Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband? novel Chapter 414

Kingsford.

Montgomery Manor.

Word had it that Lysander’s mother, Felicity, hadn’t been well lately. Giselle, always attentive, brought a bundle of tonic remedies to visit and asked the housekeeper to fetch them from the car.

“Where is Mrs. Montgomery?” she inquired.

“In the conservatory,” the housekeeper replied.

Back when they were young, Felicity and Giselle’s mother, Rosalind, had been close friends. The two families had maintained ties for generations, and with a childhood engagement between the children, Giselle had practically grown up in this house. No one ever stopped her from coming or going.

She made her way easily through the manor’s winding halls to the garden, where, nestled among a riot of scarlet roses, she found a pale, weary-looking woman reclining in a rocking chair, half dozing in the morning sun.

Giselle approached quietly and called, “Aunt Felicity.”

Lately, Felicity’s health had declined. The medications made her drowsy and left her in a perpetual haze. She took a moment to register Giselle’s voice before responding softly.

“Giselle, dear, come and sit with me.”

Giselle settled beside her, gently taking Felicity’s thin hand in her own. “My mother’s worried about you,” she said, concern plain in her voice. “She sent me to check in. Why have you been so unwell lately, Aunt Felicity? Where’s Lysander? Why isn’t he here with you?”

Felicity smiled faintly and shook her head. “He’s traveling with Mila. Your Uncle is keeping me company.”

“Traveling?” Giselle echoed, surprised.

Only recently, she’d orchestrated things to send Mila abroad, believing that with Forrest’s resources, Lysander wouldn’t catch on right away. By the time he realized Mila was gone, it would be too late. But to her astonishment, Lysander himself had disappeared the very next day.

She’d tried reaching out to him repeatedly but got no response.

And with Conrad now firmly in control at Montgomery Holdings, she’d lost her usual channels for gathering information. Felicity’s illness had given her an excuse to visit, but from the woman’s vacant expression, it was clear she knew nothing either.

Giselle’s fingers tightened unconsciously around Felicity’s hand.

Damn it. Even with her contacts abroad, she couldn’t track Lysander’s movements. The minute he left the country, he vanished without a trace.

She had no idea how things were unfolding.

...

A soft gasp snapped Giselle out of her thoughts. She realized she’d gripped Felicity’s hand too tightly, lost in her own scheming, and had hurt her by accident.

“I’m so sorry, Aunt Felicity. I didn’t mean to,” Giselle apologized quickly.

Felicity shook her head gently, dismissing the pain.

Noticing the fatigue etched across Felicity’s face, Giselle suggested, “Are you feeling tired, Aunt Felicity? You’ll catch a chill napping out here—let’s go back inside and rest.”

“No need, I’ve slept more than enough these days,” Felicity declined quietly.

Giselle didn’t press. Since Felicity seemed to have forgotten the brief discomfort, Giselle simply sat with her, making gentle conversation. Before long, her thoughts drifted back to Lysander and Mila’s supposed trip.

“Oh, right, Aunt Felicity,” Giselle said suddenly, a note of realization in her voice. “You mentioned Lysander is traveling with Mila, but as far as I know, Mila hasn’t worked at Montgomery Holdings in ages. She resigned a long time ago. What kind of business trip could they possibly be on? And honestly, there hasn’t been any company matter that would require Lysander to travel recently, either.”

There was nothing left to discuss. Mila had already made herself clear; if he refused to listen, she didn’t see any point in repeating herself. She was simply too exhausted.

“I can give you what you want,” Lysander said softly.

That made Mila pause.

“I’ll agree to the divorce. I’ll also give you substantial assets as compensation. Once we’re back, we’ll settle it right away.”

“And you think I’d believe you?” she shot back, her tone flat.

She’d been lied to so many times that words like his meant nothing to her now.

Lysander sipped his coffee, smiling faintly. “Of course, there’s a condition. You should realize something: Cossio won’t judge your connection to me based on whether our marriage is officially over.”

Mila fell silent.

He was right. Judging by Cossio’s attitude at the manor, the danger wasn’t just about her marriage to Lysander. Felicity’s affection for her was probably a bigger factor.

A divorce wouldn’t untangle everything.

Still—

“I want the divorce first,” Mila insisted. She was done. Whatever happened next, she needed to sever this tie.

“I said there would be a condition.”