Chapter 354 Strained Bonds: A Mother's Weariness and a Child's Yearning
On the other end, Teresa, after strapping her child into the car seat and tossing him a toy to keep him entertained, leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, motionless.
"Mommy, the dinosaur's broken," the child complained, holding a malfunctioning robotic dinosaur that wouldn't make a sound. The child reached out with one hand to offer the dinosaur to Teresa while tugging at her sleeve with the other.
"Here, play with this instead," Teresa said brusquely, snatching the dinosaur from his hand and tossing it aside. She then gave him a Rubik's cube.
"Mommy, play with me," he pleaded, gripping the cube and looking up at her with glossy, anxious eyes.
"Mommy's tired and needs to sleep. Play by yourself," she said coldly and leaned back once again, completely ignoring the child.
"Mommy." With an unfamiliar coldness in "Teresa's" eyes, the little one dubbed Croissant felt hurt and began to pout.
Hearing Croissant's whiny voice, "Teresa" suddenly felt irritable. She snapped her eyes open, glared at the child, and couldn't help but snap, "Stop calling me and play by yourself!"
"Wha... you're mean! You're not my mommy." Croissant's small face crumpled, and tears cascaded down in an instant when faced with the unrecognizable "Teresa."
—You're not my mommy.
"Teresa" glanced at Croissant; a gut reaction of panic flitted across her face.
The next second, she pressed a button, raising the partition that separated the front and back of the car. Then she scooped up Croissant, her demeanor switching to very soothing as she cooed, "There, there, sweetie, no more tears. Mommy was wrong to be harsh, okay? Let's stop crying, all right?"
The bodyguard in the front seat sensed something off in the voices behind. He turned, but the sight of Teresa and Croissant together showed nothing amiss.
A child just over two years old making a fuss was hardly out of the ordinary, although Croissant had never before made a peep on outings with Teresa.
Soon, the partition rose, hiding the rear from the bodyguard's view.
Once they were out of sight, "Teresa" abruptly put Croissant back in the car seat, wanting not to glance his way again.
How much easier it would have been to take the child, too.
But snatching him would blow her cover immediately, wrecking the intricate plan they had spent months on, along with all her invested effort.
Moreover, it likely spelled a quick end for them all.
"You're not my mommy... you're mean... a bad person... I... I want my mommy... I need my mommy..." Croissant's sobs intensified upon being dumped back into the car seat; his tear-streaked face spasmed with each plea for his mother.
"I'm not your mommy, then who is? I am your mommy." Teresa hissed through clenched teeth, her eyes a frigid glare upon the wailing child.
When faced with the troublesome Croissant, she felt a powerful urge to silence him for good right then and there.
"Wha... bad person... you're a bad person... wha... you're not my mommy... not..."
The persistent drone of the car's engine filled the space around them.
As the tears streamed down Croissant's face with increasing ferocity, barely catching her breath, Teresa's cell phone rang from the nearby purse.
"Teresa," upon hearing the ring, scrambled to retrieve the phone. With a swift glance, her eyes flitted over the name "Gabriel" flashing on the screen, bringing a surge of panic.
Turning her head to the inconsolable little one whose crying could rattle the bones, Teresa didn't hesitate. She pulled a premade white cloth from her pocket and firmly pressed it over Croissant's mouth and nose, all the while soothing the child with an incredibly tender voice, "Baby, no more tears, no more. Mama's sorry, sweetie. Please, stop crying!"
Between sobs, Croissant gazed up at "Teresa" with big, round eyes filled with a terror never seen before.
Flailing limbs lasted only a few seconds before Croissant's cries were stilled. The child's head tilted, eyes closed, and drifted into a deep, unaware sleep.
Seeing Croissant now silent and asleep, "Teresa" took a deep breath, composed herself, and answered the phone with a calm press of the button.
"My dear," she cooed as soon as the line connected.
On the other end, Gabriel's breath hitched at the sound of the undeniably sultry "my dear," his eyebrows unconsciously knitting together.
Teresa hardly ever spoke first when he called; this eager and overly sweet tone was unusual.
"Sweetheart, where are you?" Gabriel asked, brushing off the odd feeling.
After all, the idea that there could be two identical women, even with the same voice and scent, was inconceivable to anyone in their right mind.
"I'm about fifteen minutes from home, darling," said "Teresa" from inside a moving vehicle, her gaze lingering on the unconscious Croissant. Despite the whirl of emotions, her voice was the epitome of tenderness, way silkier than how she'd normally speak with Gabriel.
At that moment, if Gabriel had felt that something was slightly off before, the feeling had been accentuated greatlysignificantly accentuated now.
Was Teresa in such a good mood that she was this gentle?
Not even in their most intimate moments had Teresa sounded this delicate.
"Why'd you leave without waiting for me?"
As Gabriel spoke, the club manager was already bringing Teresa's coat, presenting it with utmost respect.
He took the coat, then turned and left the premises.
Why did she leave without waiting for me?
On the other end of the phone, "Teresa" listened to Gabriel's words with increasing panic.
Could it be that Teresa and Gabriel had arranged to meet at the club, with Gabriel coming to pick her up?!
"Sweetie, I just don't want you to wear yourself out!" she said in an artificially calm voice that was dripping with sweetness.
On the other end, Gabriel, just about to leave the club and get into his car, furrowed his brow again at the sound of her voice, his footsteps halting once more.
"Honey, how's the little one?" he asked.
"Baby's tuckered out, fast asleep." As she spoke, worried that the kid might wake up from Croissant-induced slumber, "Teresa" pressed the white cloth over his mouth and nose again.
Listening to the voice on the phone, there was no sign of anything amiss apart from its increased tenderness.
Frowning, he murmured a calm, "AlrightAll right, I'm heading back now."
"Okay, dear, I'll be waiting for you."
"Mhm," Gabriel responded coolly once more.
He expected that immediately after his reply, Teresa would hang up the call.
But she didn't.
Usually, in their previous calls, it was Teresa who hung up first.
This time, she didn't.
"Honey, is there something else?" asked Gabriel, perplexed.
"Dear, I'm fine," Gabriel's voice reassured from the other end of the line. Teresa, confined within the car, pondered over the suddenness of his affirmation. She found herself caught between curiosity and concern, yet she didn't allow herself to pause, responding immediately.
"Right," Gabriel murmured again. As he pulled the phone away from his ear, he noticed the call was still connected and hadn't been ended.
Glancing at the club manager trailing behind him, Gabriel cut the call and asked, "Did you notice anything unusual when Miss left?"
"No." the manager quickly shook his head,. "She just seemed in a hurry."
‘Could Teresa have run into some trouble?! Was her sudden change related to some incident she encountered?!’
With this thought, Gabriel's brow tightened further. Without delay, he rushed to his car and instructed the driver to return to the mansion.With this thought, Gabriel's brow tightened even more.
Without wasting any more time, he hurried to his car and instructed the driver to head back to the mansion.
...
