Facade of Love Novel novel Chapter 400

Brushing off the concern I saw in Idris's eyes, I nodded. "It's not a story, I'm just telling it as it is."

"Yvette!" The sound of that familiar voice made me instinctively turn. It was Mom. I had not expected her to show up, and it hit me hard. The ache of missing her suddenly made my eyes water. Without thinking, I rushed over and wrapped my arms around her. All the fear and panic I had been carrying seemed to melt away as I held on to her.

Mom rubbed my back, her voice thick with worry. "Honey, where have you been? We couldn't get through to you, and you vanished without a trace. The police were looking for you, Idris too..."

She hesitated, her worry breaking through. "They said you were kidnapped, and I was scared it was like five years ago all over again. I've been out of my mind with worry. Since we lost your dad, if anything happened to you, how could I face him?"

Her tears came faster as she spoke, each one a testament to the days of fear we had both endured.

"Aunt Deb, it's okay, please don't cry. The doctor mentioned crying too much isn't great for your eyes," a soft voice chimed in. That's when I noticed Alice was there too.

Letting go of my mom, I turned to Alice. Her stunning features caught my eye, and I could not shake off the memory of that video Lucas had shown me.

With a heavy feeling in my chest, I took a deep breath, tried to clear my head, and told my mom to hang tight for a second. I needed to have a quick word with Idris before I could fill her in on what is going to happen with Scott Corporation.

Mom gave Idris a look, hesitated for a moment, then pulled Alice to sit with us. "Yvette, I've heard about the stuff that's been going on. You don't have to worry about me not being able to handle it. There's no need to push me away."

Seeing Mom was set on sticking around, I got her point. She had always been stubborn, so I just went with it.

Facing Mom and Idris, I tried to keep it cool. "Sorry for making everyone worry lately. I’m fine, really. I just hung out with Charlie over the holidays. I got a bit caught up in the fun and forgot to let you guys know. Of course, my phone had to pick that time to die, so I couldn’t reach out and let you know. My bad."