Chapter 172
“Hey, Housewife, is it true what you said earlier? That you’ve never lost a violin match?” Nate’s voice cut through the room, loud enough to turn heads.
Sharon glanced over at Kelly, who stood nearby, clearly enjoying the spectacle. It only took a second for Sharon to realize what was going on.
“What, you trying to place a bet with me too?” she asked calmly.
Nate hesitated, caught off guard by how quickly she caught on. She was sharper than he expected.
“If you’re that confident, then yeah-why not make a bet?” he said, trying to sound bold.
Sharon’s expression stayed steady. “What kind of bet?”
Nate looked around theatrically, then raised his voice so that nearly everyone nearby could hear.
“If you lose, you get on your knees and bark like a dog. And if I lose, I’ll call you Mommy-or whatever you want. Your call.”
Sharon raised an eyebrow, unfazed. “You want to be my son? Does Theo know about this? I mean, I wouldn’t mind having another kid, but I doubt he’d be thrilled to have a brother your age.”
Matty let out a soft giggle.
Even a few of the onlookers-those who looked down on Sharon-couldn’t help but chuckle at her comeback.
Nate’s face twitched as he struggled to keep his cool. He clenched his jaw but reminded himself why he was doing this.
He leaned in a little. “What’s the matter? Scared you’ll lose to Kelly? That why you won’t bet?”
Sharon saw right through him.
“I’m fine with a bet,” she said smoothly. “But let’s change the terms. If you lose, you get on your knees and bark like a dog. I’m not interested in adopting a disobedient son.”
Nate’s jaw tightened, his temper visibly bubbling
“Fine. Loser gets on their knees and barks like a dog. And just to be clear any “accidents’ like fainting, broken strings, or some last-minute excuse to not go onstage… that all counts as a loss. Deal?”
Her voice stayed even. “Deal.”
Nate barely contained the excitement rising in his chest. “Then it’s settled ”
He had already hit record on his phone. If she backed out later, he’d post it everywhere. She’d never live it down.
A few minutes later, Carter and Theo walked in.
Theo spotted Sharon across the room. His little face twisted with a mix of anger and disappointment. He turned away, refusing
to look at her.
Mom had gone too far. Just to mess things up, she dumped juice all over Kelly. She never used to act like this. It had to be that annoying Matty saying bad things about Kelly again!
One by one, the contestants and their parents were being called backstage.
Soon, it was Kelly and Theo’s turn to head back and get ready.
A screen in the waiting area showed a live feed from the stage.
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She looked up. Her face instantly darkened.
“Carter. What do you think you’re doing?”
He hesitated, then said, “Don’t go onstage.”
Her lips curled into a sharp, cold smile, but her eyes were razor-sharp. “And if I do, what then? Planning to lock me up somewhere?”
There was a flicker of caution in her eyes. She looked around, sizing up the room.
If he really tried to stop her-how fast could she run? Could she make it back to the stage in time?
A shadow passed over Carter’s face-part disbelief, part fury. “Sharon… is that really what you think of me?”
She gave a low, bitter laugh. “Depends. What have you done to make me think otherwise?”
He opened his mouth, about to speak-but no words came out. Whatever it was he’d meant to say, it never made it out.
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