All Chapters of My mother's suspicious partner (The night between us): Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Iris had been waiting in the sitting room for nearly an hour, her phone lying forgotten in her lap. She had told herself she was only staying awake because Alaric had not returned yet, but the truth was that she wanted to see him before she went to bed. She knew what day it was—the third anniversary of his wife's death, though it's her first time in it—and she had expected him to come home after drinking, perhaps a little tipsy and lost in his thoughts. She had even hoped that being there when he returned might make the night an easier way of bonding.The sound of the front door opening pulled her attention toward the entrance.Iris immediately stood, smoothing down the front of her dress as a small smile touched her lips."You're finally—"The words died in her throat.Alaric walked through the door with a woman in his arms.For several seconds, Iris could only stare. The woman appeared completely unconscious, her head resting against Alaric's shoulder while one arm hung loosely arou

Alaric had always been good at working.When something bothered him, he buried himself in documents, meetings, numbers, contracts, and decisions that required his full attention. Work had always been the easiest way to silence everything else.But lately, silence wasn't working.Three hours had passed since Rhea walked out of his office, yet her words were still sitting somewhere in the back of his mind, refusing to leave.Alaric stared down at the document on his desk without actually reading a single word. The same paragraph had been in front of him for several minutes, and he couldn't have repeated a single sentence from it if someone had asked.Across from him, Matt continued explaining the latest developments concerning one of Lumina Enterprise's hotel projects, flipping through the documents in his hands while Alaric's attention remained somewhere else entirely.Matt stopped halfway through his explanation and stared at him.He had known Alaric long enough to recognize the diffe

Rhea tried to push the morning's awkward encounter out of her mind by the time she reached her department. Thankfully, most of the team had already left for their morning meeting with Alaric, leaving the usually busy department strangely quiet. John, who was the only person there, sat at the desk beside hers, looking over a document with an expression that suggested he was either working very hard or completely lost. He looked up when Rhea approached. After she took her seat, she noticed a burger and a drink sitting beside her keyboard. She glanced at John. “I left those there for you,” he said. “I got too much for myself, so I decided to share.” Rhea looked at the food before looking back at him. “You bought this for me?” A small smile tugged at her lips. “I already had coffee on my way to work, but…” “Coffee isn't breakfast,” John interrupted. “I mean it's adds to hunger if I'm being honest.” Rhea laughed softly as she picked up the burger. “Thank you. That's

The next morning, Iris came downstairs expecting to see Alaric.Instead, she caught only the sharp sound of the front door closing. She stopped halfway down the stairs and looked toward the entrance, but Alaric was already gone. He hadn’t even glanced in her direction before leaving. His coldness from the night before had only hardened further.Her jaw tightened.Apparently, last night’s humiliation hadn’t been enough.Her phone rang before she could let the anger settle. It was her mother. Iris answered, forcing her voice into something bright and cheerful.“Good morning, Mom.”“Good morning, darling. How are things going over there?” Her mother’s voice dropped, eager and conspiratorial. “How’s my son-in-law doing?”Iris glanced toward the empty doorway. “Everything is fine,” she lied smoothly. “He’s actually been very sweet. We’ve talked, so don’t worry. Everything is moving in the right direction.”Her mother sounded delighted. “I knew it. Your father and I have always believed the

Rhea returned to the ballroom without looking back. Whatever she had just seen in the corridor, she refused to let it ruin the evening. Alaric had been standing with Iris, and perhaps there was nothing more to it than what it looked like. Maybe Iris had simply found a way to insert herself into his night, just as she always seemed determined to do. Either way, it wasn't her business, and she reminded herself of that as she slipped back into the crowd.The formal part of the evening was drawing closer to its end, and guests had begun gathering around the stage as Sheikh Zayyan Al-Mansouri prepared to give another speech. Rhea stayed close to Maya and John, deliberately keeping her attention on them rather than risking another glance toward Alaric or Iris. Whenever she felt Iris's eyes drifting in their direction, she simply turned away and pretended not to notice.John seemed completely unaware of the storm going on inside her head. He leaned toward Maya and whispered something that ma