“Cel, you mustn’t do anything reckless, understand? You need to end this marriage,” Betty said with a serious tone.
“You can only truly start over once you’re officially divorced. You still have a long life ahead of you, and you’ll have plenty of chances to do whatever you want in the future.
“But right now, the most important thing is to make the right decision.”
Celeste understood exactly what Betty was worried about. She steadied herself before replying, “Okay, I understand.”
Only then did Betty relax slightly, gently patting Celeste’s hand.
That night, Celeste lay awake for a long time. The next morning, she inevitably woke up later than usual.
When she went downstairs, only the housemaid was around. She asked, “Where are Grandma and Aunt Adeline?”
The maid smiled. “They went out for a walk.”
Celeste nodded and didn’t ask anything further.
After breakfast, she planned to go out and look for Betty, wanting to spend more time with her. But after walking around for a while, she couldn’t find them.
Instead, a neighbor spotted her and greeted her. “Out for a walk too, Cel?”
“Yes, I wanted to keep my grandmother company. By the way, did you see which direction they went?”
“Huh? Your grandmother and Adeline left early this morning. They didn’t come out for a walk.”
Celeste paused, then quickly understood. They had gone to the hospital to visit her mother.
Although Betty was still in relatively good health, she was getting older. Lately, she had been visiting Isabelle at the hospital more often—perhaps feeling that every visit might be the last.
Normally, there would’ve been nothing unusual about it. But after what was said last night, Betty likely worried Celeste would feel worse knowing she had gone to see Isabelle at a time like this.
Still, she couldn’t bring herself not to go. So she simply chose not to tell Celeste.
Celeste turned away and took a deep breath, then exchanged a few polite words with the neighbor before heading back home.
noveldrama
Just as she returned, her phone rang.
It was Jordyn.
Celeste hesitated for a moment, then answered.
On the other end, Jordyn asked if she had gone out and then excitedly shared where they had been and the fun things they had seen that day.
Celeste listened quietly, offering little response.
“Mom?”
Jordyn, who was usually fine with her quiet nature, still noticed something off. “What’s wrong?”
Celeste snapped back. “Nothing.”
Jordyn was about to say more when Wynn’s voice suddenly came through the phone. “Jo, did you find what I asked for?”
“Found it! I’m coming right now.”
Then Jordyn said quickly, “Mom, I’ll hang up now.”
“Alright, go ahead,” Celeste replied calmly.
After the call ended, Celeste felt a tightness in her chest as she set the phone down. She had intended to go upstairs, but she stopped in her tracks.
Then she turned, picked up her car keys, and walked out.
After getting into the car, she called Matthias. “Do you have time to grab a drink?”
Matthias paused on the other end, briefly wondering if he had heard her correctly. Celeste wasn’t someone who drank often—on the contrary, she usually avoided alcohol unless it was necessary.
Hearing this, he immediately understood something was off.
He didn’t ask questions. “Sure.”
