Semua Bab My Best Friend’s Uncle… and My Baby Daddy: Bab 131 - Bab 140

Autumn spent the next few days buried in deep-dive research with her team, rounding up their share of the first phase. She had personally dug into Epic Industries, searching for any thread that might connect the dead company to their current project. But all she found was the same surface-level corporate history Eric had already detailed.Despite the team’s growing curiosity, Autumn stood firm. She refused to get them involved in what felt like a personal investigation. She wasn't about to tarnish the department’s name over minor office gossip or old rivalries. She wanted their work to be clean, professional, and final.When the last file was attached and the "Send" button clicked, a collective sigh of relief filled the conference room.“Whoo-hoo!” someone cheered, collapsing back into their chair.“With this, we are officially done with Phase One,” Autumn said, her eyes finally moving from her laptop to the exhausted faces around the table.“Can’t we go out and celebrate?” a junior a

“Yo, Gracie, it’s lunch time,” a coworker said, knocking lightly before sticking his head into her office. “Rosaria said that good-looking lunch container on the counter is yours. Do you think I could have it?” Autumn glanced up from her desk, her mind entirely detached from the office around her. “Sure,” she replied quietly. The coworker offered a quick word of thanks and left, leaving her alone with her thoughts. For the rest of the afternoon, she was trapped in a cycle of overthinking, mentally preparing for what she would do when she went home. When the workday finally ended, she walked out of the department, responding to her colleagues' halfhearted waves with a distant nod. She climbed into the awaiting car, leaning her head against the cool glass of the window as the driver pulled out into traffic. The news of the impending divorce still weighed heavily on her chest. As the city lights blurred past, her thoughts swam with the legal realities of what a separation from Eric Kin

The days went by faster, blurring together in a haze of meetings and data analysis until it was finally the day before her birthday. She had been so occupied by the chaotic events fracturing her life that the date had nearly slipped past her unnoticed.‘This time last year, what did I do?’ Autumn thought, leaning her head back against the office bench and looking out at the sky. She remembered how she had celebrated her twenty-seventh birthday the previous year. It had been just like any other day. She hadn't bought anything for herself; instead, she had personally bought a small cupcake for Fin, celebrating her life through her son's happiness.To her, birthdays had become constant reminders of all the trauma she had been through—milestones she often wished to ignore. For the past couple of years, she had forced herself to view them as nothing more than twenty-four hours on a calendar. But she used to love her birthday. It was a day that celebrated the literal end of autumn and the c

Sebastian sat in the dim light of the café, reading through the latest progress report sent by the lookouts he had hired to keep tabs on Autumn. The attached photos were slightly blurry, but the expressions were unmistakable. He could clearly make out the radiant looks of joy and contentment on their faces as they dined together on the rooftop.The sight of the three of them—Eric, Autumn, and Fin—looking like a perfectly happy family stirred a volatile cocktail of emotions inside his chest. It was a suffocating mix of jealousy, resentment, anger, and a deep, localized sadness.‘That should be me,’ he thought bitterly, his mind dragging up the ghost of his own peaceful childhood before the Kingstons shattered it.‘Smile all you want, Eric. I will personally ensure it won't last long,’ he vowed internally. He switched off the screen and pocketed his phone just as his companion slid into the open chair directly across from him.“You look wonderful, Eleanor,” Sebastian said, smoothly reve

It was the morning of the high-stakes government briefing. Autumn stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom, staring at her reflection as she smoothed out the fabric of her tailored charcoal dress. Her fingers nervously tugged at the hemline. Unlike the preliminary evaluation phases where they had met with mid-level subordinates, today’s presentation was with a senior government director.She stared into the glass reflective surface, her mind racing through every worst-case scenario. ‘My entire career depends on this,’ she muttered to herself, her hands trembling slightly as she fumbled with the top button of her blouse.Ring! Ring!The vibration of her cellphone on the vanity broke her out of her spiral. She swiped to answer, balancing the phone between her ear and shoulder while bending down to slip into her heels. “Hello?”“Hello to you too, Autumn,”Sebastian’s smooth voice rang out through the receiver.“Are you calling to wish me luck, or do you have a last-minute