“He cheats, and somehow he acts like he’s the victim,” Isabella said with a scoff.
Cynthia let a quiet moment hang between them before she replied. “Honestly, I never expected him to be loyal. From the day I married him, I knew this would happen sooner or later. Like your uncle always says, a man with that much money and power… there’s no way he’d stay away from other women.”
She sighed. “If he ever blew up about this, it wouldn’t be out of guilt. It’d be because he was afraid something might happen to his illegitimate child.” That was exactly why Cynthia never confronted him head-on. After twenty years of marriage, she knew exactly what kind of person Jackson was.
“In a few days, I’m going to talk to Deborah,” Cynthia said.
“Do you want me to come?” Isabella asked, her voice full of worry.
“No, this is something I need to handle on my own. You focus on your life. I’ve got nothing left to be afraid of,” Cynthia said, her tone steady. “That mistress has a son now, and Jackson is crazy about the boy. I don’t believe for a second she doesn’t want her son to be accepted as a Lane. If Jackson won’t agree to a divorce, I’ll talk to her. She’ll want what’s best for her own kid, so she’ll help push him.”
“I’m not going to make a scene. Whatever compensation Jackson offers, I’ll take it and start my own life.” Cynthia looked at Isabella and smiled softly. “You’re grown up, married, and I don’t have to worry about you anymore. Jackson cheated, and I’m done pretending that’s okay.”
“Ethan thinks Jackson’s offer is way too low. He says you should get at least three hundred million,” Isabella said.
“Isabella, really, I’m fine. As long as you’re happy, that’s all I care about,” Cynthia said, squeezing her daughter’s hand. “But don’t throw yourself into work so much that you forget about your marriage. You and Ethan should think about having a child soon.”
“Having a kid doesn’t fix everything. If a man wants to cheat, he’ll cheat even if you have ten kids. That just ends up hurting the child more. Honestly, sometimes it’s better not to have one,” Isabella replied.
“Maybe, but you and Ethan should still think about it. His family has a big business, they’ll want someone to pass it on to. If your first child is a boy, it’ll put everyone’s mind at ease. After that, it won’t matter if you have boys or girls,” Cynthia said, her voice gentle but firm.

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