“Alright then, Hadley it is,” Savannah replied warmly. “You’re around Elissa’s age, right? You must be close.” She stepped aside to let her in. “Come in. Elissa’s just having a bite to eat.”

Hadley blinked in surprise. Elissa was eating? Hadn’t she been throwing up constantly before?

Inside, Elissa sat at the dining table, fork in hand. She looked up, her eyes lighting up. “I figured it’d be you. Come, sit with me.”

“Okay.” Hadley smiled and pulled out a chair beside her.

“I’ll leave you two to your girl talk,” Savannah said with a wink before retreating to the other room.

Once she was gone, Hadley leaned in slightly and whispered, “Your mom is so sweet.”

Elissa grinned proudly. “Right? That’s why she divorced Becker. She was too good for him.”

Hadley gave a noncommittal smile and let the topic go. She glanced at Elissa’s plate, tilting her head. “She said you were eating… What is this?”

Elissa laughed. “Don’t tell me you can’t recognize it.”

Hadley narrowed her eyes. “Is it… an omelette?”

That sent Elissa into a fit of laughter. “Of course it is! What, does it look that suspicious?”

“Well, this omelette doesn’t look like any I’ve seen,” Hadley admitted, laughing too. “Why is it this color? What’s in it?”

With a mischievous look, Elissa said, “It’s my mom’s secret recipe. Something she used to eat when she was pregnant with me.”

“A secret recipe?” Hadley looked intrigued. “What’s in it exactly?”

Instead of answering, Elissa scooped up a forkful and held it out. “Wanna try for yourself?”

“Sure.” Hadley, curious and unsuspecting, leaned in and took the bite. Her eyes widened the moment the taste hit her tongue. “Ah! This… it’s so spicy!”

gα?ησν?s﹒cm has it all

“Exactly!” Elissa laughed, nodding with delight.

“You like it?”

“I love it.” Elissa pointed to her plate. “I’ve eaten so much already—and I haven’t thrown up once.”

“Wow…” Hadley blinked, genuinely impressed. “That’s amazing. Mrs. Brown made this?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s incredible. How’d she even figure out what you wanted? You didn’t seem to know yourself.” So many chefs and nutritionists had failed to help Elissa. Yet somehow, Savannah managed to solve the problem like it was second nature.

“Because she’s Mom,” Elissa said with a small pout, a trace of pride behind her smile. “She told me that when she was pregnant with me, she went through the same thing. She said I take after her.”

“Oh.” Hadley smiled, understanding dawning. “That makes sense.”

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