“Waaah!”
The sudden shout startled Luke, and he burst into tears. I quickly picked up his pacifier from where it had fallen and began to soothe him. Leo, meanwhile, pulled a small silver bell from his pocket and dangled it in front of the baby.
“Luke, looky here, what’s this? A little… bell… jingle jingle…”
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Chapter 2
“WAAAAAH!”
The baby cried even louder.
I snatched the bell from his hand and whacked him on the head again. “I told you that trick doesn’t work!” I
scolded. “Give him to me.”
Leo pouted but unclipped the carrier, handing our son over. I held Luke close, rocking him gently. “Shhh,
baby, it’s okay. Mama’s here, Mama’s here…”
His cries slowly subsided into soft whimpers.
Leo let out a sigh of relief and ruffled my hair. “See? You’re the baby whisperer.” Then he jabbed a playful
finger in the air toward our son. “You little traitor, Luke Vance! No respect for your old man!”
I batted his hand away. “Honestly, Leo. You’re a grown man, stop picking on a baby.”
The cozy, domestic scene was a dagger to Ethan’s eyes. A vein throbbed in his temple.
“Audrey, are you done with this charade?”
His voice, grating and sharp, set my teeth on edge. Between him and Luke’s crying, my patience was gone. Are you done being insane?” I shot back.
Leo turned, tilting his cap up slightly. “Wifey, you know this guy?”
Ethan’s glare was pure poison. Feeling it, Leo straightened up, his playful aura vanishing, replaced by an icy chill. He scanned Ethan from head to toe, his voice dripping with condescension.
“You’re not really her husband, are you?” Ethan sneered. “How much must you hate me, Audrey, to hire an
actor to fool me? You even made him cover his face, afraid I’d see through the disguise.” His eyes flickered
to the baby in my arms. “And what’s that? An extra prop?”
Before I could speak, Leo moved, stepping in front of me and shielding us both. His voice was no longer light and teasing, but cold and hard as steel.
“Sir, are you a recent escapee from a psychiatric facility?”
He said it with such deadpan seriousness that it seemed to bypass Ethan’s brain for a second before the
rage hit.
