The instant Raymond plunged beneath the water, he caught a clear glimpse of Celestine’s face–shock, worry, and a pang of guilt flickered across her features.
A strange, secret thrill bubbled up inside him.
Serves her right, he thought. After all, she was the one who’d said all those cold, heartless things. If she was scared now, she deserved it.
Before he’d found Celestine, Raymond had been sulking alone in the guest lounge.
Earlier that evening, before the formal dinner began, Alistair had issued a strict order: Raymond was to stay put, not allowed to go anywhere. He’d been trapped like this for an entire month.
At first, his father and Miss Sinclair would at least call him once a week. But eventually, even those calls stopped. It was as if everyone had simply forgotten
him.
, མ །॰སི
At his lowest point, when the loneliness was almost too much to bear, there was a
knock at his door. Joanna.
He was surprised–excited, even–but after so long without seeing her, he felt awkward and shy. He didn’t rush into her arms the way he used to.
Joanna noticed and her expression softened, tinged with hurt. “Raymond, it breaks my heart to see you like this.”
She knelt beside him. “The truth is, the person you really want to see isn’t me. It’s your mom, isn’t it?”
Raymond shook his head in silence.
His mother hadn’t even bothered to call, not once. Why would he want to see her?
Joanna came closer and gently stroked his hair. “Raymond, I know I’m not your real mom. I could never take her place. But you need your mother. Wouldn’t you like her to come back and take care of you?”
He nodded almost instinctively.
He wanted his mom back–even if he didn’t like her much, she was still better than any of the nannies in that old house.
Worried Joanna might misunderstand, he explained in a small voice, “I just… I don’t want the tutors punishing me anymore, or to drink that awful medicine, or be stuck
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Chapter 144
inside all day…”
“Poor thing.” Joanna’s eyes filled with a sympathy so deep it seemed to ache for him. “Miss Sinclair can help you. There’s a way to make sure your mom stays with you forever. Want to hear how?”
Raymond’s eyes lit up. “How?”
A sly smile tugged at Joanna’s lips. “All you have to do is bring your mom to the hotel pool on the fourth floor. Then, when she’s not looking, fall in.”
“When she saves you, you can say she pushed you in. That way, she’ll have to stay and take care of you.”
Raymond’s dark eyes widened in disbelief. “But that’s lying…”
Joanna leaned in, her voice coaxing and sweet. “Sometimes, a little white lie isn’t really a lie at all.”
“But… will anyone believe me?” He hesitated, uncertainty clouding his face.
For a split second, Joanna’s expression flashed with impatience, but she quickly recovered, her tone gentle. “If anyone asks, you can say your mom was just getting back at you for that time you accidentally knocked her out of her chair. Now you’re even. Your mom’s a good person–she’d hate to owe anyone anything. If this works, she’ll stay with you, and maybe she’ll become the loving mom you remember.”
The promise of forever was too tempting for Raymond to resist.
Almost without thinking, he nodded.
With Joanna’s help, he snuck out of the lounge.
He’d planned to scope out the pool ahead of time, but to his surprise, Celestine was already there, waiting by the water.
A rush of emotions tangled up inside him.
If he could help it, he didn’t want to trap his mother with lies. But when he hinted at what he wanted, her answers cut him to the core. Without this trick, she’d never come back.
Would she even try to save him?
It felt like she didn’t love him anymore.
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