When she entered their private room, Yvonne Morgan quickly noticed her aunt’s dampened mood.
She asked in a small voice, "Aunt, are you unhappy?"
Zoe Morgan looked up at her niece’s exquisite, pretty face, and her anger instantly vanished.
She put on a gentle, loving smile and said softly, "Yvonne, I’m fine. You should eat more."
"Okay." Yvonne Morgan nodded, using the serving chopsticks to put some food on Zoe Morgan’s and Faye Wyatt’s plates. "You and Aunt Fanny should eat more, too."
"Thanks, Yvonne," Faye Wyatt thanked her politely.
She was texting with Renee and her face lit up with surprise when she learned Renee was also at the restaurant.
"Fanny, what are you so happy about?" Zoe Morgan asked with a smile.
"Renee’s eating here, too," Faye Wyatt answered without thinking.
"Renee?" Yvonne Morgan asked in surprise. "Which Renee?"
Zoe Morgan also looked at her with a smile. "Do I know her?"
Faye Wyatt opened her mouth to answer, but then she remembered the dynamic between them. She hesitated for a couple of seconds before saying, "Renee Jennings."
The moment she said the name, the smiles on both Yvonne Morgan and Zoe Morgan’s faces faltered.
An awkward silence descended upon the room.
Faye Wyatt, however, paid no mind to their moods. She stood up and said, "Yvonne, Vivi, you two take your time. I’m going to go chat with Renee."
Yvonne Morgan forced an awkward smile. "Okay."
Zoe Morgan pressed her lips together and said nothing.
After Faye Wyatt left, the smile on Yvonne Morgan’s face vanished completely.
She stared down at the food in her bowl, her hands in her lap clenching into tight fists. ’I’m so angry I could breathe fire.’
’I specifically had Auntie invite Faye Wyatt out today to get on her good side, but I can’t believe that lonely old hag would just ditch me for Renee Jennings!’
’She’s completely nuts!’
Zoe Morgan suppressed her own feelings and looked at Yvonne. "Yvonne," she said softly, "eat some more."
Yvonne shook her head. "You eat, Auntie. I don’t have much of an appetite."
"No appetite?" Zoe Morgan frowned with concern. "What’s wrong, Yvonne? Are you not feeling well?"
Yvonne said in a low voice, "It’s nothing."
Seeing her like this, Zoe Morgan sighed. "Yvonne, you can tell me anything, you know."
"Auntie," Yvonne began, looking up with reddened eyes, "if you want to go see Renee like Aunt Fanny, you can. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine here by myself."
"Yvonne." Zoe Morgan’s voice was now laced with heartache and guilt. "I’m not going. You know that, in my heart, you are my one and only, dearest niece."
"Thank you, Auntie," Yvonne said, her voice choked with emotion. "You’re the person I love most, too. That’s why I don’t want to make things difficult for you because of me."
"It’s not difficult at all." Zoe Morgan got up and moved to her side, taking her hand gently. Her voice was incredibly soft and earnest. "No matter what happens, I will only ever acknowledge you as my niece. I swear it."
"Don’t swear," Yvonne said, shaking her head quickly. "I believe everything you say, Auntie."
"Good." A relieved smile spread across Zoe Morgan’s face as she reached out to gently stroke Yvonne’s hair. "So try to be a little happier now, okay?"
’This was proof enough that her past actions had been the right ones.’
’Yvonne Morgan was the niece she had chosen for herself.’