Chapter 5

Damon kept his eyes on the corner where Phoebe had disappeared.

His expression remained unreadable.

He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and repeated in a low voice, “Back to the office.”

Eric glanced at him through the rearview mirror.

He was really committed to pretending he didn’t care.

His face might have given nothing away, but Eric knew Damon had come straight here from the airport the moment his plane landed.

Then Damon’s icy gaze met his in the mirror.

Eric immediately looked away and started the car.

Meanwhile, Phoebe finally found an art conservator online who could restore her mother’s painting.

Unfortunately, there was a waiting list.

She dropped the painting off anyway, but they told her it would take about a month before she could pick it up.

Phoebe had no choice but to wait.

It was the only place she had found with consistently good reviews.

She had just stepped out of the studio when her phone rang.

Phoebe looked down at the screen and was surprised to see Zac’s younger sister calling.

Chloe Sanders had just turned eighteen.

When Phoebe first married into the Sanders family, Chloe had been right in the middle of her rebellious phase.

She refused to listen to almost anyone.

Phoebe had been the exception.

Susan had been busy with work back then, so Phoebe had often been the one to pick Chloe up from school and take care of her.

Over time, Chloe grew more and more attached to her.

Phoebe had always spoiled her too.

She had never had a younger sister of her own, so she had treated Chloe like one.

The moment Phoebe answered, Chloe’s voice came through the phone with a faint hint of entitlement.

“Phoebe, where are you?”

Phoebe walked down the steps as she replied, “What’s wrong?”

Chloe sounded a little impatient.

“I’m craving the honey cakes from Rosewood Patisserie. Can you bring me some? I’m at Kingsley City General Hospital.”

Phoebe paused, her first reaction one of concern.

“Chloe, why are you at the hospital?”

There was a brief pause.

“It’s nothing. I just caught a cold and needed an IV. It’s no big deal. You’ll come, right?”

There was a sweet, coaxing note in Chloe’s voice that Phoebe found hard to resist.

Phoebe smiled faintly.

“I’m glad it’s nothing serious. Okay, I’ll head over now.”

The call ended almost as soon as she finished speaking.

Phoebe looked down at her phone.

Something about the conversation left her uneasy.

Maybe she was overthinking it.

She took a deep breath, pushed the feeling aside, and hailed a cab to Rosewood Patisserie.

The bakery was almost an hour away.

Its pastries were extremely popular, and there was almost always a long line.

But no matter how inconvenient it was, Phoebe had never once refused Chloe.

*

At the hospital, Chloe ended the call with a smug smile and slipped her phone into her pocket.

She sat down beside Zac.

“Guess how long it’ll take Phoebe to get here.”

Zac had just peeled an orange for Xena.

He turned toward Chloe with a frown.

“Why are you making her go all the way out there? It’s far.”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Seriously, Zac? You’re still defending her?”

She glanced toward Xena.

“Xena hurt her hand because Phoebe had that stupid painting hanging in the living room. She hasn’t even come to apologize. This is the least she deserves.”

The irritation on Zac’s face faded slightly.

Chloe wasn’t entirely wrong.

Xena had hurt her hand because of Phoebe’s painting.

Still, the line at Rosewood could take hours, and the weather that day wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Xena noticed the hesitation on his face.

A flicker of coldness passed through her eyes before disappearing just as quickly.

Then Xena said gently, “Chloe, Zac’s right. I don’t need the honey cakes. Don’t make Ms. Walker go through all that trouble just for me. I wouldn’t want him worrying about her.”

Zac immediately looked a little anxious, as if he were afraid Xena might misunderstand.

“No, Ms. Tucker, that’s not what I meant. I just didn’t want to keep you waiting.”

An older woman in the next bed glanced over curiously.

“You keep calling her Ms. Tucker. How do you two know each other?”

Xena smiled.

“He used to be my student.”

The woman looked surprised.

“Oh, you were his teacher? You look so young. And he still takes such good care of you after all these years. That’s sweet.”

Xena gave a modest smile and was about to respond when Zac quickly cut in.

“Not exactly. She was my private tutor for a while in high school. She’s only four years older than me.”

Chloe watched him rush to explain and could barely contain her amusement.

She had never seen him so eager to clear something up before.

It was almost as if he couldn’t stand the thought of anyone thinking of Xena as nothing more than his former teacher.

The older woman looked confused.

Hadn’t Xena just said Zac used to be her student?

Still, she gave them an awkward smile, decided it was none of her business, and settled back into bed.

Xena watched Zac’s expression darken slightly, secretly pleased.

So he did care about how people saw their relationship.

“Zac, you don’t have to explain it that much.”

His expression turned unusually serious.

“Yes, I do. That needs to be clear.”

Calling her Ms. Tucker was just an old habit he hadn’t broken yet.

Chloe grinned from the side.

“Zac, I think you still have feelings for Xena. Why don’t you just divorce Phoebe and marry her instead? I’d much rather have Xena as my sister-in-law.”

She rolled her eyes.

“What can Phoebe even do besides stay home and take care of the house? It’s not like she can help you with your career.”

Phoebe had just hurried up to the hospital room, breathless from the trip, when those words reached her.

She stopped cold.

Her hand tightened around the door handle.

She never imagined that the girl who had always followed her around and treated her like an older sister would trick her into coming here just to humiliate her.

Her heart sank.

Through the narrow opening in the door, she looked inside.

Zac’s expression turned serious.

“Chloe, don’t say things like that again.”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“But it’s true. What does Phoebe do besides cook for you and keep you happy? She doesn’t even have a job.”

Then Chloe turned to Xena.

“I don’t even want Phoebe coming to my school events anymore.” She looked back at Zac. “Why can’t you just divorce her and marry Xena instead?”

Xena’s smile stiffened.

She instinctively glanced at Zac.

“Chloe, that’s...”

Zac’s expression turned serious.

“Chloe Sanders, don’t say that again. Ms. Tucker came back because she has something important to accomplish. Do you really want to drag her into a bunch of rumors and gossip?”

Outside the room, Phoebe blinked hard and forced back the sting in her eyes.

So that was why.

He wasn’t shutting Chloe down because he didn’t want a divorce.

He was only worried about Xena getting caught up in rumors.

Sure enough, Chloe grinned.

“So once Xena finishes what she came back to do, you’ll divorce Phoebe, right?”

This time, Zac didn’t deny it.

He didn’t agree either.

But his silence said enough.

That was what he wanted.

Phoebe gave a faint, bitter smile and lowered her head, hiding the flash of self-mockery in her eyes.

It didn’t matter.

By then, their divorce would probably already be final.

And she probably wouldn’t even remember him anymore.