Chapter 352

Teresa finally arrived at the entrance to Rosary Estates. When she opened the door, a dusty, unused smell filled the air. She quickly tidied her and Michael's rooms, and by the time she finished, it was already dark. Only then did Teresa go to Miriam's place to pick up Michael.

As soon as the door opened, Michael launched himself into Teresa's arms. "Mom!" he shouted. "Miriam, I told you it was Mom!"

Miriam was completely surprised. "I can't believe it! Michael kept insisting he heard your footsteps. I told him you weren't back yet; I thought you were on the next flight."

"Nope, I'm back. I just stopped by Rosary Estates to clean up a bit first," Teresa said, ruffling Michael's hair. It felt so good to be home with her son. "You two must be starving waiting for me. Let's go eat—my treat."

"No way! You just got back; how can we let you pay?" retorted Miriam.

"It's fine, really. Dinner's on me. Let's go to Grove Bistro," Teresa insisted, grateful for Miriam's care of Michael. "Let's call Edward too. Where is he?"

Miriam replied, "He went home at lunchtime. His mom called him. I'm guessing Irene told her about us."

Teresa rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Irene just can't stand me. And since you're my friend, she can't stand you either. Now it's my fault you and Edward are having issues."

"Don't worry about it," Miriam said, grabbing Teresa's hand with a big grin. "It's not your fault. Stop overthinking it. Let's go eat anyway."

"Alright," Teresa agreed. She didn't want to say more in front of Michael, so the three of them headed out for dinner.

Somehow, Teresa thought of Cheryl. Unsure if Cheryl's number was still the same, Teresa logged into her old WhatsApp and contacted her.

Cheryl replied almost instantly: [I'm in Lonisburg. I can't come back. My belly's huge, and I'm about to give birth.]

Teresa asked, [Any luck finding the baby's dad?]

Cheryl replied, [No way. I'm too scared to go out, and I can't go home either. I'm just living here by myself.] Cheryl sent a crying emoji.

Teresa: [You're all alone? What if your water breaks? There's no one around to help you. That's not safe.]

Cheryl: [I have a classmate who checks in on me. I'm just taking it one day at a time.]

Teresa didn't say much more. With Cheryl's personality, she wouldn't be able to keep this a secret for long. Once the baby was born, the Lynn family would definitely find out, and things would get messy.

Teresa couldn't help but ponder, 'Donald's Cheryl's brother. As for Jennifer...'

Teresa felt completely helpless. She borrowed Miriam's phone, swearing to herself that after this, she'd never contact Jennifer again.

Jennifer answered when she called. "Teresa, you've arrived in Nareigh, right? I checked your flight info."

Teresa snorted, "Check all you want. I just wanted to let you know—Cheryl's about to have her baby. You'd better tell Donald. He's her brother, and it's not safe for Cheryl to be alone out there."

Jennifer was silent for a few seconds. "I'll just pretend I don't know. Otherwise, I'll get dragged into it too."

Teresa argued, "Once Cheryl has the baby, her family will find out anyway. If you tell them now, you might even get some thanks from her mom."

"I don't care about that. Cheryl's never liked me, so why should I bother? Besides, she's not due until next month," Jennifer replied.

08:52 Mon, 26 May

She then added, "Don't worry about Cheryl. She only reached out because she thinks you're easy to push around. Let her handle it herself."

"I'm just letting you know. It's your call. I'm done getting involved with the Lynn family. That's it." With that, Teresa hung up.