Chapter 335
Audrey was leaning against the door, trying to shake off the numbness in her legs.
- to.
No one expected the door to suddenly swing open from the inside.
Yann caught her just in time, one arm around her waist, the other bracing against the frame to steady them both.
Audrey grinned at Owen, who stood there looking more than a little startled. “Hey, Owen. Just working on my upper body strength here. Hope I didn’t interrupt anything!”
Owen’s eyes flicked to her arm looped around Yann’s neck, and he forced a smile. “Not at all.”
“Who is it?” Lena appeared behind him, adjusting the strap of her camisole. When she saw Yann holding Audrey like that in the doorway, her face went blank. “What… are you guys doing?”
“We’re working out. Want to join?” Audrey winked.
Lena blinked, took a second to process, and then blushed deep red.
“You’ve got it all wrong! Owen was just helping me put on sunscreen!” she blurted, reaching for her strap. “I was out on the boat all day. Totally sunburnt and peeling!”
Yann and Audrey, completely in sync, shut their eyes at the same time like it was rehearsed.
“Whatever you say,” they said in unison, keeping their eyes closed as they shuffled blindly down the hall toward their room, hands feeling along the wall.
“No, wait! Don’t leave! It’s not like that!” Lena cried, stomping her foot and grabbing Owen’s sleeve. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Did you lose your voice or what?”
“Why should I?” Owen replied flatly.
“Oh my god, you’re seriously killing me here!” Lena groaned, pushing past him and rushing toward Audrey’s room.
Audrey moved fast and slammed the door shut just in time, leaving Lena outside banging on it.
“I’m telling the truth! It really was sunscreen! Smell it if you don’t believe me!” Lena leaned her shoulder into the crack of the door.
Yann pushed her gently back by the shoulder. “Please. Audrey and I are having a heartfelt conversation.”
With a bang, the door shut right in her face.
“Yeah, more like heart–fluttering!” Lena yelled after them. “I’ve got strict orders from my mom and your parents. No messing around! If you hurt Audrey or the baby she’s carrying, you’ll have the whole family after you!”
Laughter floated faintly from inside, which only made her pound on the door harder.
Owen walked over, grabbed her wrist, and calmly pulted her away. “Relax. He’s not a criminal.”
“You have no idea! He’s insane!” Lena exclaimed. “I heard he can go all night! Like, literally!”
Owen shot her a weird look. She quickly added, The housemaids told me. They say Yann’s a total beast in bed!”
She gave him a proud thumbs up, then suddenly paused, a thought striking her.
“Wait… if someone goes at it all night, wouldn’t that totally wear them out?” she asked, grabbing Owen’s arm again.
“How would I know?” he muttered.
Chapter 335
“Wait, seriously?” She looked at him, mock scandalized. “You haven’t?”
Lena slipped her arm through his and leaned her head against it. “You know what? I feel so much better now. We really are just friends Like for tal-
Owen pulled his arm back, a shadow crossing his face.
“I don’t know… because I haven’t tried.”
“Oh my god, that’s even better! You’re like… my best guy friend now.” Before he could react, she linked her arm with his again, grabbed his hand, and swung it as they strolled toward her door.
“Night! Same time tomorrow, okay? This UV is brutal. I’m counting on you for sunscreen!”
Back in the room, Audrey had finished in the bathroom and was curled up in Yann’s arms. She held his hand in hers, studying it seriously.
“See this part of your palm? Thick and calloused. That means you’re destined to be rich,” she said, making it up as she went.
Yann looked at her with that soft, indulgent smile, letting her ramble as he gently played with her hair.
“And these fingers, the tight spacing means you’re good at holding on to wealth…” Suddenly, she froze. Her breath hitched.
Yann immediately sat up, all traces of calm gone. “What’s wrong?”
He saw her face tighten and jumped out of bed, already moving toward the door to call the doctor. Audrey reached out and grabbed the waistband of his pajamas, yanking them down before he could take another step.
Staring at his bare backside, she burst into uncontrollable giggles.
Yann stood there with a face like thunder. Her mood swings left him completely at a loss. He clenched his fists but said nothing.
“I’m fine, I swear. My stomach just tightened for a second. I think one of the babies kicked,” Audrey explained, tugging him back into bed.
She snuggled into his arms again, resting her head on his chest. “There are three in there. One of them’s bound to be a little wild.”
“You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Totally sure.”
Only once he was convinced she was telling the truth did Yann finally relax, the tension slowly draining from his body.
The next morning, Yann had the doctor run a check–up on Audrey.
At around sixteen weeks, most expectant mothers begin to feel the baby move. Audrey, carrying triplets, felt it about a week early, which was completely
normal.
Lena wasted no time sharing the update in her group chat, Guardians of the Trio, and Amelia was the first to reply.
Amelia: [Appreciate the boots–on–the–ground intel.]
She sent Lena a little tip as a thank–you.
Lena did a mini victory dance, absolutely delighted.
Soon after, Margot messaged. [Take good care of Audrey.]
Lena immediately shot back. [Words are cheap. Be more like Amelia.]
Margot took the hint and transferred money too.
Chapter 335
Everett followed suit with a simple message. [Thanks for your effort.]
Right on cue, Miles copied the same line and sent his own transfer.
Logan was the last to chime in. (Really appreciate it, Lena. Please keep watching over Audrey.]
Of course, he didn’t forget to send a thank you transfer either.
Beaming, Lena ran off to show Owen her phone like it was a trophy. Owen raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “So this is your side hustle now?”
“Hey, I’m dodging toxic men, making easy money, and taking care of… wait, where’s Audrey?” she stopped mid–sentence, suddenly looking around,
Emilia, heading out with a notebook under her arm, looked up. “Saw her carrying a bucket earlier. Pretty sure she went out fishing.”
By the time Audrey and Yann were prepping the boat, Lena came running full speed down the dock.
“Don’t even think about ditching me!” While they were distracted with
chat.
and setup, she quickly snapped a photo of them and sent it to the group
If she was gonna cash in on being the “guardian,” she might as well show sho
was
doing her job.
The boat stopped at one of their usual fishing spots. Yann started rigging the lines, while Lena pulled out a deck of cards.
“Come on, Audrey. Let’s play something while we wait.”
Audrey, wearing a sun hat with a brim wide enough to shade a small village, waved her off. “No thanks. I always lose when I play with you two.”
Meanwhile, somewhere else, someone was losing badly.
Valerie had convinced herself that causing a scene at Alexa’s workplace would be
strategic move.
She figured if Alexa’s colleagues saw her as the woman who was pushing for divorce while her husband’s mother lay seriously ill, the shame would force her to back down and return to the hospital.
But that plan completely backfired.
Ever since Alexa’s child had died in a tragic fall down the stairs, she had been slowly opening up to her coworkers about what had really been going on at
home.
She never had hard proof that Valerie was responsible for the accident, but everything that followed only confirmed her suspicions. Valerie’s reputation had been circling the drain long before she walked through that office door.
Sthat fo
She had tried to manipulate Riley into committing a crime, only to end up making things worse for herself.
She burned through Clayton’s money like it meant nothing, leading to the disgraceful fire sale of Patel Manor.
And she emotionally abused the kids, threatened people for money…
Every horrible detail had made its way into Alexa’s conversations with her team. And they remembered.
So the moment Valerie stepped into that office, the villain of Alexa’s story came to life in full color. The way people looked at her and at Riley wasn’t just cold. It was openly hostile.
Oddly enough, Valerie felt more comfortable here than at Tony’s workplace. At least she didn’t have to pretend everything was fine. Everyone here already knew the score.
