All Chapters of The Wife They Rejected Was a Billionaire Heiress: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

"Appreciate the ride, Mr. Cole." Naomi kept it polite."This way." Sebastian's response stayed even as he headed toward the parking lot.Neither of them noticed the figure watching from the corner of the site as they walked off.Ethan's eyes tracked Naomi's retreating back. He fired off a message to Grant.Find out what arrangement Naomi's actually made with the Sinclairs.Watching the message flip to "read," something in Ethan's shoulders eased slightly.He was about to pocket his phone when it rang.Marcus.He thought it over for half a second, then answered. "Mr. Sinclair. What can I do for you?"Marcus's voice came through, unhurried. "I've done a full review. Blackwood's cleared to participate in next week's bidding meeting. I'm handing your company the winning slot.""Seriously?" Something bright crept into Ethan's tone. "Thank you, Mr. Sinclair. Blackwood won't cut corners on this.""When the time comes, I'll have my sister coordinate directly with you," Marcus said, something

Naomi caught the subtle shift in Lily's expression instantly, something dark settling behind her eyes.Was it Julian? Is he the one who's been bullying her?She didn't respond right away, glancing down at the small figure in her lap. "Lily. What do you think?""Mom, I" Lily bit her lip. "If you're okay with it, then I'm okay with it too."Watching her daughter offer up support she clearly didn't feel, something in Naomi's chest ached.My own daughter, still trying to protect everyone else's feelings before her own."No need to bother," Naomi said into the phone, cutting Julian off before he could respond. "You already made your choice, Julian. Your dad and Chloe. There's no do-over on that. Everyone lives with their own decisions. That's the last lesson I'm going to teach you on this."She hung up without waiting for a reply.She pinched Lily's cheek gently. "Baby, you're allowed to think about what you actually want.""But Mom, I don't want you worrying about me," Lily said, mouth pr

Lawson flinched, his whole spine going rigid."Mr. Cole, no need for that. I'm leaving right now."He scooped the check off the floor without daring to lift his eyes and hurried out.Sebastian's gaze settled on Naomi. Without a word, he shrugged off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders."Thank you," Naomi said, quiet, then turned to find Lily still darting anxious looks between them. "Baby, it's okay now. You're okay.""Mom, are you hurt?" Lily's whole face was tight with fear.Naomi shook her head, smoothing a hand over her daughter's hair. "Mom's fine, sweetheart."Something in Lily's shoulders finally loosened.Right on cue, her stomach growled, loud and unmistakable."Mom, handsome uncle I'm starving," Lily said, blinking up at them both.Naomi took her hand, glancing at Sebastian. "Food should be ready by now. Mr. Cole, come on.""Mm." Sebastian fell into step behind them.They'd barely cleared the hallway when Ethan arrived, trailing a handful of security guards behind hi

"Are you seriously taking her side over mine?"Grandma Blackwood's temper flared, but she didn't dare push back against Old Mr. Blackwood directly, so she redirected the frustration squarely at Naomi instead."Julian's situation is what matters right now. I'm taking Naomi to the station." Ethan reached, on instinct, to take Naomi's hand.She sidestepped it smoothly.The rejection landed harder than he expected, something unreadable settling over his face.This is exactly what I used to do to her. Constantly.Now that she was treating him with the same distance, he finally understood really understood what she must have felt every single time."Sorry," Ethan said, after a long pause. Two words, that was all he managed.Naomi turned, caught the weight behind his eyes, and understood exactly what he meant.Not just an apology for Julian. For everything."It's done. Let's go."Meanwhile, Sebastian arrived at the usual spot and was led to Miles's table."What's this about?""Guess what I d

Sure enough Sebastian's car.Naomi glanced down and realized she was still wearing his jacket from earlier that day. Something flickered in her eyes.He's bailed me out again. This is getting to be a lot of small favors.She took Lily's hand and walked over, knocking gently on the window.The glass slid down slowly.Sebastian's lips parted, some explanation half-formed, but what came out instead was: "Something wrong?""Spotted your car and figured I'd come say thanks properly." Naomi didn't push on why he was actually parked outside her building.Sebastian held her gaze for a beat, then asked, out of nowhere, "Six years ago did you attend an event on Catalina Island?"Naomi blinked, running back through her memory. "Honestly can't say for certain. That period's pretty fuzzy for me.""Is there anything from around that time that's stayed with you clearly?" Sebastian pressed.Something intent settled behind his eyes as he watched her.He'd seen the girl once, years back, at a party on