Chapter 20 Teresa didn't want to hear any more of Yolanda's griping about her . She walked straight into the living room . The moment Richard saw Teresa , he shot up and hurried over . " There you are , Teresa . What took you so long today ? " Teresa gave him a smile and explained , " An emergency case came in just as I was leaving work . Got busy with that and then came straight here ." Hearing Teresa's voice , Yolanda's back stiffened . But she kept acting aloof and didn't bother to turn around . She just sat there , waiting for Teresa to say hello first . Yolanda figured , " This is Mr. Richard's house . Mom wouldn't dare ignore me here . Even if it's just for show , she'll have to act like she cares . But the thing was , Teresa acted like Yolanda wasn't even there . She completely ignored her . When Richard stood for Richard . tood up . Charles threw a quick look at Teresa as she came in . She didir'i so much as glance his way . She only had eyes Go get the Richard took Teresa's arm and steered her toward the sofa . As they walked , he shot Charles a look . " Teresa hasn't eaten yet , food we saved for her from the kitchen . " His tone meant no arguing . Charles couldn't be bothered to get into it with Richard over something as simple his phone , and pushed himself up . as fetching food . He grunted an agreement , put down M Passing the table where Yolanda sat , he gave her hood a quick yank . " You're coming with me . " he said . Yolanda turned around and gave Charles a gloomy look . But with Richard right there , she couldn't exactly throw a fit . So she just sighed , pushed herself up , muttered a reluctant " okay , " and followed Charles out toward the kitchen . Teresa saw them heading off to get the food and could practically feel the reluctance . She wasn't trying anyone . " I can get it myself . " she offered . Teresa started toward the kitchen , but Richard grabbed her hand and firmly sat her back down . 山 10 make things difficult for - THE FAM વજાત કે વિર Tapping his cane for emphasis , he lectured , " You sit right there ! We brought you into the Logan Family to have a good life , not to struggle . Charles and Yolanda have perfectly good hands and feet . What's the big deal if they do something for you once ? You've bent over backwards for them plenty of times already . " You gave us Yolanda , and you deserve to be treated well in this family . A man is meant to be useful . If you don't put him to work today , he'll think he can walk all over you tomorrow . " Teresa felt warm all over inside listening to this . Richard had always been so good to her all these years . Back when Yolanda was born , he'd showered Teresa with priceless jewels and a huge chunk of money . If it weren't for holding on to that kindness , Teresa wouldn't have bothered coming back today to put up with Charles and Yolanda's attitudes . Teresa's eyes grew misty . She gave him a small smile . " I understand now , Grandpa . " Just then , Charles and Yolanda came out carrying the food that looked great , all Teresa's favorites . Yolanda set down the bowl , then turned right back to her card game without a word . Charles handed Teresa her fork and was about to slip away himself when Richard barked , " Charles , where do you think you're going ? " Charles looked up , confused . " Grandpa ? What's up ? " Richard lifted his cane like he might swat Charles . " Don't you know you're supposed to sit down and eat with Teresa ? " he snapped . Charles looked down at Teresa . She didn't look back , just said flatly , ' Grandpa , I can eat by myself . I don't need him to keep me company ." Her cool brush - off threw Charles for a second , pulling up memories of how Teresa used to be . 1/3 P Chapter 20 Back in the day , whether heading home or out somewhere , if she got the chance to be with Charles , Teresa would cling to him . She'd ask if he wanted something to eat or if he felt like grabbing a drink . She'd ask if he wanted to hang out or go pick up some fruit . Anything , really . But now , it felt like a complete one - eighty . He wasn't sure what had gotten into her , but it left a faint twinge of discomfort . Just a tiny blip , though . Charles wasn't about to care much about it . If Teresa didn't want him around , he sure wasn't going to force it . Richard watched Teresa and Charles together and heaved a sigh . Five years now , and those two just weren't getting any better . It seemed like they were falling apart instead . Richard had tried fixing them up more times than he could count , but it never worked . He didn't know what else he could do . After dinner , when Teresa started clearing the dishes to wash up , Richard wouldn't hear of it . He let the maid handle it instead . Everyone was sitting in the living room , and the vibe was real awkward . Yolanda was playing with her cards , chiming in now and then to Richard or Charles , but didn't care about Teresa the whole time . Teresa only talked to Richard , pretending Charles and Yolanda right next to her weren't even there . Charles didn't talk much . He just kept playing his phone and texting . T Teresa knew he was messaging Naomi - probably fe Charles was the first on his feet . " Grandpa , " he said , " let me see you to your room . " Richard still wanted to help patch things up between them . But it was getting late , he was just heading off to bed , and asked Teresa , Yolanda and Charles to stay over here . celing guilty about not being with her tonight . too here.com Seeing Charles being thoughtful like that , Richard couldn't really bring himself to say anything ired . So he stood up , saying he was Just as Charles took Richard's arm , Teresa suddenly called out , " Grandpa . " Richard turned back , his eyes kind . " What is it ? " he asked . " I have work tomorrow . " Teresa said . " I should really head back . I'm afraid tomorrow … " it now ." But before she could finish , Richard put on a show of being hurt . " Go on back then . After all , I'm old now . Every day counts , and all I want is for rny kids to spend a little time with me . But seems everyone's got an excuse these days . Well . Guess I'm just past He kept sighing away as he spoke . Seeing Richard like that , Teresa's heart twisted . She wished she could take back every word she'd just said . www . " Grandpa , I'll stay . " she said quickly , " I'll have breakfast with you tomorrow . " Teresa had a soft heart . She just couldn't stand up to Richard when he pulled this kind of thing . She caved in . As Charles took Richard's arm to help him to the bedroom , Richard didn't turn back to look at Teresa But Charles caught the knowing smile that flashed across his face just then . Charles knew Richard too well - he was always playing the guilt card , and they always fell for it . Suddenly , it was just Teresa and Yolanda left in the living room . The air hung thick and still . Behind her , Teresa could hear the soft rustle of Yolanda playing with her cards . Before , Teresa would've slid over and wrapped Yolanda in a hug , maybe chatted about what she did in the preschool . But now Teresa didn't want to do that . After a moment just standing there , she turned and headed straight upstairs . This wasn't her first time crashing here . She knew the place had a room for her and she could wash up and turn in . Yolanda kept playing with her cards , but her eyes kept flicking toward Teresa out of the corner of her eye . When she saw Teresa just standing there by the dinner table , lost in thought , Yolanda figured she was working up the nerve to apologize . 2/3 10