Chapter 4
I stared at the message on my phone, then looked up at the three faces before me, each filled with disapproval, hostility and not a shred of understanding.
And suddenly, I laughed.
put away my phone, took a deep breath and let out a long sigh from the depths of my soul.
‘You’re right,” I said softly.
I was wrong.”
My husband’s face brightened with relief.
Honey, it’s good that you’ve finally realized it.”
My mother-in-law stepped forward and took my hand, her tone suddenly warm and forgiving.
Camila, it’s never too late to admit when you’re wrong. As parents, we shouldn’t be too proud.”
nodded and looked at my son calmly.
Bring your girlfriend over for dinner tomorrow. I’ll apologize to her properly.”
My sudden change in attitude caught my son off guard.
le stared at me for several seconds, then muttered,
Mom, if you had admitted your mistake earlier, none of this would’ve happened.”
Now I’ve even been slapped.”
My mother-in-law brought over a plate of freshly washed fruit and gently fed him as she sighed.
I’m not saying this to criticize you, but Caleb is your son. No matter how wrong he was, you houldn’t have hit him.”
It breaks my heart to see this.”
My husband added with a nostalgic sigh.
You used to be the one who loved him most. I still remember, that winter morning, you sent him o school and it started raining unexpectedly. You took off your coat and wrapped it around him even though you were freezing. Your lips turned purple and your hands were shaking, but you lidn’t want your son to feel even a second of cold.”
You’ve cherished him like a rare treasure for over twenty years. Why would you act so mpulsively now?”
smiled faintly and said nothing.
Later, my son, after chatting on his phone for a while, forwarded me a long message.
[Mom, Chloe has agreed to come over for dinner tomorrow. These are the dishes she wants. Make sure everything’s prepared properly.]
I opened the message and saw a detailed list of dishes and preparation notes:
[Buttermilk Fried Chicken (Must be marinated overnight in seasoned buttermilk, double-dredged for extra crispiness.)
Homemade Meatloaf with Brown Sugar Glaze (Ground beef must be hand-mixed, glaze made from scratch with ketchup and brown sugar, baked to juicy perfection.)
Slow-Cooked BBQ Pulled Pork (Pork shoulder must be slow-roasted for 8 hours, served with house-made BBQ sauce and toasted brioche buns.)
Ten dishes in total. Every one of them was complicated and time-consuming.
Looking at the clearly deliberate demands, I nodded.
“Alright. I’ll make them properly.”
The next morning, I got up before dawn. I went to the market, selected ingredients one by one washed, chopped, simmered, fried.
After seven straight hours of labor, I finally laid out a full table of exquisite dishes, all made t Chloe’s exacting standards.
7:52 pm
