Chasing The Wife He Discarded のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

Nerissa's POVThe Hendricks acquisition closed at 9:14 in the morning, and by 9:20 I had already moved on to the next fire."Fouchard's replacement wants a seat on the risk committee," Priya said, sliding a folder across my desk without breaking stride. "I told him you'd consider it after the quarterly review.""Good. Make him wait longer than that."She almost smiled. Almost. Priya had learned, over five years, that my patience was a weapon I handed out in very small portions.By ten, I was in the boardroom, and the boardroom belonged to me."The Singapore office opens in March," I said, not looking up from the projection screen. Twelve executives sat around the table, and not one of them interrupted. "Priya has the staffing plan. I want final headcount by Friday, not 'preliminary numbers,' Marchetti, final."Marchetti, two seats down, nodded fast enough that his glasses slipped. "Final numbers, Miss Vane.""Good."I clicked to the next slide. Revenue was up eleven percent quarter ov

Lysander's POVThe drive home took twice as long as it should have, traffic crawling through downtown while my phone buzzed itself stupid on the passenger seat. I stopped looking at it around the tenth notification.By the time I pulled into the estate, the sky had gone that flat gray color it gets before a storm actually commits to happening. Fitting.I didn't go to the main house. I went straight to my private office. I wanted ten minutes. Just ten minutes of silence before I had to be a person again.I got about ninety seconds.The door slammed open hard enough to rattle the glass in the frame, and Seraphina stood there with her phone clutched in one hand like a weapon."When were you going to tell me?"I dropped into my chair. "Tell you what.""Don't." She crossed the room fast, tossing the phone onto my desk so it skidded across the wood. The screen was still lit, some financial site with my name in the headline. "Don't do the tired act with me right now, Lysander. A custody pet

Nerissa's POVFriday mornings at Vane Holdings usually meant back-to-back meetings, but I'd blocked off the whole day for the twins. Nicole wanted to visit the aquarium downtown, and Nicholas had already picked out the outfit he wanted to wear three days in advance, some ridiculous combination of a striped shirt and his favorite dinosaur socks."Mom, can we see the sharks first?" Nicole asked, bouncing on her toes by the front door while Priya helped her with her jacket."We'll see whatever you want, sweetheart.""Sharks first," Nicholas said firmly, like it was already decided."You just want to see sharks because Nicole told you about the hammerhead thing," I said, crouching down to fix his collar.He grinned, not even bothering to deny it.I was still smiling when my phone buzzed on the hallway table. I almost let it go to voicemail, but the name on the screen made me pause.Lucien."Give me one second," I told the twins, stepping into the study."Are you busy?" Lucien asked when I

Nerissa's POVRousseau set the envelope on my desk like it might bite him."It came through Desmond Cho," he said. A courier handed it to your assistant at the lobby desk twenty minutes ago and left before anyone could stop him."I looked at the envelope. Plain. Cream-colored. My name written in handwriting I hadn't seen in five years, but I still recognized it instantly, the sharp slant of the L, the way he never quite closed his O's."Burn it," I said."I can have it destroyed, yes." Rousseau didn't move. "Or I can have it scanned first, in case there's anything in there that matters legally. Threats. Admissions. Something we can use if he comes at you again.""You think he's threatening me in a letter.""I think a man who filed a paternity petition in a panic doesn't suddenly become predictable." Rousseau folded his hands. "I'd rather know what's inside before you decide what to do with it."I stared at the envelope a moment longer, then picked it up before I could talk myself out

Seraphina's POVI sat on the edge of the bathroom counter for a long time before I went to find him, just holding the little plastic stick in my palm.I found Lysander in the study, same as always, a glass of scotch untouched beside his laptop."Lysander."He looked up. "Hey."I stood in the doorway, my hands trembling a little around the edge of my sleeve. "I'm pregnant."The glass never made it to his mouth. He set it down slow, like his hand had forgotten how to hold things."Say that again.""I'm pregnant." My voice cracked. "I took the test this morning. Twice."He was up and across the room before I finished the sentence, his hands framing my face like I was something that might shatter."Are you sure?""I'm sure."He laughed, short and stunned, and pressed his forehead to mine. "You're sure," he said again, like he needed to hear it a third time before it would sit still in his chest.I let myself lean into him. His hands were warm, his relief was real, and for one long second