Chapter 306

Dorothea slept right through New Year’s morning and didn’t wake up until it was already two in the afternoon. When she saw the time, she couldn’t help but want to give Latham a good kick. Last night, around midnight, she’d been half-asleep and made a little wish in her heart, hoping for a healthy baby in the new year.

Her legs were still sore as she stretched and noticed a fancy gift box on the nightstand. Was that her New Year’s present from him? She couldn’t help but smile, but before she could open it, someone started knocking at the door.

“Dorothea, come on! Don’t just stay in bed. Let’s go out and play!” The little voice was way too cheerful for her sleepy brain.

Dorothea felt her cheeks warm up. “Okay, give me like ten minutes. I’ll be right out.” Honestly, she was terrified the kid would just barge in while she was getting dressed.

She didn’t get an answer, but she could hear someone scooping the little guy up and carrying him away.

Once she pulled herself together and headed downstairs, she bumped right into Latham coming in from outside.

“You’re finally awake p>

Dorothea sent him a glare. “What do you think p>

Ladd, for his part, was the kind of grandpa who didn’t care when anyone woke up.

He wasn’t big on making the younger generation follow a bunch of rules.

Pauline called to her from the living room. “Dorothea, come here! This is a red envelope from Grandma. Take it p>

“Grandma, I’m an adult now. You really don’t have to do this anymore p>

“You’ll always be my precious granddaughter, no matter how old you are,” Grandma replied with a grin.

Then Ladd handed her one too. “Here, Dorothea. I just put Latham’s share in yours.” Dorothea felt a lump in her throat. “Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Grandma p>

She was about to say something else when her phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number. She didn’t even hesitate, just hit decline.

This was her private phone. Unless it was family or close friends, the only people who ever called were the ones she’d rather avoid. No way was she letting some annoying person ruin her first day of the new year.

Meanwhile, Elise stared at her phone in silence after her call got cut off. Her first call that morning had been to her son, but all she could hear was loud bar noise before he hung up on her. Alone in her tiny O apartment, Elise cried for a long time. The holiday felt colder than ever, with no husband or son around, and now even Dorothea wouldn’t answer. The Carter family clearly didn’t want her there either, and the loneliness stung deep. She’d tried to apologize to Dorothea, but the call had gone nowhere.

Albert was even more frustrated. He’d spent ages setting up fireworks for Dorothea, just hoping she would come outside and talk to him, but she hadn’t shown up. His calls ever got through. To make things worse, early that morning, the police came knocking, asking if he knew about the city’s fireworks ban.

“All you need to do is sign here, pay the fine, and write an apology,” the officer told him.

Albert’s face was stone cold, his signature sharp and angry. He knew exactly who was behind this. Only Latham could pull strings like that and get the police to drag him in.

While all that was happening, Dorothea and Mamie’s families decided to take a little trip out of town for the holidays. By now, Garth was calling out “Mom” with more excitement than ever.

“Mom! Dorothea! I picked some flowers for you. I asked Latham, and he said it was okay p>

Dorothea looked at the boy, feeling a real twinge of envy. “Thank you, Garth. I love them p>

She really wanted a child of her own.

But after two months of Latham

never missing a night, there still

wasn’t any sign of a baby. Before the

new year, she had secretly gone to newyear, the hospital for checkup The doctor said everything was normal, no problems at all. Which made her wonder… could it be Latham?

She caught Latham’s eye, letting her question show in her gaze.

He grinned at her. “What are you looking at? Thinking I’m better looking than Scott p>

Scott just snorted, not interested in competing over something so pointless.

Dorothea nudged Latham’s leg under the table. “Just stop talking p>

Latham laughed softly. “Mamie, why don’t you kick Scott too? I can’t be the only one getting bullied around here p>

The three of them were left shaking their heads.

The place they’d chosen for their getaway had natural hot springs, making it the perfect spot to unwind for a few days.