Chapter 73: That is her ex husband

“Do you know him?” Edmund asked.

Madison was not shocked to see Caspian. Lake and Caspian went way back. Still, it sat wrong with her. Lake had asked her to bring Michelle here, knowing Caspian would show up with Sienna. That part did not sit right at all.

Michelle heard the question. She did not answer it. Seeing Sienna standing there hurt too much, so she pretended the words never reached her. Rush stepped in instead.

“That is her ex husband.”

He said it hoping it would scare Edmund off. One problem at a time. Caspian was enough trouble on his own.

Edmund nearly choked on his drink.

“Her ex what?”

He had seen famous men before. Stars, faces on screens. Caspian was different. Something about him filled the space without effort. Pride sat on him openly.

Two years of friendship. Two years. Michelle never once said she had been married. Edmund could not understand how someone could keep something that big quiet, especially after telling him she cared for him so much.

“You never told me,” Edmund said.

His voice stayed soft, but the look he gave her was not. Rush caught it and smiled to himself.

Michelle stayed still. None of it shook her. What ruined her mood was Caspian standing beside Elara. The woman who took her child from her.

“Does it matter?” Michelle asked. “Would you have stopped being my friend if you knew?”

Edmund laughed. He found it funny in a strange way.

“No. But I saw the exchange. Is that his new wife?”

His eyes stayed on Michelle. He wanted her focus. She was the one who asked him to come.

Sienna’s presence killed Madison’s appetite. Edmund sitting there made it worse. She could not even talk to Michelle properly.

“Can we change the subject?” Michelle asked.

Talking about Caspian drained her. The moment she pretended to die, she ended everything with him. She only came back because of Sienna. And now it seemed Caspian would never let her breathe easy. Fine. She would fight him until there was nothing left.

“The fact that he dumped you for her means he is blind,” Edmund said after locking eyes with Caspian for a brief second.

Michelle burst out laughing. She missed the silent standoff happening around her. Her laughter spread and soon everyone joined in.

“He is right,” Madison said through laughter.

Edmund looked at her, pleased. “She is right. You are very kind.”

Madison had seen him act beside Michelle in films. She did not care to dig into whatever this was.

“Thanks. So what do you do when you are not working?” she asked.

“With Michelle,” Edmund replied.

He turned to Michelle with fake offense. “You did not tell her about us?”

He leaned closer. Michelle did not move away. She laughed.

“You are ridiculous. What is there to tell?”

Across the room, Caspian’s chest sank with every sound of her laughter. He had never made her laugh that way. Not once. All he ever gave her was hurt. And regret followed him everywhere.

Sienna burned inside. Caspian said he wanted to cheer her up. He even sent a driver for her. Yet since she arrived, he barely looked her way. His eyes kept drifting to the other table. He did not touch his food.

Caspian looked over again. Rush saw it. Edmund saw it too.

“He still loves you,” Edmund said. “He is jealous.”

Michelle shook her head and took a sip of wine. Food no longer mattered. The wine helped dull the sight of Sienna standing there whole and breathing.

She wanted to punch that woman again. More than once.

“You are wrong,” Michelle said. “He never loved me. She is the only one he ever loved. Caspian does not get jealous. He does not feel anything.”

Madison believed Edmund. She just did not say it. She remembered how Caspian lived when he thought Michelle was dead. That memory stayed with her.

This time, Madison stood up.

“I need the restroom.”

Michelle narrowed her eyes. Too many people were heading that way.

“Why is everyone going to the restroom?” she asked, half joking. “And where are Mira and Lake? Is that what you are going to check?”

Madison sensed a headache coming. Before answering, she glanced toward the direction Mira and Lake disappeared. Her face changed.

“No,” she said. “They are here. Mira… what happened to you?”

Lake walked toward them carrying Mira in his arms.

Bruises marked her face. Lake’s knuckles were bruised too.