The Substitute Bride Is Reborn and Loves Her Husband No more - Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Successfully fooled by cookies

Stella was not a woman who gave up easily. When she wanted something, she always found a way to get it in her own manner.

Now, her grandchild was ignoring her in favor of his mother. Stella wasn’t going to let that slide.

Mrs. Stella chuckled lowly, the sound reaching Rose’s ears.

Rose raised her head, pausing in her action of looking at Tobi. All her attention now shifted to her mother.

Mrs. Stella chuckled again and winked at Rose. Rose looked at her in confusion, wondering why her mother was winking. Her expression was puzzled, and her brows furrowed as she tried to figure out what her mother might be planning.

Mrs. Stella noticed all of Rose’s body language. She could see how Rose looked at her as if she’d done something terrible.

But Mrs. Stella ignored it all. She stood up with a deliberately elegant posture, her heels clicking on the smooth tiles as she walked upstairs.

Rose stared at the staircase where her mother had just left and let out a big sigh of relief. She silently thanked God that her mother was gone. Having her mother around made her uncomfortable; it felt like the air was poisoned and would suffocate her.

Just then, Rose heard a sound beside her, like the noise of an empty bottle being shaken.

Who else could it be but her son?

Tobi stood there, looking at her with big, innocent eyes, shaking the empty milk bottle in his hand. Then, as if realizing something, he quickly hid the bottle behind him.

He knew his mummy was often irritated by noise, and he thought hiding the bottle would make her happy or ease the “illness” caused by his sipping noises.

Rose chuckled at her son’s little actions. She couldn’t help herself; she leaned down slightly. Little Tobi didn’t know what was coming. Before he realized it, his mummy’s blue eyes were close to him, distracting him. Suddenly, he felt her fingers pinching his cheeks.

“Brother, I win! Brother, you lose!” Darius celebrated silently in his mind. He had bet with Tobi that their mummy would pinch his cheeks.

Tobi pouted slightly, knowing he had lost. But he didn’t mind losing. He even enjoyed his mummy pinching his cheeks.

“Ha, dear, you’re so full. Shall we leave?” Rose whispered into Tobi’s ear, rubbing his hair with her palm and shielding her lips with her hand, as if blocking anyone from eavesdropping. She wanted to seize the chance to leave the house while her mother wasn’t around. Her patience was wearing thin.

People like her mother always wanted to control everything and be the most important person in everyone’s life. Rose had no intention of becoming her mother’s next victim.

Tobi nodded eagerly. As his mummy whispered to him, he got down from the couch, balancing on his feet, and looked up at her.

Rose stood up, towering over him. In Tobi’s eyes, his mummy was a giant. That was how he always felt. To him, giants were real—and they were people like his mummy.

It was decided. Rose held Tobi’s little hand, ready to guide him outside the house. It was already settled.

But before they could take a step, they heard Mrs. Stella’s voice from upstairs.

They both turned simultaneously to look at the staircase.

The cocky smile on Mrs. Stella’s face didn’t vanish as she said, “Who wants soft cookies? Who wants them? Come on, dear, come on.” Her voice came like a charm, reaching both Rose and Tobi. Tobi was smiling, and Rose couldn’t deny it—she was tempted too.

“Come on, Rose, snap out of it! Don’t fall for one of your mother’s tricks again!” Rose’s inner voice screamed in her head.

Soft cookies had always been her weakness since childhood. She had been addicted to them, almost suspiciously so, though she knew her mother never used actual charms. Still, the effect was undeniable—her love for soft cookies had once made her feel like anyone could control her with them.

Rose was so lost in trying to resist the temptation that she didn’t notice when Tobi let go of her hand and left her side.

Rose snapped out of it, shaking her head and holding it with her hands. She closed her eyes, blinking twice to regain focus. But when she looked up, her shock was evident.

Tobi was sitting happily on her mother’s lap, eating cookies.

Rose’s palm slapped her forehead. She didn’t know whether to cry, laugh, or get angry. “Dear son, don’t be like your mummy. Don’t let soft cookies fool you like they fooled me!” Rose wailed silently in her heart.

She tried to call Darius for help, but to her dismay, he seemed enchanted by the cookies as well. Rose’s face twisted with disbelief; she hadn’t expected smart Darius to fall for it too. Panic swirled in her chest as she tried to figure out what to do.

Mrs. Stella gave Tobi another cookie and asked, “Do you want more?”

Tobi nodded cutely, opening his mouth. “Yes, I want more!” he said in his small, childish voice.

Rose clenched her fists, trying to suppress the frown forming on her face. She didn’t want her mother to see how much she was getting to her. Rose was certain her mother’s goal was to steal Tobi from her!

Her thoughts raced like a stormy sea as she walked toward her mother, biting her lip. She looked directly at Tobi and said firmly, “Tobi needs to go home and do his homework. We need to leave now.”

Mrs. Stella raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by Rose’s words.

The two women stared at each other, as if trying to read one another’s minds.

It was Mrs. Stella who finally broke the silence with a chuckle—a cold laugh, reminiscent of a fairy-tale stepmother.

“Rose, my child,” Mrs. Stella began, pausing briefly to feed another cookie to Tobi, who opened his mouth eagerly. “I almost thought that such a well-behaved child couldn’t possibly be yours. Someone as stubborn and disobedient to her mother as you could never raise such a well-mannered boy.

I even thought you might have stolen him. But since he’s easily swayed by these cookies, I suppose he does share your blood—just the smarter version of it.”

Rose raised an eyebrow, pressing her lips together. She had nothing to say. No matter what, her mother always found a way to insult her.

“Mother, give me my child,” Rose finally demanded, her eyebrows furrowed, lips tight, and hands gesturing firmly toward Tobi.