Kael stood frozen in the same position, eyes filled with shock and fury. It was as if he couldn’t believe the one who slapped him was Naomi—the woman who’d always claimed to love him.
Naomi lowered her eyes and murmured, “I’m fine, Atty.”
Seeing how in sync the two of them were, Kael felt even more bitter. “Naomi, do you even know what you’re doing? Do you have no shame or sense of decency?”
Atlas immediately pulled Naomi behind him. “Mr. Rhodes, I suggest you show some respect. My wife is none of your concern. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you understand what it means to cross the Knox family.”
“Bullshit! When was Naomi ever your wife?!”
Just as the two men were about to come to blows, Melvin chuckled and interjected, “Mr. Rhodes, you still have the mood to come to a bar? Looks like your parents are just fine then?”
The air went still in an instant.
“Alec, sit down. I’ll go instead.” She smiled gently, like a warm and kind mother.Before Alec could respond, her precious eldest son gave her a look of disdain. “Mom, please don’t make a mess. Do you even know what my brother likes to eat? Let Dad go instead. I’ll come along too—might as well see what my brother actually likes.”Then she saw her tall, six-foot son eagerly escorting his father into the kitchen.Mona: “...”Naomi was holding back laughter so hard it hurt. Why did Alistair act like he was fawning over a girlfriend instead of his brother?Feeling a bit awkward, Mona quietly left.The old lady, of course, noticed Naomi trying not to laugh. She leaned over and whispered, “Alistair is totally obsessed with his big brother.”“Huh?”It was Naomi’s first time hearing the term bro-con—she’d onl
Under the intimidating glare of their grandmother, Alistair obediently made the call. Maybe his brother was busy—it took two tries before the call was answered.“Bro!” Alistair's eyes lit up the moment the call connected. Watching from the side, Naomi figured these two must have a pretty close relationship. After all, no one would get this excited over just calling their older brother unless there was some deep admiration—he sounded more like a guy calling his long-time crush than his sibling.“What is it?”Compared to Alistair’s excitement, Atlas’s tone was calm and composed.“Grandma says you should come to the old house for dinner tonight,” Alistair replied, his voice trailing off toward the end. He knew his brother didn’t like him, but still, he secretly felt happy to be his younger brother.Atlas frowned. “When did Grandma come back?”Usually, she wouldn&rsquo
Not far away, an elderly woman and a teenage boy were watching the scene unfold. The old lady’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Naomi, while the boy beside her wore a look of disdain.Hmph, why should a divorced woman still cling to his brother? His brother deserves someone way better."Ali, that’s your sister-in-law! Hurry, let’s go say hi!”The old lady was so excited she started walking toward them.Alistair quickly held onto his grandma, glaring at Naomi with a dark expression. In his eyes, she was just some flirtatious woman attracting attention wherever she went.Before he could say anything, the old lady smacked him on the back of the head. “What kind of look is that? When we get over there, you better greet her respectfully. If you scare your sister-in-law away, let’s see how your brother deals with you!”At the mention of Atlas, Alistair fell silent. His older brother already didn’t lik
As soon as those words left her mouth, the other end of the call went dead silent. For a moment, there was nothing—then suddenly, a teenage voice exploded through the speaker, full of outrage.“Holy crap, Naomi! Did you seriously get yourself a new guy?!”The outburst made Atlas frown. He didn’t recognize the voice, but the way this kid spoke to Naomi—it definitely didn’t sound like a stranger.Naomi looked at Atlas awkwardly, then brought the phone closer to her mouth.“Uh… excuse me? Who is this?”The voice sounded weirdly familiar, like someone she should know—but she couldn’t quite place it.There was another long pause, and then suddenly—an avalanche of cursing.Yeah. Full-on cursing.“Damn!”“Was it that bastard Kael?!”“I swear I’ll burn the whole Rhodes family to the ground!”“Tha
“Uh… am I supposed to know who the lead actor is?”Honestly, that was way beyond Naomi’s understanding. In her eyes, she was just a small-time actress. It didn’t matter who the lead was—as long as she did her part well, that was enough.But in Atlas’s eyes, it was a completely different story. Everyone on the production team had spent a lot of time with Naomi lately, and he couldn’t allow anything to happen to her.Atlas gently patted her head. “It’s okay. If you don’t know, you don’t need to.”Naomi smiled at him gratefully. “Then… can I livestream from here?”
Kael felt his heart go numb. “She… signed it?”He remembered that day clearly—the restlessness that consumed him after leaving the villa. To him, the marriage had always felt like something she’d forced on him. He’d placed the divorce papers in the study on the very day they got married. And on his birthday night, he’d pulled them out in front of Naomi—not to end things, but to scare her.After that, when Mario called the next day—right before he flew abroad—he’d been told to manage everything related to Naomi.On the other end of the line, Mario’s heart skipped a beat.“Mr. Rhodes… when Miss Swift went through with the divorce, I tried to reach you. But you told me to handle everything concerning her, so…”His voice trailed off, uncertain.To Kael, those words hit like a bomb going off in his head.His whole body stiffened. For a moment,