Chapter 130
Colton chuckled, with a twinkle in his eye as he teased, “Don’t let me down now. I’m counting on you to make me proud.”
“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll bring home a top spot for you,” Summer replied. Her voice was bubbling with high spirits. With the Education Association’s competition materials in her grasp, she’d definitely come up short against that Mirabella! A fiery determination flickered in Summer’s
eyes.
“Alright, enough chit–chat. Scoot off to your room and hit the books,” Colton said with an impatient wave of his hand before his attention drifted back to the TV screen.
“Okay.” Summer murmured, spinning on her heel and heading for the staircase.
Once she was out of sight, Aiden, who had been slouched on the couch, propped himself up and frowned at Colton. “Dad, you’re not seriously sending Summer to get the test answers, are you?”
The whole thing about “materials” just screamed fishy to him.
Colton shot him a dismissive glance and said, “This is grown–up business.”
“Dad, do you even realize what you’re doing? It’s called cheating!” Aiden tossed the balled–up throw pillow from the sofa in frustration. Cheating was not the right way!
He remembered when Summer first came back, her grades were decent but nothing like they were now. Was his dad pulling strings all along?
Colton’s brow furrowed slightly. “What are you talking about? Don’t you review before a test? Don’t you buy study guides?”
“It’s not the same thing,” Aiden retorted, half amused, half annoyed.
Pressing his temples, Colton replied with a hint of resignation. “Let’s drop it. You should head to bed. School’s waiting tomorrow.”
Seeing the conversation go nowhere, Aiden shook his head in disappointment and stormed off to his room. Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes, Aiden just couldn’t wrap his head around it. Why had his parents‘ principles become so unrecognizable since Summer’s return?
The sister who was raised in the countryside never caused this much trouble, did she?
As thoughts of Mirabella crossed his mind, Aiden recalled the embarrassment she had caused him at the hospital. With a huff, he sat up abruptly, grabbed his phone, and found her contact details that he had sneakily saved while visiting grandma.
When he stared at the string of digits, his fingers hovered over the call button, moving back and forth several times before he ruffled his hair and decided to send a text instead.
Chapter 130
[Hey, scaredy–cat. you asleep yet?]
[Scaredy–cat, I haven’t settled the score for last time at the hospital. Just wait, I’m not going to let you off easy!]
After sending two texts and waiting without a reply. Aiden tossed his phone onto the pillow in frustration, then buried himself under the covers, gruffly pulling the blanket over his head.
When Mirabella checked her messages the next morning, she couldn’t help but scoff at the pettiness of a little brat. After skimming through the texts, she shook her head, deleted them without a second thought, and got ready for her day.
While she was getting dressed in her school uniform, Mirabella’s thoughts drifted back to James and his troubled expression. Despite his refusal of her offer for Incense of Calm, she felt. the need to repay the favor owed.
Crafting the incense wasn’t the tricky part; sourcing quality herbs was the challenge. Using common substitutes would certainly halve the effectiveness. After pondering for a moment. Mirabella dressed and stepped out of her room.
Over breakfast, she casually lifted her gaze to Shawn and inquired, “Dad, is there a place around here where I can find a good herbal market?”
