Revenge: Once His Wife, Now His Regret - Chapter 158: Chapter 158
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Sally tuned out whatever else Abigail was saying.
Her mind was a million miles away, replaying the events of that day at the Kendall's mansion.
The next day was supposed to be Lillian's first day of school, but around noon, Sally received an unexpected call from her teacher.
"Is this Lillian's guardian?" the teacher asked. "I'm calling from her school with an update."
"Yes, this is she," Sally said, intrigued. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is more than okay!" the teacher said excitedly. "At the end of last term, we administered a placement test, and Lillian's performance was simply outstanding. She finished the entire exam in about ten minutes."
The teacher continued, "The head of the department heard about it, and he informed the principal. Before she left for the break, we had her take a fifth-grade level exam, and she scored a perfect one hundred percent."
Sally was stunned. Lillian hadn't mentioned a word of this to her.
"A little while ago, a school for gifted children contacted us, looking for exceptionally bright students," the teacher explained. "Our principal recommended two: a sixth-grader named Nick Zale, and Lillian. They've both been accepted."
"A school for the gifted?" Sally asked, her heart skipping a beat. "You mean the Veridian Academy?"
"Yes, that's the one," the teacher confirmed.
Sally's mind reeled.
She knew Nick was brilliant; he'd skipped grades before, and even before she went to prison, his teachers had predicted he'd end up at a place like Veridian Academy.
It was an elite institution that exclusively enrolled children with genius-level IQs. Some of its students, a select few, were even secretly trained by government organizations to become cybersecurity experts. The youngest was rumored to be only eight years old.
Nick had inherited the best of her and Brad's intelligence; after all, the Zale men were all successful, a trait certainly linked to the family's high-IQ gene pool.
But she never imagined Lillian was on that same level.
"So, you can take Lillian straight to Veridian Academy tomorrow for orientation," the teacher said, pulling Sally from her thoughts. "There's no need to bring her back here. I've already spoken with them, and they'll have someone waiting to greet you at the entrance."
"Okay. Thank you so much, teacher."
After hanging up, Sally clutched her phone, the news almost too good to be true.
It was a wonderful surprise.
She quickly unlocked her phone, her first instinct to share the news with Jaxon. But then she stopped, the reality of their situation crashing down on her.
'It's over.'
She quickly locked the screen, catching a glimpse of her own reflection.
The disappointment in her eyes was unmistakable, even on the dark glass.
"Hey, Sally, you okay?"
A low voice broke the silence. Sally looked up to see Carlos's concerned face.
"You've seemed really down the past few days," he pressed gently.
Sally met his curious gaze and forced a small smile. "Have I? I feel fine."
"Are you sure? Is something on your mind?" Carlos didn't buy it and stepped a little closer. "I saw Mr. Zale come by the other day, and you barely gave him the time of day. Did you two have a fight or something?"
The smile on Sally's face froze.
'So he noticed, too,' she thought. 'Is it that obvious?'
"Mr. Zale is Lillian's godfather, and you're her guardian, so it's natural to have disagreements," Carlos said earnestly. "But whatever he said, don't take it to heart. Mr. Zale is... actually a pretty good guy."
Sally's already sour mood darkened. Hearing him defend Jaxon was the last thing she wanted.
"You've met him a handful of times and you're already on his side?" she snapped. "What makes you think you know him so well?"
Carlos froze, taken aback by her sharp tone. He immediately held his hands up in surrender.
"Nope! Forget I said that!" he stammered. "Zale men are the worst! Every last one of them!"
Seeing his comical one-eighty, Sally couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
As the corner of her mouth twitched into a smile, Carlos added, "Just pretend you didn't hear that last part."
"You've got good instincts, kid." Sally shot him a look, a hint of amusement in her eyes.
Carlos just scratched the back of his head. "You know it!"
"Just don't be so honest all the time," Sally advised, walking toward her desk. "Abigail doesn't like guys who are too sincere."
Carlos followed her, muttering, "Come on, Sally, don't tease me about that."
"Tease you? Who's teasing who?"
A familiar voice rang out from the entrance.
Carlos's back went ramrod straight.
A slow, knowing smile spread across Sally's face. "Speak of the devil. What a coincidence."
She gave Carlos a meaningful glance, which Abigail immediately intercepted.
Abigail's eyes narrowed as she zeroed in on Carlos. "Carlos York, have you been talking shit about me?"
"I... "
Before Carlos could finish, Sally cut in smoothly, "He complains about you to me all the time."
Carlos looked at Sally in disbelief, pointing a finger from himself back to her, completely speechless.
It was clear this was payback for defending Mr. Zale.
'Revenge is a dish best served immediately, huh?' he thought grimly.
"You talk about me behind my back? What do you say?" Abigail grabbed a stool and plopped down right in front of him. "Go on. I'm all ears. Tell me to my face."
"I didn't! I swear, I never said a bad word about you!" Carlos pleaded. "Sally's just messing with you, don't listen to her!"
"He said you're bossy and aggressive, like a shrew," Sally added casually, sealing his fate, "and that you'd scare any guy away."
Carlos felt his heart sink into his stomach.
He had, in fact, said those exact words to Sally after one of his arguments with Abigail, but he'd just been venting.
Her mind was a million miles away, replaying the events of that day at the Kendall's mansion.
The next day was supposed to be Lillian's first day of school, but around noon, Sally received an unexpected call from her teacher.
"Is this Lillian's guardian?" the teacher asked. "I'm calling from her school with an update."
"Yes, this is she," Sally said, intrigued. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is more than okay!" the teacher said excitedly. "At the end of last term, we administered a placement test, and Lillian's performance was simply outstanding. She finished the entire exam in about ten minutes."
The teacher continued, "The head of the department heard about it, and he informed the principal. Before she left for the break, we had her take a fifth-grade level exam, and she scored a perfect one hundred percent."
Sally was stunned. Lillian hadn't mentioned a word of this to her.
"A little while ago, a school for gifted children contacted us, looking for exceptionally bright students," the teacher explained. "Our principal recommended two: a sixth-grader named Nick Zale, and Lillian. They've both been accepted."
"A school for the gifted?" Sally asked, her heart skipping a beat. "You mean the Veridian Academy?"
"Yes, that's the one," the teacher confirmed.
Sally's mind reeled.
She knew Nick was brilliant; he'd skipped grades before, and even before she went to prison, his teachers had predicted he'd end up at a place like Veridian Academy.
It was an elite institution that exclusively enrolled children with genius-level IQs. Some of its students, a select few, were even secretly trained by government organizations to become cybersecurity experts. The youngest was rumored to be only eight years old.
Nick had inherited the best of her and Brad's intelligence; after all, the Zale men were all successful, a trait certainly linked to the family's high-IQ gene pool.
But she never imagined Lillian was on that same level.
"So, you can take Lillian straight to Veridian Academy tomorrow for orientation," the teacher said, pulling Sally from her thoughts. "There's no need to bring her back here. I've already spoken with them, and they'll have someone waiting to greet you at the entrance."
"Okay. Thank you so much, teacher."
After hanging up, Sally clutched her phone, the news almost too good to be true.
It was a wonderful surprise.
She quickly unlocked her phone, her first instinct to share the news with Jaxon. But then she stopped, the reality of their situation crashing down on her.
'It's over.'
She quickly locked the screen, catching a glimpse of her own reflection.
The disappointment in her eyes was unmistakable, even on the dark glass.
"Hey, Sally, you okay?"
A low voice broke the silence. Sally looked up to see Carlos's concerned face.
"You've seemed really down the past few days," he pressed gently.
Sally met his curious gaze and forced a small smile. "Have I? I feel fine."
"Are you sure? Is something on your mind?" Carlos didn't buy it and stepped a little closer. "I saw Mr. Zale come by the other day, and you barely gave him the time of day. Did you two have a fight or something?"
The smile on Sally's face froze.
'So he noticed, too,' she thought. 'Is it that obvious?'
"Mr. Zale is Lillian's godfather, and you're her guardian, so it's natural to have disagreements," Carlos said earnestly. "But whatever he said, don't take it to heart. Mr. Zale is... actually a pretty good guy."
Sally's already sour mood darkened. Hearing him defend Jaxon was the last thing she wanted.
"You've met him a handful of times and you're already on his side?" she snapped. "What makes you think you know him so well?"
Carlos froze, taken aback by her sharp tone. He immediately held his hands up in surrender.
"Nope! Forget I said that!" he stammered. "Zale men are the worst! Every last one of them!"
Seeing his comical one-eighty, Sally couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
As the corner of her mouth twitched into a smile, Carlos added, "Just pretend you didn't hear that last part."
"You've got good instincts, kid." Sally shot him a look, a hint of amusement in her eyes.
Carlos just scratched the back of his head. "You know it!"
"Just don't be so honest all the time," Sally advised, walking toward her desk. "Abigail doesn't like guys who are too sincere."
Carlos followed her, muttering, "Come on, Sally, don't tease me about that."
"Tease you? Who's teasing who?"
A familiar voice rang out from the entrance.
Carlos's back went ramrod straight.
A slow, knowing smile spread across Sally's face. "Speak of the devil. What a coincidence."
She gave Carlos a meaningful glance, which Abigail immediately intercepted.
Abigail's eyes narrowed as she zeroed in on Carlos. "Carlos York, have you been talking shit about me?"
"I... "
Before Carlos could finish, Sally cut in smoothly, "He complains about you to me all the time."
Carlos looked at Sally in disbelief, pointing a finger from himself back to her, completely speechless.
It was clear this was payback for defending Mr. Zale.
'Revenge is a dish best served immediately, huh?' he thought grimly.
"You talk about me behind my back? What do you say?" Abigail grabbed a stool and plopped down right in front of him. "Go on. I'm all ears. Tell me to my face."
"I didn't! I swear, I never said a bad word about you!" Carlos pleaded. "Sally's just messing with you, don't listen to her!"
"He said you're bossy and aggressive, like a shrew," Sally added casually, sealing his fate, "and that you'd scare any guy away."
Carlos felt his heart sink into his stomach.
He had, in fact, said those exact words to Sally after one of his arguments with Abigail, but he'd just been venting.
End of Revenge: Once His Wife, Now His Regret Chapter 158. Continue reading Chapter 159 or return to Revenge: Once His Wife, Now His Regret book page.