Reba didn’t seem bothered by what he said at all. She shot back, “Isn’t this already a mess<b>?</b><b>” </b>


    Jeffrey’s gaze grew darker. He knew Reba was talking about his situation with Andrea.


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    “Sure thing,” Jeffrey blurted out without missing a beat.


    Reba was stunned.


    Jeffrey put down his fork, stood up, grabbed his suit jacket, and the bag with Samuel’s clothes. He turned to Ian and said, “Alright then, Mr. Yeats, I’ll count on you to work that magic for me.”


    After that, he didn’t bother to see how they reacted, just walked out without a second nce.


    The door mmed shut with a bang.


    Ian and Reba looked at each other in disbelief, both wearing expressions of incredulity.


    Ian said, “When did Jeffrey be such a shameless character?” He didn’t know much about Jeffrey, relying only on past interactions and rumors. He thought, ‘He wants me to intercede for him? Does he really not care about saving face?‘


    “He’s always been that way,” Reba replied.


    Ian eximed, “Wait, really?”


    Reba nodded.


    To outsiders, Jeffrey came off as calm and impossible to read, but anyone who’d either pissed him off or spent real time with him knew–deep down, the guy could be a total menace when he wanted to be.


    Jeffrey headed downstairs and slid into his car, his eyes deeper than the midnight sky outside.


    Gregory, behind the wheel, felt the atmosphere so suffocating it was like wet cement. But with Jeffrey staying silent, he didn’t even dare to twitch.


    An hourter,n came downstairs. He spun his car keys around his finger as he strolled along, lookingpletely at ease–clearly in a great mood.


    Jeffrey’s gaze stayed locked onto him. He thought, ‘Really? An entire hour just to eat?‘ He rolled down the


    window.


    Gregory, catching on, switched on the headlights and gave a quick honk on the horn.


    14:56 Mon, Sep <b>22 </b>


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    Ian paused mid–step, turning to spot Jeffrey sitting by the car window–his face unreadable in the darkness. Acting like nothing was out of the ordinary,n asked, “Still here, Mr. Hanson?”


    “Quite a bit of extra time on your hands, Mr. Yeats,” Jeffrey remarked, his words edged with irony.


    “You keep giving me so much trouble, do you honestly think I’ve got any free time left?” Ian replied, straight to the point.


    Jeffrey cast a brief look at the apartment tower nearby.


    Ian added, “But no matter how busy I am, I always have time for Becky.”


    Jeffrey’s eyes,


    dark and fathomless, locked onto Ian, reading every twitch and shift in his expression. Atst, Jeffrey tossed out, “I know exactly what’s going on in that head of yours, even if you never admit it.”


    Ian frowned, not sure what Jeffrey was getting at.


    Jeffrey added, “Right now, I’lly it out for you. Whatever you’re wishing for? You can forget it. You’ll never get it, not in this lifetime.”


    Ian shot back, “Really?”


    Jeffrey said, “Absolutely.”


    Ian shot back, “Who knows how things will really go until they actually happen?”


    Jeffrey replied, “No matter how hard you try, it’s all down to whether Reba and I call it quits. But what if <b>I </b>never do?<b>” </b>


    Ian frowned and asked, “What do you mean by that?”


    Instead of an answer, Gregory rolled up the window, slowly hiding Jeffrey’s face from sight.


    Ian was about to knock for answers when the car quietly pulled away.


    Jeffrey nced in the rearview mirror.


    Ian was still standing there, staring after the car, his face looking pretty grim.


    Ian hesitated a long while before finally sliding into his own car, his mind tangled up as he considered whether he should go back upstairs and tell Reba everything or just leave things be.


    Ian thought, Jeffrey basically said he wasn’t splitting up, but things between him and Reba are already <i>a </i>mess. How could they possibly stay together now?


    ‘Reba doesn’t put up with nonsense. No way she’d just let this go. But then again, what if? Jeffrey has always been impossible to read.”


    After mulling it over for a while, Ian pulled out his phone and texted Reba: [You busy?<b>] </b>


    Reba replied: [What’s up?]


    14:56 Mon<b>, </b>Sep 22


    Ian texted: [This just popped into my head. What if Jeffrey t–out refuses to divorce you?]


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    Even after the cooling–off period, if one side didn’t want out, there was no way for the other to force it.


    The only move left was to take it to court–but Jeffrey had got a killer legal team, and trying to beat him in front of a judge was like showing up at Everest in flip–flops.


    Reba shot back a voice message. She said, “No way. Not a chance.”


    She thought, ‘If he doesn’t divorce me, how is Andrea ever supposed to show her face in public? And if she can’t even go public, how could she ever officially be Mrs. Hanson?‘


    Ian texted: [But what if Jeffrey really means it?] He couldn’t shake the memory of Jeffrey’s expression–it didn’t look like he was kidding.


    Reba replied, “There’s nothing for him to gain by staying married. He’s not stupid.”


    Ian went silent for a moment. Seeing how firm Reba was about the divorce, he changed the subject.


    They tossed around a few more lines and ended the chat.


    After finishing her chat with Ian, Reba called Samuel, then fired up herptop, ready to get painting until the early hours–maybe 4 or 5 AM.


    She thought, ‘By the time I am done, it’ll be midday for May, and I can give her a call to feel things out. Tomorrow is the anniversary celebration, so I can sleep in without worrying about being tired for work.


    Reba noticed a message in the group chat letting performers know they had to show up by 1 PM tomorrow, so she could just head over a bit before noon.


    With all that sorted out, Reba immersed herself in her work, totally locked in on raking in some money.


    It was around 4 or 5 in the morning–Reba had already knocked out two new sketches. Figuring it was about time, she shot a quick message to May.


    May’s video call popped up almost instantly. She said, “Wait, it’s like 4 or 5 AM over there, right? Are you pulling an all–nighter or did you just get up crazy early?”


    “Pulled an all–nighter,” Reba answered honestly.


    May asked, “Pulling an all–nighter again?”


    “Yeah,” Reba replied.


    May put her phone down and rest her chin in her hand. She asked, “So you totally ignored mest time, huh?”


    Since May brought it up, Reba just went along with it. She said, “Speaking of that, I actually wanted to ask you something.”


    May tapped her nails and said, “Shoot.”


    “Who’s my real dad?” Reba asked.


    May froze.


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    Seeing her reaction, Reba’s suspicions jumped from mild doubt to almost sure. Her mind raced through every clue she could think of, and she decided to press a little harder. She asked, “Is it the man I showed youst time?<b>” </b>


    “No,” May replied without thinking.


    “So, who is it then?” Reba pressed.


    May said, “Who else would it be? Richard, obviously.”


    Whenever Reba wanted something, her brain worked overtime. She said firmly, “He’s not.”


    May, sticking to her story, replied seriously, “Of course he is. You’re his and Amelia’s kid.”


    Reba said with a straight face, “I did a DNA test with Richard. I showed him the results, and he admitted it.”


    May’s eyes widened in disbelief.


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