Chapter 68

Carola got one of her friends to check up on Dorothea’s marriage status. Turns out, Dorothea was definitely married, but the system kept her spouse’s identity strictly confidential.

Curious, Carola went to Elise and tried to sound casual. “Mom, is Dorothea still going on dates? Last time it was Mr. Stevens. Who’s she seeing now p>

Elise tensed for a second, but quickly forced a smile. “Carola, actually, Dorothea’s already married p>

“To who? I thought she was still dating. She got married that fast p>

Elise started dodging the questions. When they’d set up the marriage with the Stephens family, everyone agreed to keep things secret until the actual wedding day. Elise and Layton had already upset Latham once, and there was no way they wanted to risk crossing him again.

“Carola, you’ll find out when you come to the wedding,” Elise said, trying to sound final.

But Carola just wasn’t satisfied. She went to pester her dad next, but Layton was even more tight-lipped than Elise.

Carola couldn’t help but wonder what kind of man needed this much secrecy. With Dorothea’s background, it would be a stretch for her to marry anyone above the Brown family. Maybe someone on the same level as the Stephens, but that was about it.

Carola let herself smirk. If Dorothea had really married well, her parents would be bragging to everyone by now. The fact they were keeping it quiet meant Dorothea must have married poorly, or maybe the guy had something seriously wrong with him.

Just picturing Dorothea stuck in a lousy marriage made Carola feel a lot better. Now that Dorothea had basically fallen out with the family, Carola could finally drop the whole fake “sisters” act.

Right before the end of her shift, Dorothea got a call from an elementary school. “Hi, are you Garth’s guardian? He had a conflict with one of his classmates. Could you come to the school at five p>

Dorothea froze for a second, then got the address and hurried over.

On the way, she tried to call Latham, but he didn’t answer. She thought about calling Ladd, but then realized that if the school had called her, Garth probably didn’t want his grandfather to find out.

She decided to handle it herself for now, and if things got out of hand, she could always ask for help later.

When Dorothea arrived, she saw Garth right away. The corner of his mouth was swollen and red. The cheerful little boy she remembered, now had his head hanging low, a bruise blooming on his cheek.

Even though she wasn’t really his family, Dorothea felt a sudden rush of anger on his behalf.

“Ms. Adelina, what happened here p>

“Aunt Dorothea, you’re here!” Garth immediately ducked behind her, making Adelina’s face stiffen.

“Please try to stay calm,” Adelina said. “Garth’s classmate got hurt a lot worse. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have called you p>

Dorothea followed Adelina’s gaze to a boy hiding in the corner. Honestly, the kid looked worse off than Garth. Well, at least Garth hadn’t lost.

Dorothea adjusted her approach. “Ms. Adelina, do you know why they fought p>

Adelina replied, “Whoever throws the first punch is in the wrong. The other boy’s parents are coming soon. Why don’t you just apologize to them p>

Dorothea frowned. She really didn’t like the way Adelina was handling this.

Ignoring the teacher, Dorothea knelt down and gently squeezed Garth’s hand. “Garth, hitting people isn’t right, no matter what happened. But can you tell me why you did it p>

Garth puffed out his cheeks, looking stubborn. Finally, with red eyes, he pointed at the other boy. “Aunt

mom told him I do, she’s just not here anymore He laughed at me

Dorothea, Jim said I dontust ne

couldn’t stand it, sol hit him.” swnóvels

Dorothea’s eyes darkened. “Ms. Adelina, that’s the real reason p>

“But kids arguing shouldn’t turn into name-calling,” Adelina protested.

The Stephens family was strict

about how they raised their kids. Garth never got any special treatment at school. Other than having nicer clothes and supplies, he was just like any other student.