The Billionaire's Regret のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 71 - チャプター 80

The next morning, my house woke up to the sound of a little spoon hitting porcelain and chatter with absolutely no mercy in it.“I think navy is for weekday power,” Poppy said very seriously from her chair. “Pearl is for when I want to destroy people elegantly.”I took a sip of coffee and looked at my daughter across the table.Her hair had already been brushed smooth. Her bangs still fell over her forehead like a tiny curtain with its own agenda. This morning she had chosen the blush pink ribbon, either because navy had already been used last night for an international video conference with Handsome Uncle or because she simply enjoyed shaking the market. In front of her sat a bowl of oatmeal topped with little slices of strawberry, but her main focus was obviously not the food. Her main focus was the two Barbies now reclining against the sugar bowl like two career women waiting for a board meeting to begin.“Business Barbie cannot destroy people elegantly,” I said. “She’s wearing a w

The call ended.I kept the phone pressed to my ear for two seconds too long, staring at my own reflection in the office window like that woman might have a better idea than I did.She didn’t.Of course she didn’t.I lowered the phone, grabbed my blazer, then my bag, then my car keys, all in quick movements that were far too neat for a woman who had just been handed three delightful things at once: Sebastian had taken my daughter off somewhere again, Adrian couldn’t come home this week, and I still had to look like a person fit to run a business.I opened the door to my office.Daniella was passing by with a tablet in her hand, walking fast, her hair already starting to slip loose from its tie. The second she saw my face, she stopped.“Where are you going?” she asked.“To a place that may require me to need a lawyer, an alibi, or both.”She blinked. “That bad?”“The men in my life are feeling energetic today.”Dani looked at me one more time. Then, because she had worked with me long e

Night arrived in the form of a house that was too big and a small child who still had enough fuel for an entire nation.Poppy had already had her bath and was wearing purple unicorn pajamas that had started fading from being washed too many times. Her long hair was half dry and falling messily down her back. Her bangs still covered half her forehead because she had, of course, refused to clip them back on the grounds that she “had an image.” In one hand she held Bunny. In the other, she held a Barbie she had, for reasons known only to herself, decided today was “coastal Barbie.”I sat at the end of the living room sofa with my legs folded to one side, a glass of water on the table, my laptop open but not actually being read. Salma was in the kitchen, the sounds of plates and spoons against bowls drifting in from a distance. At night, this house sometimes felt like a hotel that had accidentally given me an entire floor.My phone lit up on the table.FaceTime from Adrian.Poppy saw it b

The next morning started with a sound like a small person had discovered gold, a kingdom, and a brand-new reason to boss everyone around all at once.“MOOOOMMMYYY!”I hadn’t even poured the second egg into the pan yet when that voice exploded from the living room, bounced off the high ceiling, and came tearing into the kitchen like a fire alarm raised on sugar.I closed my eyes for a second, spatula in hand, butter hissing in the pan, my hair still thrown up in a loose high tie with a few strands already falling against the back of my neck because the kitchen air was starting to warm.“If that is not news that the world is ending or croissants can talk,” I said to the skillet, “I’m not interested.”From the living room, Poppy’s voice climbed even higher.“IT’S HUGE! SALMA! IT HAS STAIRS! MOMMY, THIS IS HISTORICAL!”Of course.I slid the eggs onto a plate, turned the heat halfway down, then glanced toward the kitchen doorway. From here I could hear the giant box being ripped open. Plas

Bacon.Ow shit.I turned toward the kitchen just as the burnt smell finally cut through all the layers of pink plastic, coffee, and emotional chaos this morning had already stacked on top of me.“Wonderful,” I muttered. “Now apparently my breakfast is ruined too, not just my life.”I turned back, walked quickly into the kitchen, and killed the heat with a movement that had already been half angry from the start. The plate of eggs was still sitting on the counter. The toast had gone a little cold. The bacon in the pan had entered that category of still salvageable if the person eating it was either desperate enough or polite enough to lie.From the living room, Poppy’s voice was still going off like fireworks.“Lawyer Barbie lives here, okay? Don’t move by yourself or I’ll fire you.”There was a pause. Then her voice again, closer to the kitchen doorway this time.“Handsome Uncle!”I looked over.Poppy was standing in the kitchen doorway, still in her pajamas, hair a mess, green eyes b