Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Billionaire's Ex Husband's Secret Heir: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 27

The morning, the Malibu mansion still looked like someone had started building the most expensive house in California, then lost interest right after pouring the concrete.No beautiful walls. No Tuscany limestone. No pocket door that cost as much as a used car and could disappear into the wall without taking the structure down with it.Just a concrete shell, steel framing, temporary wiring, the sound of cutting machines, and white dust that somehow found its way into places that should have been protected by underwear and federal law.I stood in the middle of the future great room wearing a white hard hat, a neon safety vest over a taupe blazer, black pants, and steel-toe boots shaped well enough to keep me from feeling like my entire life had turned into a workplace safety brochure.Beyond the opening where the glazing hadn’t been installed yet, the Pacific stretched out blue and offensively beautiful.That view did not deserve to belong to a project that made my blood pressure behav

The temporary site office was made up of two modular containers joined together, folding tables, plastic chairs, air-conditioning that was too cold, and a small window overlooking the ocean.A rendering of the mansion was taped to one wall, a massive schedule covered another, and the coffee machine looked like it had lost all faith in humanity.Lunch arrived in white boxes: salad for Noelle, a turkey sandwich for Athena, and grilled chicken for me. I had no idea what Rafael had ordered because he only opened his box, looked at the contents for a moment, then took a call before he could touch any of it.Noelle sat at the end of the table with Evan, discussing the pocket door changes, while Vincent was outside with the superintendent, probably trying to figure out how to explain that forgetting to order the custom steel was actually a very expensive learning experience. Across from Rafael, Athena already had her laptop open, and the moment his call ended, they went right back to arguing

“You waived spousal support,” he continued. “You didn’t file a claim on any property, investments, shares, or marital assets. There was no settlement.”“I know what I signed.” I kept walking.“You were entitled to half of several assets.”I let out a laugh. “And this is why I don’t take legal advice from ex-husband.”“You could have taken enough that you’d never have to work again.”I stopped walking.Rafael stopped too.Dust passed between us, carried by the ocean wind. Behind him, the concrete mansion rose half-finished, raw and expensive. He stood in the middle of it all in a white shirt that was still far too clean for a construction site, dark sunglasses hanging from one hand, his face calm in a way that might have made a normal person feel safe. I had never had the luxury of being normal around him.“I couldn’t bring myself to take it,” I said.Rafael lifted an eyebrow. “Why?”“Because your family spent an entire night explaining that I married you for your money.” I adjusted th

Mama narrowed her eyes at the screen. “You still haven’t changed out of your work clothes?”I looked down at my black T-shirt and linen pants that I’d changed into ten minutes ago. “I already changed.”“You still have your meeting face.”“My face is expensive.”“That’s not an answer.”“That’s an answer I pay for with skincare.”Max carried the iPad over to the sofa, then sat cross-legged on the rug right in front of the coffee table. “Abuela, I ate carrots.”Mama immediately pressed a hand to her chest. “¡Ay, qué milagro!”Papa clapped softly. “How many?”Max held up three fingers.I leaned against the island. “One.”Max turned sharply. “Mami, that’s confidential.”Mama laughed loudly. “He’s like Noah when he was little. Always telling half the truth with an angel face.”“Excuse me,” I said. “Noah still does that.”Papa nodded slowly. “A little.”Mama pointed at Papa without looking at him. “Don’t defend your son. Last week Noah said he ‘might have’ forgotten his own kid’s birthday pa