Chapter 4

I turned my gaze elsewhere, swallowing the churning emotions stirred by the word "shrew".

When Alex was a baby, born prematurely, he was often ill.

I remembered the time he burned with fever, his tiny body aflame and trembling with convulsions.

Panicked, I frantically called Hank, who was filming at the time. Overcome with emotion, my voice cracked and shrilled, "Hank, come to the hospital, something's wrong with Alex!"

I could hear his irritation over the phone. "I'm working. Handle it yourself. I'm not a doctor, what good would I do?"

Clutching Alex, I froze in place, fury boiling over. "Is your movie more important than your son?!"

He sighed, weary. "Why are you acting like a shrew?"

He hung up, leaving me alone to dash around the hospital with our fevered child in my arms.

Even as Alex's fever worsened into pneumonia, Hank never showed up.

Disillusionment doesn't hit all at once, it builds, piece by piece.

I wrenched myself out of the painful memory, focusing on preparing my dish.

Since children were the judges, I felt confident in my chances.

After all, even my picky, delicate Alex had grown up healthy on my cooking.

Unlike Suzanne's fancy seafood spread, I opted for simple but universally loved buffalo wings.

It had been Alex's favorite dish. He would devour every last bite, licking the plate clean as if he could swallow it whole.

When the dishes were finished, each was divided into small portions for the children to taste.

Surrounded by gourmet meals, the kids flocked to my buffalo wings. Every vote was mine, except for Alex's.

He stepped in front of the others, arms wide in protest. "Don't eat the buffalo wings! They're awful!

"My mom's buffalo wings are terrible. I've had them so many times and hated every bite. I'm her son, trust me!"

Hesitation rippled through the children.

Finally, Jesse, the younger brother of Aaron Banks, spoke up. "But... they smell really good."

I watched as Alex blocked votes against me, then eagerly promoted Suzanne's dish.

It was obvious he simply didn't want me to win.

But fate didn't favor him this time.

When the rankings were announced, I claimed first place and chose House No. 1 without hesitation.

Suzanne's seafood feast was difficult for the children to eat and earned only two votes from Alex and Vicky. She ended up stuck with House No. 6.

The moment the rankings were revealed, Suzanne's face turned pale, her eyes pleading as she glanced at Hank for help.

I had no interest in their wordless exchanges and only wanted to rest. But just as I turned, someone grabbed my arm.

Hank frowned slightly, speaking with unwarranted authority. "Adrienne, give House No. 1 to Suzanne. She's not in good health and can't stay in House No. 6."