai, /ias long as we’re still married, you’re bmy /bwife. Nathan doesn’t even get vo fantasize about you”

His words carried an unspoken threat, even without anger. It sent a chill through me, reminding me just how deep Jared’s possessiveness and dominance really ran, always hidden beneath the surface.

“Got it? Nathan may be young, but you’d better keep your hands off him.” Jared’s eyes fixed on me through the rearview mirror, staring me down with that possessive intensity.

It was both a reminder and a warning.

b2/2 /b

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