Semua Bab The Ex-Wife’s Mega Comeback: Bab 101 - Bab 110

“Cassie, we need to talk. Alone.” Nathaniel’s voice carried a sharpness that made her chest tighten, as though the air itself had thickened around them.Franklin, holding a small device, carefully placed it on the table and excused himself. “I’ll just use the men’s room.”Once the door clicked shut, Cassie felt a heavy weight settle over her chest. She couldn’t meet Nathaniel’s eyes.Something between them had shifted, an unspoken tension that hadn’t existed before. Her heart thumped erratically, the sound loud in her own ears.Nathaniel leaned forward, his fingers pressed tightly against the table, knuckles white. “Cass, tell me the truth. What’s the relationship between you and Franklin Roth?”Her throat felt dry. “He’s my ex-husband’s twin brother, and we… we have some business collaborations.”Nathaniel’s brow furrowed sharp

The question hung between them, dense and airless, like a fog that refused to lift. Nathaniel felt it press against his chest, tightening with every second of silence.He knew the truth, even if he did not say it aloud, he could never put Cassie first. He could want to. He could try. But his principles were immovable, carved deep into him long before Cassie ever entered his life.Patients would always come first. His oath did not bend for love.“I understand your point, Franklin,” Nathaniel said finally, his voice controlled but strained, “but Cassie deserves to make her own decisions. Let her choose. I’ll ask her out on another date, and I hope you won’t sabotage it this time.”Franklin leaned back in his chair, studying Nathaniel with the calm of a man who never rushed a verdict.“You’ll have to promise me something first,” he said evenly. “Promise you won’t force your way into her life. And don’t use Scarlet. Cassie is too kind, too soft-hearted. She wouldn’t know how to defend hers

As much as Cassie tried to understand whatever twisted, complicated thing existed between her and Franklin Roth, she also knew she couldn’t make it look like she was hiding something from the women.Secrets had a way of fermenting, especially around alcohol. So after a moment of internal debate, she lifted her glass casually and said, as if it were nothing more than office gossip,“I told you before. Franklin Roth is my ex-husband’s twin.”Ocean’s brows pulled together as she searched her memory. “And from what Evan said, you two aren’t exactly on friendly terms.”Cassie hesitated. Words stacked up in her throat, each one heavier than the last. With Tristan now legally her son, there were lines she couldn’t cross, but there were also truths she couldn’t keep dodging forever.“He did it as an apology,” she said finally. “For how badly he misjudged me before he really got to know me. Let’s just say… guilt eats at him.”She didn’t even realize her cheeks were heating up until Veronica le

Jonathan lowered his head, exhaustion etched plainly into his features. But the sharp suspicion in Franklin’s eyes made him snap upright.“What?” Jonathan said flatly. “You think I did something to them?” He scoffed. “One of the girls, Ocean, or whatever her name is, mistook me for some guy she has a crush on. Stabilizing a drunk girl isn’t my specialty, Frank. Please don’t ever send me on errands like that again.”Franklin studied him for a moment longer before the tension in his shoulders eased. His anger dissolved, replaced by something closer to guilt.“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I thought you might’ve gotten carried away.”Jonathan shook his head immediately. “No. One of them, Thelma, had a car and was sober enough to drive, but Cedric insisted on taking her and another girl. I forgot her name.”He paused, then continued, recounting the night with reluctant precision. “Victoria also had her own car. She left with another girl, said they were next-door neighbors.”“And Ocean?”

When Franklin called Frederick upon his arrival in Chicago, he expected a brief exchange, logistics, pleasantries, nothing more. Instead, Frederick informed him that Rose was at the mansion.Franklin did not hesitate. He rerouted immediately, Jonathan silently buckling in beside him as the car veered toward Frederick’s estate.The moment Franklin stepped inside, Rose spotted him.Her face lit up like a sunrise.“Uncle Franklin!” she squealed, abandoning whatever toy she had been holding as she ran toward him. “Did you bring my food?”Franklin laughed, that rare, unguarded sound escaping him as he bent down and swept her into his arms, pulling her into a tight, bone-crushing hug. “Of course I did, little princess. I would never forget something that important.”Rose giggled, her arms wrapping around his neck.“But,” Franklin added, straightening slightly, “I also brought you s