Chapter 167

Elaria still hadn't heard a word about Sebastian. He'd vanished like he'd just dropped off the face of the earth. The kids just thought he'd gone abroad for work-maybe a few years. To them, their dad was just away on a long business trip. Every evening, after coaxing the kids to sleep, Elaria would sit alone in the living room, listening to that old vinyl record. It wasn't just her grandmother's voice on there-Sebastian's was too. More often than not, Elaria would end up crying as she listened. Early October came. The wisteria in the courtyard had all withered and fallen by then. Still, Sebastian hadn't come back. That was when Elaria gave birth to a baby girl at the maternity hospital. The entire Richards and Harmon families showed up that day. Even Mrs. Harmon Sr. made it from Cloudmere, saying she wanted to bring blessings and luck to her new granddaughter. Mrs. Collins dropped by too, just in case anything went wrong-she wanted her blood on standby, just in case. Everyone waited ne