Chapter 20
“Alright, alright, whatever you say.” Felicity clearly didn’t see Daph as any kind of
threat.
Competition at this private preschool was cutthroat. Plenty of kids could outshine Daph with neater crafts or more polished speeches.
Moments ago, Felicity had already glanced at the other winning craft projects. In her eyes, Daph’s chances of taking first place were slim.
Clutching her handmade model, Daph stepped confidently onto the stage.
She wore the school uniform: a crisp white shirt, a red plaid skirt, and her hair parted into two round, bouncy buns. Daph’s features were sweet and lively, her long lashes accentuating those deep, dark eyes.
But as soon as Daph took the stage, some parents in the audience began to whisper, “Isn’t that the Vaughn girl a little…chubby?”
Someone snickered, “A little chubby? You’re being generous.”
Two mothers exchanged knowing looks, stifling their laughter.
The socialite moms all raised their daughters to be dainty and slender. Next to them, Daph–solid and sturdy–stood out like a sore thumb among the other girls.
Daph faced the panel of teachers and parents, holding up her craft for all to see.
It was a miniature model of the Aurelian Tower, built from colorful plastic straws.
“This is a project I made with my mom–the Aurelian Tower. We scaled the real tower down to one–hundredth its original size.”
As Daph finished her line, she noticed the teleprompter behind the camera had suddenly gone dark.
Selene caught the flicker of confusion in Daph’s eyes. She craned her neck around and saw the blank screen–just as a middle–aged woman strode toward her.
Selene’s lips parted, and the word “Mom” nearly slipped out, but she bit it back.
“Ms. Yates.”
“Mom.”
Selene and Harrison spoke at the same time.
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Chapter 20
After greeting her former mother–in–law, Selene started toward the control booth. She needed to find out what had happened to the teleprompter.
But Gemma grabbed Selene’s wrist, her grip tight. “I told them to turn off the teleprompter.”
Selene stared at her, stunned. “Ms. Yates, why would you do that?”
“If Daph wins an award, how do you think Dames will feel? Selene, as a mother, don’t you know you’re supposed to treat your children equally?”
Disapproval and disappointment clouded Gemma’s gaze.
“If ‘treating them equally‘ means letting Daph be humiliated and treated unfairly, then I’d rather tip the whole table over.”
Selene yanked her hand free.
Gemma hissed, her voice low, “Selene! Is this how a mother behaves? Is this how a Mrs. Vaughn should act?”
Just then, Daph’s voice rang through the hall, amplified by the microphone.
“The Aurelian Tower stands atop Serpent Hill, overlooking the wide river. The main building is a square wrapped in an octagon, with five tiers of flying eaves, a pointed golden roof, and seventy–two columns supporting the whole structure…”
Selene snapped her head toward the stage. Daph, unfazed by the blacked–out teleprompter, was delivering her presentation by heart.
Parents in the audience murmured in awe. “Is she reciting the whole thing from memory? That’s incredible!”
“My son could barely read something like that out loud, let alone memorize it.”
“Selene’s managed to raise her daughter to this level? That’s almost frightening!”
“The ones before us have already flown away–only the Aurelian Tower remains…”
As Daph’s clear, ringing voice echoed in the hall, Harrison glanced at Selene’s profile.
Her attention was fully on her daughter, her bright eyes shining with pride.
“And the yellow bird–once it leaves–never returns…”
Selene smiled, and in that moment, Harrison could almost hear the fluttering of wings.
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The birds who’d left the Vaughn family had found their way to a wider world. And they–mother and daughter–were never going back.
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