How to Destroy a Cheater Without Saying Goodbye novel Chapter 117

"I didn't do anything wrong! Terrell's just a stray without a mom. He doesn't have a mother, so now he wants to steal mine. He's a bad kid, and I was right to push him!" Healy screamed, his voice shrill with both anger and hurt. His eyes welled up as he turned on Blanche, "You're my mom, not his. Why are you taking his side and scolding me?"

Blanche's patience snapped at his stubbornness. "If you don't apologize to Terrell today, you're no longer my son."

This was the second time Healy had heard those words.

The first was for Tia.

Now, Blanche said them for Terrell.

Healy's heart twisted. She never really cared about him.

He spotted Jeannette standing off to the side and hurried over, grabbing her hand. "If you don't want me, then I don't want you either. I want Miss Jean to be my mom instead."

Lara, ever the loyal shadow at Jeannette's side, immediately latched onto Healy's other hand. She shot a defiant look at Blanche, tugged down her lower eyelid, stuck out her tongue—and then spat on the floor. "Mean lady! Healy doesn't want you anymore!"

A sharp slap echoed through the banquet hall.

Eddy had struck Lara so hard she tumbled to the floor, a red handprint blooming across her pale cheek. Tears sprang to her eyes, but when she met Eddy's fierce glare, she only sniffled quietly, biting her lip.

"You little brat. Who gave you permission to talk to your elders that way?" Eddy wouldn't tolerate a single disrespectful word against Blanche, not even from his own daughter.

Startled, Jeannette scooped Lara into her arms and gently pushed Healy away.

Healy stumbled back, blinking in confusion. "Miss Jean, you don't want me either?"

"But you promised you'd be my mom…"

His words rippled through the crowd, setting off a wave of hushed whispers.

"Isn't Jeannette Mrs. Simmons's younger sister? Why is her nephew calling her 'mom'? Mrs. Simmons has always been so good to her—gave her a dowry, treated her with respect. And yet she teaches her daughter to insult her own aunt? Ungrateful, that's what she is."

"I heard the boy was originally registered under Mr. Simmons's name. If Kelvin hadn't wanted to marry Jeannette, I'd have wondered whose child she really is. Look at those eyes—he looks just like Mr. Simmons."

As gossip swirled, Margaret's hand clenched around her emerald glass until it shattered on the floor. Her stormy gaze locked onto Jeannette.

Jeannette ducked her head lower, shielding Lara behind her.

Eddy never argued with her. "Whatever you say, darling."

Blanche took Terrell's hand; Terrell took Fernando's. Together, they walked out, Hugo Black following silently behind.

Eddy and Healy watched them leave, the three of them looking every bit like a real family. The sight stabbed at their hearts.

Healy bolted after them.

The party pressed on, lively as ever.

Jeannette stepped up to Eddy, her voice low. "Brother-in-law, I just saw Blanche and Professor Reese coming out of the break room. Why would they be hiding in there together? That room's tiny, filled with cleaning supplies. They must have been crammed in close."

Eddy's mind flashed back. Blanche and Fernando had arrived one after the other. When Blanche saw Healy unconscious, her makeup was already streaked with tears.

A cold dread gripped him. If Blanche had been in the break room just then, then everything he said to Jeannette—everything he did—she must have overheard.

Panic flickered in his eyes as he barked at the manager, "Pull up the security footage. Now."