The Substitute Bride Is Reborn and Loves Her Husband No more - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Tobi heart was stolen by her mother!

Mrs. Stella looked at Rose with an expression that assured her she was an idiot.

She chuckled. “Does your son look like someone who wants to leave my side?”

Did Tobi want to leave? He was completely enchanted by that cookie. Rose pursed her lips and retracted her gesturing hands. She was almost disappointed in her son, but she didn’t blame him for that—she blamed her blood. Thinking of blood… Rolan wouldn’t fall for that.

Rose shook her head and forced a fake smile. Why was she thinking about him at this moment? He was a bastard she was not supposed to think about. She should keep him far away from her mind, her heart—everything.

“Mother, can you please give Tobi to me?”

She switched to a more docile approach.

“No,” came Mrs. Stella’s swift, cold reply.

Rose’s confident posture faltered.

She had thought that if she behaved properly, her mother would listen to her. After all, her mother loved well-behaved people, and she had taken an interest in Tobi because he was so obedient.

At some point, Tobi raised his head, momentarily leaving his cookies behind to look at the woman feeding him those magic treats.

In his heart, he thought, Mummy and the elderly lady are having a nice conversation. My cookies will talk to me under my mouth since I have no one to talk to.

Sometimes, it was hard for him to understand what adults were saying because their tone was always fierce, or they spoke too fast. He couldn’t catch their words.

Rose continued arguing with her mother.

“You have no right to keep us here, Mother. Just let us go. My son and I are not comfortable in your house.”

She folded her arms and spoke bluntly. She was really jealous of the attention Tobi was giving her mother. But it wasn’t just jealousy—it was because of her mother’s personality.

Mrs. Stella’s expression did not shift into a smile, for she understood Rose all too well.

“Mother, it seems you’ve missed me all these years, using my son as an excuse to keep me here,” Rose said before walking over to sit on a chair, as if her mother’s words didn’t affect her.

Over the years, she had learned how to handle people like her mother. She had to admit—she had almost fallen for one of her mother’s tricks again.

Her heart was racing inside. What if she wasn’t allowed to leave with her son today? She was a little scared, but feeling weak and bitter wasn’t the mood she needed to be in—not when her mother was trying to steal her son from her.

Rose opened her mouth to say something, but just then, her phone rang.

She furrowed her brows, staring at the strange number on the screen: [7000046 – Private Number]

How did a private number get her contact? Her number wasn’t something scammers could easily get, yet these people had called her.

Rose hesitated but eventually pressed the green call button.

“Hello, kitty.”

Her eyes widened, and she panicked immediately, hiding the phone between her thighs.

Looking up, she saw that her mother wasn’t paying attention to her. Thank God.

The voice on the other end was calm, old, and carried a strangely caring charm.

It was none other than Rolan.

Rose’s heart beat with questions. How did he get my number? Why is he calling me?

And the worst part—it was at the worst possible moment. He had called while she was with her mother.

Rose didn’t want her mother to catch her talking to Rolan. At the end of the day, her mother would claim she still had a relationship with him, and she might even decide to send her to the bottom of the sea.

Yes, her mother could do that—because she didn’t care about her. She only loved Jennifer. It had always been Jennifer.

Rose clenched her hands, staring blankly into empty space, forcing herself out of her thoughts before she drowned in sorrow.

Any memory related to her mother never did her mental health any good.

She checked her watch. The time was shifting toward the afternoon.

It was already 11:49 AM—soon it would be 12:00 PM—and she was still in her mother’s house. She had an appointment with the man her father had connected her with to discuss her plans to open a movie company.

But thinking about her father… she hadn’t seen him.

She wanted to ask her mother about him, but she shut her mouth before she could. Asking would be ridiculous. She’d either be met with her mother’s taunts or, worse, her mother would discover that she had been in contact with him. And she couldn’t let that happen.

Her father shouldn’t get into trouble because of her.

What are you doing, Rose? The time is ticking, and you’re still here. You might miss a big opportunity in your life because of this. What about your future? What about your son? Think straight. Decide now.

That voice again. The one that always told her what she needed to hear.

Rose glanced once more at Tobi and her mother.

She made her decision.

She wouldn’t change it.

“Tobi, will you come with Mummy, or stay with Grandma?”

Her words reached both Mrs. Stella and Tobi, making them turn to look at her.

Rose almost felt uncomfortable. The two of them looked like twins, and she… she was the outcast.

Tobi thought for a moment, then asked Darius the question in his mind.

Should we go with Mummy, or stay with the elderly woman?

Darius, the voice in his head, responded immediately without hesitation.

The cookies. Let’s stay for the cookies.

Tobi smiled sweetly at Darius’s response. Yes, they would stay for the cookies. He loved them, too.

With that decision made in his little heart, he looked up at Rose with big, innocent eyes and said, “I want to stay with Grandma.”

I want to stay with Grandma.

Tobi’s words echoed in Rose’s ears, repeating over and over like something from a horror drama.

A thousand tragic scenes flashed through her mind.

Tobi growing up.

Tobi going to the amusement park with Grandma.

Tobi going camping with Grandma.

Tobi being dropped off at school by Grandma.

Even the first time he fell in love—he shared it with Grandma.

And where was Rose in that picture?

She saw herself—an old beggar on the streets, walking with a bowl, begging for pennies.

No. The outcome can’t be that way.

Her heart broke.

But Tobi had already decided.

He wanted to stay with her mother and not go with her.

If her mother intended to hurt Tobi in any way, Rose wouldn’t even consider his feelings—she would just take him away, whether he liked it or not.

But her mother meant no harm to Tobi. She only hated her.

Right now, her mother was looking at Tobi like a newly discovered specimen on a lawn—a rare find for a scientist.

And why would a scientist harm a new specimen they had just discovered?

Of course, they wouldn’t.

So Rose was certain.

Mrs. Stella laughed at Tobi’s response, unable to hide how much she liked her grandson.

“You can go wherever you want to go. It seems my grandchild doesn’t want to go with you. Bye-bye, then.”

Her voice was soft, her phoenix-shaped eyes curved upward with amusement.

Rose hissed inside her heart, refusing to be provoked by her mother’s taunts.

If only I had a wolf… If only I were a full-blooded wolf…