Chapter 42 Feeling Relaxed All Over
Scarlett was beyond pissed. Wesley scrambled to explain. "Nothing happened between us. I was just trying to mediate—you know, since you two are family."
"Mediate? Who the hell asked you to mediate?" Her voice could cut glass. "You're a serial cheater who's been screwing my little sister behind my back, and now you want to play peacemaker? Did you guys think I was some doormat you could just keep walking all over?"
"Come near me with this crap again, and I don't care about the money anymore. I'll make the Ross Group disappear from Silverlight City. I'll leave you with nothing and run you out of town. Try me."
After that scorched-earth tirade, Scarlett stabbed the end-call button and collapsed against her chair, gasping for air.
She'd never unleashed on anyone like that before. All her carefully cultivated manners? Gone. Every ounce of resentment from the past few years had just exploded out of her in one glorious rant.
Maybe she should've done this years ago. God, she'd been such a pushover. She'd aged a decade from all that stress.
Never again. Anyone who tried to mess with her now was getting it back tenfold.
As her pulse slowed, something else kicked in—a lightness in her chest. She felt... cleansed, almost.
Was telling someone off seriously this therapeutic? Wild.
On the other end, Wesley stood frozen, phone clutched in his white-knuckled grip. His face cycled through shock and disbelief.
He'd never heard Scarlett go off like that. So vicious. So unapologetic.
Before, even when she was furious, she'd just grit her teeth and call him a bastard under her breath. She'd swallow her anger, bottle it up. She never lost control.
This version of her was completely different. More... normal. But that normalcy made her more vibrant somehow, like she'd shed the suffocating rules of being a rich man's daughter.
"What did Scarlett say?" Brielle's hopeful gaze pinned him down.
Wesley snapped back to reality. He tossed his phone onto the desk and looked up.
"She said no."
Brielle's face scrunched in irritation. "No? She always does whatever you tell her to. You're not trying to help me, are you?"
"We're getting divorced. Why would she still listen to me?" Wesley's tone was arctic.
The word "divorce" made Brielle pause. "She's actually willing to divorce you?"
Wesley didn't answer directly. Instead, he said, "Brielle, she's not the same person anymore. Stop poking the bear, or no one will be able to save you."
Brielle waved him off. "Please. So she's got a little more attitude now. Without Owen backing her up, what can she really do?"
"You think Owen's actually down for the count?" Wesley leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful.
Brielle froze. After a few seconds, she asked, "What are you saying? Owen's getting out?"
"Getting out? I don't know. But his network on the outside hasn't collapsed."
Brielle shot forward, palms slamming on the desk. "He still has power on the outside? Who?"
Wesley mirrored her position, leaning in. "I can't confirm the specific player yet. I need you to verify something for me."
"How?" Brielle asked.
"Your mom was with Owen for so long. Did she ever see the Mellon family interacting with the Boleyn family?"
Brielle's eyes narrowed. "The Boleyn family? As in, the richest family in Silverlight City?"
Wesley nodded.
Brielle didn't hesitate. "Fine. I'll ask her. But you're covering my settlement this time."
Wesley straightened, settling back against his chair. "I'll cover this settlement, but it's the last time. After this, your problems are your own."
Hearing Wesley agree to pay made Brielle's smile turn smug. "Mr. Ross, that's pocket change for you."
"And don't forget—your success? I had a hand in that. Our interests are tied together." She paused here, her smile sharpening.
"And if Owen hasn't fallen... if he finds out what you've done... you think he'll let you walk away?"
Wesley's face went sheet-white. He shot up from his chair, hands braced on the desk. "Brielle, do you have a death wish?"
Brielle's laugh was careless, almost sultry. "Why so touchy? As long as you don't screw me over, your secret's safe with me."
With that, she grabbed her purse from the chair behind her and sauntered toward the office door, hips swaying.
"Wire the money to my account. Thanks, babe!" She threw a wave over her shoulder without looking back.
Watching Brielle's cocky exit, Wesley's eyes filled with pure venom.
Ever since Scarlett had sent her lawyer to deal with the preschool, she'd been waiting for updates. In between work, she carved out time to spend with the two kids.
At three-thirty that afternoon, Scarlett set aside her work and left the study to check on the kids in the living room.
When she walked in, both children were huddled together, laser-focused on the Sudoku puzzles in their small hands, fingers flying across the grids.
Scarlett tiptoed closer and realized they were racing each other.
The Sudoku set had to be something Hayden brought from home. She'd never bought one for Yara—she'd assumed Yara was too young.
Back in school, Scarlett had been obsessed with Sudoku herself.
She positioned herself between them, watching the competition unfold.
Hayden's speed was impressive. Yara, on the other hand, was slower and a little chaotic in her approach—but she was keeping up.
Within minutes, Hayden had finished. Seconds later, Yara completed hers too.
"Mommy, this toy is so fun!" Yara spun around, beaming at Scarlett.
"Yara, it's not a toy. It's called Sudoku," Scarlett corrected gently, running her fingers through Yara's hair with inexplicable delight.
Yara was seriously brilliant. Scarlett definitely couldn't have handled this at her age. And Yara figured it out without any instruction.
"If it's fun, then it's a toy," Yara declared, then turned to the silent Hayden beside her.
"Hayden, this is my first time playing. Give me a few more rounds, and I bet I can catch up to you." Yara grinned.
Hayden glanced at her, nodded, then looked up at Scarlett. Scarlett smiled warmly and reached over to ruffle the back of his head with her other hand.
"You brought this?"
He nodded. Scarlett added, "You're amazing. Having you around is making Yara smarter."
Yara's mouth dropped open in protest. "Mommy, I've always been smart, okay?"
"You're right. You're both brilliant kids. I love you guys so much." Scarlett's voice went soft as she pulled both their heads close, wrapping them in a hug.
For Yara, this was routine—she snuggled in naturally.
But Hayden, who'd never experienced a mother's embrace, went rigid.
He caught the scent of something sweet—floral, maybe—and felt warmth surround him like a blanket. He didn't dare move. But the corners of his mouth tilted upward in a smile he didn't even realize was there.
"Scarlett, I made dessert! Come have some with the kids!" Rhea called from the dining room.
Scarlett finally released them. "Come on, let's go get dessert. Rhea makes the best sweets."
She took each child by the hand and led them toward the dining room.
At eight that evening, Ambrose's car pulled into Lakeside Garden. He stepped out, carrying a bag, and headed for the elevator.