Chapter 348

Edison shot her a look. “You talk too much p>

“Come on, let’s not waste time. We still have to visit the Lathams,” Edison called out, sticking his head out of the window to remind Pandora.

Vicki finally let go after hearing that. “Alright, you should get going. Jenny, make sure to come back with Edison next time, okay? Actually, even if he’s not around, you can visit me on your own too p>

Jenny nodded. “Okay, Grandma p>

As soon as Edison started the engine, Jenny glanced back at Claire, who was sitting

in the backseat. “You know, Claire, she might nag a little, but Grandma is actually really sweet p>

Claire grinned. “And you’re saying that right in front of Edison-you called his grandma a nag p>

“Edison doesn’t mind, do you? Right, Edison?” Jenny shot him a look.

Edison just let out a dramatic sigh. “I’m just the guy driving, don’t drag me into your gossip p>

Shirley chimed in, not missing a beat. “Honestly, I think Vicki nags a lot too. Plus, she loves playing matchmaker p>

Claire just shook her head. Sometimes you had to wonder if these two even realized Edison was sitting right there.

For most of the drive, Claire tried to catch up on sleep-thanks to Shirley, she barely got any rest last night. By the time they were almost at the Latham place, she finally

woke up.

But before they headed over, Edison made a quick stop to pick up some gifts. They looked fancy, all packaged up nicely, but honestly, to Edison, none of this compared to the local treats you could get at The James Village. Pandora had actually told him to bring some of those hometown specialties along, but he’d quietly swapped them out on his own.

Edison explained to Claire, “I figured Octavia doesn’t care about stuff from the village. She probably looks down on it, so I switched it out for these. Maybe this is more her style p>

Before Claire could say a word, Shirley jumped in. “Absolutely. Octavia cares so much about appearances. She’s honestly such a fake person p>

“Enough already,” Claire cut her off, not sure if she wanted to laugh or groan. Shirley was way too blunt for her own good.

“I mean it! I’ve known her since we were kids-she’s always been like this.” Edison nodded in agreement.

“If she likes fancy things, just give her fancy things,” Edison added.

Claire kept quiet. Deep down, she had to admit it. Octavia really was that kind of person.

They arrived at the James family home right around eleven-thirty.

“Wait, Claire, look over there. Isn’t that Cindy?” Before they even reached the entrance, Shirley pointed ahead at two women walking together.

Claire followed her gaze and sure enough, she spotted Cindy. Cindy was with another woman, and the way they were glancing around made them look like they were up to something.

Cindy definitely hadn’t expected

Fallon to show up out of nowhere.

She was already surprised when she

got the call, rushing out to find

Eatlon waiting for her

waiting for her right by the er right by the

gates.

“Cindy, are you upset that I came to

see you?” Fallon’s eyes flicked up and down, taking in every detail. Cindy seemed so different now. nothing like the girl she used to be. It was obvious—after Octavia found out Cindy was her real daughter, she’d really gone all out pampering

her.

“No, of course not. I’m happy you’re here. It’s just… we have guests over today. If

my parents find out I snuck out, they’ll definitely be mad p>

At the mention of her parents, something flickered in Fallon’s eyes.

“Cindy, it’s just been so long since

I’ve seen you missed you and couldn’t help myself. Every time you

call, you only share the good new en p>

know you always try to hide it when things are hard Burl get it Coming back home couldn’t have been easy… Your adopted sister is kind of amazing, and your parents are probably used to having someone like that around. I bet they expect a lot from you, right p>