Chapter 4

I didn't say anything.

Jayden didn't push.

He took the test results and looked them over.

"It's not mild."

"No flowers for a while, and stay away from anywhere with strong scents."

Lola looked up at him.

"Uncle, my daddy sends other people lots of flowers."

Jayden's hand stopped mid-page.

I wanted to clap a hand over my daughter's mouth.

He crouched down, level with her.

"That's your daddy being foolish."

Lola was completely serious.

"Can grown-ups be foolish too?"

"They can."

Jayden handed the results back to me.

"Some grown-ups stay foolish their whole lives."

I tried to hold it in, but the laugh got out anyway.

He stood.

"I'm consulting here today. I've got the afternoon free."

"If you're willing, I can redo a full allergy assessment for her."

The words were like a lifeline.

I nodded.

"Thank you."

He looked at me.

"Elisa, you don't have to be so formal with me."

I was about to say something when my phone rang again.

Humphrey.

I didn't want to answer.

But Lola said, quietly, "Mommy, answer it."

I hit accept.

Humphrey's voice was cold.

"Where are you right now?"

"The hospital."

"My mother says you're with some man."

I glanced at Jayden.

He'd turned to the nurses' station to get a form.

"Your mother also says I can't survive without you."

My tone was flat.

"Which one do you believe?"

Humphrey ground his teeth.

"Elisa, don't make me look into you."

"Go ahead."

I said it plainly.

"And while you're at it, pull up Sarah's hotel records too."

He went silent.

I'd only said it to needle him.

But his silence turned my stomach over.

"Humphrey."

"Did you two actually get a room?"

He denied it at once.

"No."

"Then why the pause?"

"I was thinking how bitter you've gotten."

I laughed out loud.

"You're carrying on with your assistant, your mother curses me for having a daughter, and your first thought is that I'm bitter."

His voice went ragged.

"I told you, I'll handle it."

"Handle what?"

"Handle me out of the picture?"

He didn't answer.

On the other end, Sarah started crying.

"Mr. James, please don't fight with your wife over me."

"Should I just quit?"

"Someone like me is in the way wherever I go anyway."

Humphrey went soft instantly.

"Don't talk nonsense."

I listened to the two of them play their little duet and hung up.

Jayden came back with the form.

"Do you want to sit down for a bit first?"

I shook my head.

"No need."

The assessment took three hours.

"The report will be ready tomorrow. I'll send it to you."

"Thank you."

"Elisa."

He stopped me.

"If you're going to divorce, I know a lawyer you can trust."

I froze for a second.

His expression didn't change.

"A few of James Group's early scent patents, I remember your name is on them."

"Don't let anyone get them out of you for nothing."

That line snapped me awake.

The Dylan Payne soothing-serum line, the one making James Group the most money right now, the core formula really was mine.

Back then, to make the company's funding easier, I'd licensed the patent to James Group.

The term was almost up.

Humphrey might have forgotten.

I hadn't.

On the way home, Humphrey sent a message.

【Mom's birthday tonight. Bring Lola to the old house.】

【Don't embarrass everyone.】

I stared at those few words for a couple of seconds.

Embarrass?

I'd love to see exactly who ends up embarrassed.

The old James residence was lit up bright.

When I walked in holding Lola's hand, the living room was full of relatives.

Sarah, in a pink dress, was clinging to Renata's arm and playing coy.

On her head she wore a pearl hair clip.

I recognized it.

It was the first gift Humphrey ever gave me, back when we got married.

Not especially expensive.

But the meaning was different.

Renata was grinning ear to ear.

"It looks lovely on Sarah."

"Young girls, they make anything look fresh."

Humphrey saw me and his face changed.

"Why are you only getting here now?"

I ignored him.

My eyes landed on the clip in Sarah's hair.

"Take it off."

Sarah touched the clip, and her eyes rimmed red on the spot.

"But this was a gift from your mother-in-law."

Renata smacked her chopsticks down.

"It's just a cheap little clip. Do you really have to?"

"All these years you've eaten off the James family, lived off the James family. What of it wasn't given to you by Humphrey?"

"I give Sarah one old thing and you have to snatch it back?"

The relatives' looks at me soured.

Humphrey came over and lowered his voice.

"Elisa, it's Mom's birthday today."

"Don't make a scene."

I raised my hand and pulled the clip straight out of Sarah's hair.

She cried out from the pain.

Humphrey grabbed my wrist.

"What are you doing?"

I dropped the clip into the soup bowl beside me.

"It's dirty now."

"I don't want it."

Sarah clutched her head, tears spilling down.

"Ma'am, why do you always have to humiliate me like this?"

"I only wanted to make your mother-in-law happy."

"Mr. James said you don't like coming to the old house, so I came to keep her company in your place."

I looked at her.

"In my place?"

"Then do you want to sleep in the master bedroom in my place, have my children in my place, get divorced in my place?"

The whole table went silent.

Renata shot to her feet, furious.

"Elisa, have you lost your mind!"

"I'd say the ones who've lost it are all of you."

I took the documents out of my bag and slapped them on the table.

"This is the notice that the patent license has expired."

"Starting next month, that soothing-serum line of James Group's can't use my formula anymore."