Chapter 56 Give an Inch, Take a Mile
Scarlett clutched her phone, pacing back and forth in the study like a caged animal. The second Ambrose's call came through, she jabbed the accept button.
"Mr. Boleyn."
"What is it?" His voice came through flat and cold, like he couldn't be bothered.
Scarlett hesitated for two beats, then forced herself to ask, "Mr. Boleyn, did Ms. Powell break up with Wesley?"
"You're calling me about this?" Ice dripped from every syllable.
She knew perfectly well that bothering him with petty drama was beneath his pay grade, but their arrangement meant he was literally her only option right now.
Scarlett bit her lip and pushed forward. "I'm sorry, but Delta found out Wesley's married. Then Zane said some things earlier that might complicate tomorrow's divorce signing. I can't get hold of Wesley to confirm, so you're my last resort."
The line went silent for several seconds before a cold, mocking laugh cut through. "Do I look like your personal assistant?"
He was still pissed about that night, wasn't he?
He kept harping on how she'd "seduced" him, made him toss and turn every night, and now that she'd made it crystal clear there'd be no sequel, his ego couldn't take it.
So what—if she didn't sleep with him, he'd just bail on their deal?
But they'd already agreed on terms. She'd held up her end, and now he wanted to renegotiate? Was this how men operated? Give them an inch, and they'd take the whole damn mile?
Scarlett's grip tightened on her phone. After a few seconds to cool down, she said evenly, "Mr. Boleyn, contracts exist for a reason. I've been taking care of your kid before you even got me that divorce, so calling you about this isn't exactly out of line."
Silence stretched between them. Then, after what felt like forever, came another derisive snort. "The deadline's tomorrow. Why are you freaking out?"
How could she not freak out? She'd waited a whole month—she wasn't about to let some last-minute curveball screw everything up.
If they didn't nail things down today and Wesley backed out tomorrow, missing that signing window would mean going to court.
Once lawyers got involved, the Ross family would absolutely weaponize Yara. She couldn't let them use her daughter—couldn't let Yara become collateral damage in this divorce.
"But I can't reach Wesley right now," she said.
"Can't reach him doesn't mean he's changing his mind." Ambrose sounded annoyingly certain.
Scarlett's knuckles went white around her phone. Since he was clearly done with this conversation, she wasn't going to grovel. "Sorry to bother you. I'll let you go."
She didn't wait for a response before hanging up. The moment the call ended, reality crashed over her, 'This divorce was on her to make happen. She couldn't rely on anyone.'
She tried Wesley's number again. Still nothing. After the call failed, she pulled up another contact—Cleo, her former colleague from Ross Group.
Cleo picked up almost immediately. "Cleo, is Wesley at the office?"
"Mr. Ross? Nope, he left with Bianca this morning and never came back." Cleo's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.
Scarlett caught the subtext immediately. Everyone at the company had known about Wesley and Bianca's affair for ages.
"Remember how Delta was always hanging around the office a while back? Bianca was walking around with a permanent stick up her ass, snapping at everyone. But these past few days? Delta's been MIA, and there's talk that she and Mr. Ross split up. Now Bianca's practically glowing."
Cleo lived for office gossip—if something went down at Ross Group, she knew about it.
Scarlett's brow furrowed. "They really broke up?"
"I don't have confirmed intel, but Delta definitely hasn't been around for days."
Scarlett's stomach dropped. Without Delta in the picture, Wesley would have zero motivation to sign those papers.
"Scarlett, why are you looking for Mr. Ross? Don't tell me they still haven't paid your severance?"
She pulled herself together. "No, it's about an old project. Nothing major."
After wrapping up with Cleo, she ended the call and sank into her chair, staring blankly at nothing.
Had Delta finally seen through Wesley's bullshit and decided to dump him?
---
The truth was messier. Delta hadn't actually broken up with Wesley—she was just taking some space to cool off. But during those few days of radio silence, Wesley hadn't reached out once. Now she was crying over it.
After Mason dug into Wesley's background, he'd put his foot down about Delta continuing the relationship. But Delta was head-over-heels for the guy and refused to budge.
Father and daughter were currently in a cold war over it.
When Ambrose called Mason, they'd just finished another screaming match. Mason's voice still carried that frustrated edge.
"Uncle Mason, Delta getting under your skin again?" Ambrose's tone held a hint of amusement.
"That foolish girl got played by Wesley. Turns out he's married—or was, anyway. He's supposedly filing for divorce, but I don't want Delta anywhere near a guy like that. He's bad news." Mason's words tumbled out in an aggravated rush.
Ambrose paused. "And what does Delta think?"
"Wesley's got her completely brainwashed. She won't even consider ending it. And get this—he hasn't tried contacting her, but she still wants to go running after him. I got so fed up, I had someone keep her at home."
"Ambrose, she might actually listen to you. Could you talk some sense into her?"
After a two-second beat, Ambrose said, "Sure, I'll give her a call. But don't get your hopes up too high. People in the honeymoon phase never listen to family. Sometimes you have to let them crash and burn before they figure it out."
After a bit more back-and-forth with Mason, Ambrose hung up and called Delta. She was usually a bit intimidated by Ambrose, but when he actually reached out first, she lit up and dropped her guard, spilling everything about her situation with Wesley.
"Ambrose, do you believe they really don't have anything going on?" Delta was sprawled on her couch, phone tilted against her cheek.
"Hard to say. Personally, I wouldn't touch someone I wasn't into, but Wesley? I don't know him well enough to comment." His tone stayed neutral, like he couldn't care less.
"Dad found out they have a daughter together. Sure, the kid has Scarlett's last name, but he says if she weren't a Mellon, why would his family agree to let the Rosses raise her all these years? He thinks they're both lying."
Ambrose's response came measured. "From what I understand, Scarlett worked as a designer at Ross Group. Pretty capable one too—she landed about two-thirds of their major projects. So financially, raising a kid wouldn't be an issue for her."
Delta's eyes sparked with hope. "Wait, so you're saying the kid really isn't Wesley's?"
"I didn't say that. Like I said, I don't know enough about the situation."
"Honestly, I can tell Wesley really doesn't like Scarlett. She's the one who's hung up on him. She's using some favor he owes her to trap him into marriage. Total manipulator move."