The Housewife's Return To Her Alluring Prime - Chapter 11: Chapter 11

I had on a black crop top—short, showing a sliver of my waist—paired with loose beige pants. Standing at five-foot-six, I had a slim, tall frame, and my brown hair made me look much more gorgeous.
"Mom, what're you wearing? It's cute!" Yvonne's eyes went wide. She'd never seen me dressed like this.
Jared's deep-set eyes flickered with surprise.
I flipped my wavy hair and stepped toward them. "Let's go, Yvonne. I'm gonna be late for dinner."
Jared ruffled Yvonne's hair, his voice soft. "Listen to Mom, okay? Don't give her a hard time."
Yvonne pouted, grumbling. "I know. You say that every day—it's annoying."
Jared looked at her adoringly. Then he turned to me and gave me a thorough once-over. "Who are you having dinner with?"
"My violin teacher and some classmates," I replied.
His brows pulled tight. "Don't mess with strangers. Watch out for creeps."
I laughed. "Meeting new people is fun for me."
Before he could say more, I shut the car door and pulled away. In the rearview mirror, I saw him still standing there, watching me leave.
Yvonne pulled out her game console, firing it up. "Mom, why didn't you come bake with me yesterday?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Thought you had Tracy there."
"That's not the same," she pouted. "Everyone else has both their mom and dad there, but I only have Dad. If Tracy hadn't bailed on her own plans to come, I would've looked so pathetic."
She was basically calling me a bad mom. But I almost smirked—Tracy was probably thrilled for the chance. Honestly, she should thank me.
"Your dad's pretty nice to Tracy, huh?" I said casually.
"Of course, she's—"Yvonne started, but quickly stopped. She was as sharp as her dad, after all. She just let out an annoyed huff. "Mom, are you trying to get info about Dad from me? How lame."
I fell silent. Time and again, I realized my little girl wasn't on my side, even at such a young age. I couldn't convince myself to love her anymore.
When I arrived at the restaurant, my teacher and musician classmates were already there. A few single guys who'd hit on me before looked utterly stunned now that they saw me walk in with my daughter.
Jared had cheated, but I wasn't about to start hooking up with random guys as payback. Love meant nothing to me right now. I just wanted to build my career and become independent. Once I got there, guys would be lining up.
Dinner was great, though. We laughed, talked, and swapped stories. I picked up some useful tips, and they even said they'd hit me up for future gigs.
Since performing a few times in college, I'd never been on stage again. But I loved that feeling of standing in the spotlight—being adored, being liked—it was pure soul food. And I wanted it back.
Retired executives often spiraled into depression when the praise stopped—their sense of purpose just vanished. For me, it was the same. Without that validation, I felt myself slowly disappearing.
Yvonne was quite the social butterfly. She chatted easily with my violin classmates and even got this wild idea about learning violin together. I quickly shut her down.
She pouted, "You won't let me learn? Fine. I'll get Dad to sign me up. One day, I'll totally crush you—and don't you dare get jealous!"
I knew Yvonne was a gifted kid who picked things up quickly. But jealous? Not at all. I was already ready to cut ties with her. Soon enough, I wouldn't be in her life anymore.
That afternoon, she stuck to me like glue. While I was in class, she napped nearby. When I practiced violin, she played games, looking bored out of her mind.
Later, I asked if she wanted to go visit her grandma, and she lit up, practically jumping at the offer.
I called Sally. She was over the moon and immediately had the servants prepare Yvonne's favorite mini cakes and yogurt.
"Grandma!" Yvonne darted into Sally's arms.
"Oh, sweetie. Look how tall and gorgeous you've gotten." Sally cupped Yvonne's face, covering it with kisses.
I set Yvonne's backpack on the couch and told Sally, "I've got dinner plans tonight. Yvonne can stay over, and I'll pick her up tomorrow around noon."
Sally glanced up at me. "You've been running around a lot lately. Prepping for work?"
Yvonne spoke up loudly. "Mom's always going out to eat. She even had lunch with a bunch of people today."
Sally's brows creased. I was still a Holcomb, and no mother-in-law would be thrilled to see her daughter-in-law always running around.
"Yvonne," I said, shooting her a warning glance, "haven't I told you? Kids shouldn't interrupt adult conversations."
Yvonne's bottom lip stuck out. She buried herself in Sally's arms, shooting daggers at me.
Sally had clearly overthought things. She looked at me seriously and warned, "I don't care who you befriend. But don't you dare make friends with the wrong crowd. The Holcomb name's on the line here. Don't make trouble for Jared."
Back in the day, those words would've crushed me. I'd have freaked out, doubting myself and wondering if I'd messed up. Then I'd clamp down and act "proper" to keep everyone else satisfied. Now, I just replied flatly, "Got it. No worries."
Sally nodded. Probably because I'd never done anything improper, she seemed pretty trusting of me.
After leaving the Holcomb residence, I swung by to pick up Melissa.
The second she got in the car, she started ranting about the cases she'd handled that day. She got more fired up by the minute, cursing guys for being so damn ungrateful. Those divorce cases must've soured her on love.
I just let her vent, not saying much.
Suddenly, she tugged at my sleeve and grinned, "Guess who's treating tonight?"
I blinked. "Who?"
"Our class president from college. He's killing it now—heard he's a manager at some big tech company. Dude's got a bright future," Melissa said dreamily.
I teased, "Then go for it. You're acting all goofy over him."
"Please. He wouldn't even look at me twice," Melissa sighed, then dramatically pouted. "With a knockout like you around, I'm just the backup."
I burst out laughing. Melissa was quirky as ever. Sure, she always said the most random stuff, but she was still my best friend, the one who kept my boring life interesting.
Soon, we arrived at the restaurant, and our old classmates were clustered near the entrance. As we approached, their eyes immediately lit up.
"The beauty queen's here!" someone called out.