I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 36

But she didn't dwell on it. At least she wasn't being yelled at, and she was getting her soup.

Closing her eyes, she clung to Nora's hand and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Cassie was still asleep when the IV finished. The nurse came over to remove the needle, and the sharp pinch woke her up. She let out a whimper, blinking groggily as she took in her surroundings.

Nora stood up and pulled Cassie's shoes out from under the bed. "Put these on. We're going home."

Cassie rubbed her eyes and sat up. Noticing that Nora had no intention of putting the shoes on for her, she pouted, bending down to do it herself, clearly unhappy.

...

Leaving the academy, Nora hailed a cab back to the house.

When they arrived, Nora paid the fare while Cassie pushed the door open and hopped out on her own.

Nora unlocked the front door. Cassie kicked off her shoes and ran straight upstairs without even dropping her backpack.

Nora went into the kitchen to start the soup, then decided to check if Cassie wanted anything else.

Cassie's bedroom door was shut. Just as Nora raised a hand to knock, she heard a voice from inside.

Cassie was giggling. "Seraphina, I'm totally fine! I feel so much better. Don't blame yourself!"

A brief pause followed as Seraphina likely replied on the other end.

Then Cassie continued, "Mom brought me home. I'm going to make her cook me some soup. You can come pick me up when I'm all better. I still have to celebrate your birthday!"

Standing in the hallway, Nora's eyes turned icy. She slowly lowered her hand, turned around, and walked back downstairs.

The soup was soon ready. Nora turned off the stove and waited for Cassie, making no effort to call her down.

The girl was curled into a tiny ball in the corner of the sofa. Nora let out a soft sigh and carried her upstairs.

Mid-slumber, Cassie rolled over and mumbled, "Seraphina..."

Then she snuggled tighter into her teddy bear, falling into an even deeper sleep.

Nora's expression didn't so much as twitch. She picked up her glass of water and took a sip, checking the time on her phone. It was already seven-thirty in the evening.

She decided to stick around until Cassie woke up.

Not because she wanted to bond with her daughter, but purely out of pragmatism. Cassie was still sick, and if she threw up again in the middle of the night, someone needed to be there.

She would fulfill her basic obligations as a guardian. Nothing more, nothing less.