Semua Bab The Ex-Wife’s Mega Comeback: Bab 121 - Bab 130

When Franklin finally pulled back from the kiss, Cassie felt like her face was on fire.Her cheeks burned, heat crawling all the way up to her ears, and for a split second she forgot how to breathe. The first time they’d kissed, she’d been drunk, nerves drowned in alcohol, thoughts blurry, consequences muted. This time, though, her mind was painfully clear. Too clear.And that clarity scared her.Something had shifted. Something warm and unsettling had stirred in her chest, spreading in quiet, dangerous ripples. She didn’t want to acknowledge it, didn’t dare name it. So she grabbed onto the only excuse that felt safe.He only did it for his mother.That had to be it. A performance. Proof. Nothing more.She shouldn’t feel anything. She didn’t want to feel anything.Yet her heart refused to cooperate.“I… I’ll get your food,” she stammered, her voice softer than she int

Earlier, right after Genevieve pushed back her chair and excused herself from the table, Franklin didn’t even wait for the echoes of her heels to fade before turning to Cassie.His shoulders slumped, like he’d been holding up something heavy the entire meal and had only just been allowed to set it down.“I’m really sorry,” he said quietly. “I know this puts you in a weird spot, but… she has to know.”Cassie nodded, even though the corners of her mouth dipped and stayed there. Her fingers tightened around each other in her lap. “Playing pretend always comes with consequences,” she said softly. “I already owe you a favor anyway.”Franklin frowned. The word pretend rubbed him the wrong way, scraped at something he hadn’t figured out how to name yet. To him, none of this felt fake.Not the way she looked at him when she forgot to guard herself. Not the way his chest tightened every time she went quiet. But if calling it pretend was what made her feel safer, he’d let it be.“For my mom to

Cassie stiffened in Franklin’s arms, her body reacting before her mind could catch up.For a split second, she forgot where she was, forgot the morning light spilling across the wide bedroom, forgot the quiet after a night that was never supposed to happen. Then reality rushed back in, cold and relentless.This was supposed to be pretend. An arrangement. A convenient lie to satisfy his mother and protect appearances. Last night, had been a mistake.And yet, something had shifted.Her thoughts spiraled, tangled and sharp. Had she crossed a line she could never uncross? Had she lost her self-respect somewhere between shared glances and unguarded touches? Worse, what would Franklin think of her now?Sleeping with her ex-husband’s twin brother.The weight of it pressed heavily on her chest.“Cass, I’m sorry about my mom.”Franklin’s voice was different this time, low, gentle, stripped of the usual calm authority. He turned her carefully until she was facing him, his hands warm and steady

Samuel Roth had never been the sharper blade between himself and his wife.Where Genevieve calculated ten steps ahead, Samuel preferred directness, a steady hand rather than a clever one. Still, in this particular matter, he stood firmly beside her.Franklin had always been honest, at least in the areas that mattered to him: business, responsibility, fatherhood. But relationships were another story entirely.Over the years, he had introduced the idea of women to them without ever introducing the women themselves. One month he was seeing someone seriously.The next, it had “not worked out.” There were breakups, reconciliations that never materialized, and names that faded before faces could form. No dinners. No holidays. No proof.Until Cassie.For the first time, Franklin had not only spoken of love. He had brought the woman into their orbit, into their awareness, into his life in a way that could not be undone.To Samuel

Julius had only spoken to Cassie a handful of times since she left. School had consumed him, classes, exams, the relentless pace of growing up too fast, but overhearing his parents’ conversation that afternoon stirred something restless and protective inside him.He hadn’t even thought twice before dialing her number.What he did not expect, what made his chest tighten instantly, was the sound of a male voice in the background.“Cassie,” he asked carefully, trying not to sound suspicious and failing anyway, “are you with someone?”It was Sunday. It couldn’t possibly be work.Cassie forced a smile, the kind that comes instinctively when you recognize jealousy dressed up as concern. Boys always tried to behave like men once they reached their teenage years.“Julius,” she replied gently, redirecting him with practiced ease, “how are you? How is school?”At the mention of school, Franklin, who had been standing close enough to hear the conversation, felt his spike of jealousy ease just a f