Semua Bab Goodbye, Mr. Ex, I’ve Married Your Uncle : Bab 81 - Bab 90

Scarlett’s POV.The day dragged on in a way that made me feel constantly on edge. No matter how many times I rearranged the sketches for Leon’s office renovation, I couldn’t focus. My pencil hovered over the paper, then dropped. I shifted designs, redrew lines, crossed out ideas that had been perfectly fine… However, nothing helped.The memory of the car kept popping up inside my thoughts. I could still picture the camera flash, the dark windows, the slow way it crept past the mansion as if it had every right to be there.But, more importantly—I kept trying to come up with who it might have been and why they were snooping around.I pressed a hand against my stomach, not because I felt anything unusual, but because the thought of being watched made me protective in a way that left me unsettled. Whoever it was, they hadn’t gone away. I hated not knowing who. I hated even more that my mind kept circling back to Caden. Silence from him was never a good thing.A knock pulled me out of my h

Scarlett’s POV.I didn’t know how to breathe at that moment. Gavin Carradine sat across from me, his eyes still damp, his expression alive with emotions I couldn’t sort through. There was no calculation or evil intent behind those eyes of his, just unguarded joy.And that was the part that scared me most.No one had ever looked at me like that—not without wanting something in return. Not without strings attached.For a long time, I stayed quiet, staring at my hands in my lap. My throat burned, but words refused to come. Gavin didn’t press. Instead, he began speaking softly, his voice unsteady but warm. “I used to tease Elodie about her hair,” he said, a faint smile breaking through his grief. “She hated how it curled at the ends. Said it made her look untidy, but I always told her it made her look carefree. She had this habit of humming when she was nervous. Always the same tune. You’d barely notice it unless you listened carefully.”My breath caught. I never knew that. I could see my

Leon’s POV.The appointment was set within forty-eight hours. I hadn’t wasted time. Not because I doubted for a second that the child Scarlett carried was mine, but because I knew Caden. He thrived on pushing until someone broke, and if I left this matter hanging, he’d turn it into a weapon against her. I was done giving him openings. This test would be the end of his games.Scarlett sat quietly beside me in the car as we made our way to the clinic. Her hands were folded over her stomach, her gaze fixed on the passing city lights. She hadn’t spoken much since I told her the appointment was confirmed. Her silence didn’t bother me, but it was the weight behind it that stirred something sharper inside me. I could see her thoughts spinning, each one eating at her from the inside.I wanted to tell her she didn’t need to carry that worry. I wanted to tell her I had no doubts, that nothing about this test would change where I stood. But I also knew words would only sound like empty assurance

Caden’s POV.The bar reeked of spilled liquor and smoke. It clung to the walls, to the cheap leather stools, to the sticky floor under my shoes. The music pulsed low and heavy, drowning out most of the conversations, but not enough to mask the buzz of laughter and clinking glasses.I sat at the counter, half-slouched, nursing my third glass of whiskey. The woman next to me leaned in close, her perfume cutting through the haze. She wasn’t anyone who mattered, and that was exactly why she was perfect.She was someone to listen to me. Someone to believe me without knowing the actual truth. Someone who wouldn’t question what I left unsaid.She dragged the tip of her finger along the rim of her glass, eyes fixed on me with a curiosity that bordered on hunger. “So,” she said, her tone sweet but edgy. “Tell me again. How exactly did she betray you?”I lifted my head slowly, meeting her gaze with practiced weariness. The role of the wounded man always came easy. I knew how to make people see

Leon’s POV.My day blurred into a string of much-needed distractions. Contracts. Reports. Stacks of paperwork Ezra had organized neatly across my desk. I should have gone through them with my usual effort, but my eyes slid across the words without taking them in. My focus wasn’t here, no matter how much I forced it.The phone call earlier had shaken something loose inside me. Franchesca.Even the thought of her name pressed against my chest like a weight I’d buried years ago. I hadn’t expected to hear from her ever again.Nor had I wanted to.I told myself that chapter was closed, yet the sound of her voice had been enough to rip open a scar I’d worked hard to keep sealed.I didn’t tell Scarlett. I wouldn’t. It wasn’t her burden to carry, and it sure as hell wasn’t her problem. She had enough to worry about without my ghosts.I picked up a pen, signed my name to a document without even reading it, then tossed the folder aside. My hand tightened around the pen until it cracked. The sil