Sophia Shaw ignored him. She peeled a chestnut from the pile before her and placed the soft, fully cooked ones in front of her grandma.

She saved the ones that weren’t as tender for herself.

The chestnuts were scalding. Sophia Shaw struggled to peel them, her slender fingers turning bright red from the heat.

She liked her chestnuts piping hot, so she had no choice but to endure the burn.

Still, the chestnuts crumbled in her hands.

Suddenly, her fingers were empty.

Someone had taken the chestnut.

With a few deft movements, Vincent Grant’s slender fingers peeled the chestnut clean and placed it gently on the empty plate in front of her.

The two of them didn’t exchange a word.

Vincent Grant naturally took the roasted chestnuts and began to peel them, his movements so practiced they seemed to have been repeated thousands of times.

’The only person he would ever deign to do this for was Joanna Sherman.’

Sophia Shaw suddenly lost her appetite. "I’m going to look for my aunt," she said.

She got up and walked away.

"Mom, I’ll go with you!"

Cedric Grant hurried to catch up.

"That’s not necessary," Sophia Shaw said coolly.

’They had severed their relationship. Her family had nothing to do with him anymore.’

But Cedric Grant stubbornly followed her. "Mom, I didn’t mean to hide your insulated container last time. It’s just that Auntie Joanna made a special trip to bring me soup, and I was afraid she’d be embarrassed if she knew I’d already eaten, so I..."

"Can you please not be mad at me anymore?"

Once they were out of earshot of Yancy Shaw and their grandma, Sophia Shaw finally spoke. "Cedric, were you really just afraid of things being awkward? Or were you afraid your Auntie Joanna would be unhappy to find out you still cared about me?"

"I..."

’That was exactly what he had been thinking!’

Sophia Shaw could see right through the son she had given birth to.

"Since you’ve already made your choice, there’s no need to keep contacting me."

"But you’re my mom," Cedric Grant said, his eyes red and welling up with tears.

"I miss you, Mom."

"You don’t miss me. You just miss having me wait on you," Sophia Shaw said, looking him in the eye and enunciating every word.

"You give all your affection to your Auntie Joanna and your sister Stella, wanting to be a hero in their eyes. But at the same time, you want someone who will be there for you unconditionally when you’re tired or sick, someone to wait on you hand and foot."

"But Cedric, your heart isn’t with me. Why should I keep taking care of you like I used to?"

"I didn’t... I didn’t..."

Cedric Grant shook his head, his voice cracking.

"But those are your own words."

Cedric Grant’s denials died in his throat as he recalled what he himself had said at the hospital.

’That was exactly what he had thought.’

’His mom was useless anyway; at least she was good for taking care of him.’

’Auntie Joanna was so amazing. If he didn’t treat her and his sister Stella well, they might stop paying attention to him.’

"Mom, Auntie Joanna is really incredible. Why aren’t you happy that I’m spending time with such an outstanding person?"

Cedric Grant protested in a low voice.

He was sad.

But more than that, he was resentful.

Sophia Shaw swallowed hard. "But I’ve told you before, Joanna Sherman has hurt me, and her family hurt your grandma."

"Why should I be happy that you’re so devoted to my enemy?"

’There are countless outstanding people in the world; Joanna Sherman is nothing special.’

’She had often told Cedric about truly remarkable people, like her teacher Old Master Sloan, or Levin Sherman, and many others with extraordinary achievements.’

’How had Cedric’s judgment become so warped that he put Joanna Sherman in the same category as them?’

’With her meager abilities and accomplishments, she wasn’t even fit to carry their shoes!’

Cedric Grant stared blankly at Sophia Shaw, and in a flash, a memory surfaced.

Sophia Shaw was squatting, holding his hand as he sat on the sofa, her voice a soft whisper. "Cedric, Mom won’t stop you from befriending people you like. But Joanna Sherman once hurt me very deeply, and what’s more, your grandma passed away because of her family."

"I can’t just stand by and watch my son get close to my enemy. Can you understand that?"

’But at the time, his mind had been consumed with the thought of the amazing gift Auntie Joanna promised to give him the next time they met. He had forgotten his mother’s words in an instant!’

Seeing the look on Cedric Grant’s face, Sophia Shaw knew.

’He’d forgotten her words!’

’If he could forget something so important, how could he lie to himself and say he still had a place for her in his heart?’

"What’s wrong with you?"

"Why do you always make Cedric cry?"

Chad Jennings appeared out of nowhere, his face grim as he bellowed at her.

Sophia Shaw didn’t want to deal with him and started to walk away.

The more she tried to leave, the more Chad Jennings hounded her. "Sophia Shaw, what are you so guilty about? You can’t even handle a child! No wonder Vincent Grant never liked you after five or six years of marriage!"

"If you ask me, you should just..."

Sophia Shaw rounded a few corners, waiting until she was sure her grandma and uncle wouldn’t notice, then whipped around.

Chad Jennings had been following close behind and nearly collided with her.

He barely managed to steady himself and was just about to start cursing.

But then he looked up and met Sophia Shaw’s bone-chilling glare!

Chad Jennings shivered in fear, suddenly recalling the look Brianna Shaw had given him through her car window right before the crash.

’It was the exact same look!’

’A look that could eat you alive!’

’Utterly reckless!’

’Insane. Terrifying!’

That moment was Chad Jennings’s recurring nightmare. Even after all these years, the memory still sent a cold sweat prickling down his spine.

The words on the tip of his tongue fizzled out. He didn’t dare utter another syllable.

Sophia Shaw returned to the campsite.

Vincent Grant was already on his feet, but Grandma was still holding onto him. "Oh, Vincent, I’m turning eighty next month. You’ll come for the celebration, won’t you?"

"I will," Vincent Grant nodded.

"Good, good." Grandma was overjoyed. "Your uncle said we’re going to take a family portrait that day. You missed it last time, so we can finally get a proper one."

"My health is failing day by day. I just want to have a family photo to take with me when I go, to show the old man and Faye’s mom."

Seeing how happy her grandma was, Sophia Shaw couldn’t bring herself to say the words on the tip of her tongue: ’He doesn’t need to come.’

She walked quietly to her grandma’s side. "Come on, I’ll help you get some tea."

"Don’t mind me." Instead, her grandma pushed her toward Vincent Grant. "Vincent said he has to leave early for something. Go on, walk him out!"

"Let’s go."

Vincent Grant took her hand.

Sophia Shaw froze, her gaze falling to the hand that now held hers.

He had already started walking.

Sophia Shaw followed passively.

Her eyes remained fixed on their joined hands.

She and Vincent Grant had been married for five or six years. In all that time, they had only shared such intimate contact once before. It was during their fifth year, amidst a heavy snowstorm. He hadn’t come home for a long time, and she had grown so worried that she went out to look for him, only to get trapped in the snow herself. When he finally found her, he had pulled her out. They hadn’t touched like this since.

That moment had been incredibly precious to her. With that one touch, she had thought her suffering was finally over, that she had at last earned his acceptance.

Lost in her thoughts, Sophia Shaw didn’t even notice when they reached Vincent Grant’s car.

She only snapped back to reality when her face bumped hard against his unyielding back.

When Vincent Grant turned to look at her, she yanked her hand free and retreated several steps.

Drawing a clear line between them.

They had nothing to say to each other; it had all just been for their grandma’s benefit. Sophia Shaw turned to leave.

"Sophia Shaw," Vincent Grant called out to her. "Name your price."

Sophia Shaw turned back to look at him.

She didn’t understand.