Blue.

KAILEE

Dexter drove quietly without saying anything to me. The silence between us grew thick and awkward before he finally broke it.

“So… are you both cool now?”

I shook my head without hesitation. “No.”

“I saw—‘’

“What you saw was a misunderstanding,” I muttered before he could finish. “Ashton was being a jerk to me.”

He made a sharp turn before stopping at the traffic lights.

“How’s your stomach?” he asked after a few seconds. “When does it end?”

I swallowed hard at his question. It reminded me of Ashton asking about the same thing, and my cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

I retrieved my phone from my bag after it buzzed. A notification popped on my screen, and I started typing while Dexter resumed driving.

“Who’s that?”

“Cohen Martins.”

“I’m sorry, who?”

I exhaled sharply, still typing without looking away from my screen.

“He’s the private investigator I hired three months ago to find my parents.”

Dexter spared me a glance. Another message came in, making me pause before typing my reply.

“What did he say?”

“He wants to meet me tomorrow evening at L’Or Eternel.”

“L’Or Eternel?” Dexter sounded surprised. “That’s an expensive restaurant, Kay.”

I knew.

But I would give anything to find my biological parents. Even if it meant spending my life savings to get any useful information.

“I know.”

“You’ll be the one to pay for whatever he wants?”

“Why not? He’s helping me.”

“Kailee…”

I tucked my phone back into my bag and straightened in my seat.

“Cohen said he has useful information. I can’t turn back now, Dex. I need to find them.”

“I understand. But why would he want to meet there of all places? The reservation alone costs two thousand per person.”

I shifted my gaze to the road and relaxed my head against the seat. When I didn’t respond, Dexter’s voice lowered.

“I’m sorry for sounding insensitive, Kay. I just don’t want you to feel obliged to do things just because you’re desperate for answers.”

“I don’t want to talk about this,” I said tiredly. “I’m meeting Cohen wherever he wants. And that’s final.”

That conversation ended, but the silence got heavier. Dexter arrived at my apartment, and I got down before he could turn off his car.

“Thanks for the ride,” I said. “I appreciate it.”

I headed straight to my door and unlocked it. Xander’s babysitter was waiting patiently when I walked in.

Xander was in her arms, crying. I dropped my bag to the floor and immediately reached for him.

“He’s been crying for the past ten minutes. I was about to call you.”

“Baby,” I whispered, then pressed a kiss on his forehead. “What’s wrong?”

He sniffled, his little voice trembling.

“I miss you, Mummy.”

My heart melted. I’d been so busy with work that it affected my time with him.

“Mummy’s here now. I’ll make you something to eat, okay?”

He gave a little nod. “Okay.”

I turned to Brianna, who was packing up to leave.

“Thanks for watching him, Bree. How much do I owe you?”

“Twelve hundred. You haven’t paid for the last three days.”

My savings were disappearing faster than I could replenish them. More than half had already gone towards the private investigator, food and rent.

I was exhausted and almost at my breaking point.

“I’m so sorry. I’ve been so busy, and… I’ll pay you tomorrow, please.”

“It’s okay.” She grabbed her bag and smiled at Xander. “Be a good boy, Xanny boy.”

After she left, I gave Xander a warm shower, made us something to eat, then tucked him into bed.

I returned to the living room to tidy things up when I saw the shopping bag Ashton had given me two days ago.

I’d tossed it after getting home that day and didn’t bother to check what was in it.

Chocolates, sanitary pads, and other things I wasn’t sure I’d need.

I stared at the chocolates to read the ingredients. Thankfully, none contained nuts.

My lips curled into a small smile before I could stop them. I wondered if he’d remembered my allergy or if it had been a coincidence.

I woke up at five a.m., got Xander dressed, myself ready for work, then dropped him with Brianna.

Ashton wasn’t in his office when I got to work. I hurriedly worked on the documents from the previous night and got them ready for him.

He walked in two hours later, typing on his phone as he headed to his office. I stood up, picked up the documents, and rushed to meet him.

“Good morning, Mr. Lancaster.”

He stopped at his door, lifted his head, then glanced at the documents in my hands.

“Morning, Ms. Donovan.”

“I’m done with these. Do you need anything else?”

His eyes lingered on my face a second longer than usual. I waited for his answer, but after a whole minute of silence, I pushed his door open.

When I turned around to leave, he was standing right behind me. I bit my lower lip gently, thinking of a way to make my request.

“Mr. Lancaster, I have a request.”

He brushed past me, and walked over to his chair.

“What?”

“Can I close an hour earlier than usual? There’s something I have to do.”

He sat down, dropped his phone on his desk, then faced me squarely.

“Dexter said the same thing yesterday. What are you up to?”

“I have no idea what he did with his time off. I’m just asking for this because…”

I trailed off, careful not to say anything about my plans. Ashton’s eyes searched mine, waiting for me to finish.

“You were saying?”

I shook my head. “It’s nothing, Mr. Lancaster. Please, consider my request. It’s really important, I promise.”

“Letting you off work earlier than the others is unfair, don’t you think?”

“Mr. Lancaster—‘’

He leaned forward, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“You can close by six, Ms. Donovan. Don’t put up a defense when you’re asked to work extra time on Monday.”

My heart was relieved. I smiled, then bowed slightly in appreciation.

“I won’t, sir. Thank you so much, Mr. Lancaster.”

“You’re dismissed.”

He said before returning to the documents I’d just submitted. I turned around to leave, but his voice rang out behind me as I got to the door.

“And Ms. Donovan,” he added quietly. “You should wear blue more often.”