Cynthia always said that if she didn’t see it, if she didn’t know, then it didn’t count. She just chose to pretend he hadn’t cheated.
Zachary understood her better than anyone. He knew her heart still belonged to Dennis. After Dennis died so young, Cynthia had been shattered. She closed herself off, and after that, it didn’t seem to matter who she married.
Since it didn’t matter, she figured she might as well pick someone wealthy and influential. At least then, she’d never have to worry about money or comfort.
“Isabella will be here soon,” Cynthia said, her voice gentle as she continued snipping at the plants. “She kept saying she wanted to come by and visit you both when she had time.”
“She’s busy. Let her focus on her work,” Zachary replied. “I’m all better now, and the kids are growing up. We don’t need to stay at home all the time. From now on, we’ll stay here and help you watch the house.”
Zachary had four kids, two boys and two girls. The youngest were twins. His oldest was twenty, five years younger than Isabella, and the youngest was fifteen, just starting high school. All of them went to school in Cabinda, so helping Cynthia look after the villa meant he could be closer to them. If the kids wanted to visit on weekends, it would be easy for them to drop by.
As they chatted, Isabella’s car pulled up outside, horn beeping.
Zachary hurried over to help her.
“Uncle!” Isabella called out, rolling down her window with a big, bright smile.
Zachary grinned right back at her.
Inside, they caught up for a bit before Cynthia urged Zachary to get some rest. He was still recovering from a serious illness and needed to take it easy. Isabella joined in, gently coaxing her uncle upstairs. Once Zachary and Amelia had gone to their room, Isabella turned to her mom and asked in a low voice, “Mom, did Jackson agree to the divorce? Did he really hit Jordan?”
“Not yet,” Cynthia said with a sigh. “Jordan and Jackson had a huge fight. Jordan got slapped. He’s never been hit in his life, and getting slapped by his father really shook him up.”
“He drank a lot last night. He didn’t even go to work today.”
“Jackson, on the other hand, is acting like nothing even happened. He went to work like normal, and now he’s got people trying to figure out where those photos came from.”
Cynthia reached over and patted Isabella’s hand. “I’m so grateful you gave me that advice. If I’d just confronted him about the affair, he would’ve completely lost it. Even if I divorced him, I probably wouldn’t get a single cent out of him.”

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