"Sebastian, what are you two talking about?"
Seraphina's voice drifted from behind as she approached.
Sebastian paused and glanced back at her.
Seraphina had retrieved her bag from the car and was walking toward him with a bright, beautiful smile.
Leo exhaled a cloud of smoke and chuckled, deliberately leaving Raelynn out of it. "Nothing much. Seb and I were just shooting the breeze."
Sebastian turned his attention back to where Raelynn and the child had been standing.
The end of the alley was now completely empty.
It was as if the little girl looking back at him had been nothing more than a hallucination.
His brow furrowed slightly.
A strange, unidentifiable tightness brushed against his throat, vanishing as quickly as it came.
Seraphina noticed Sebastian staring intently into the distance.
She walked up to him. "Sebastian? Is someone over there?"
He finally felt her gently tug on his suit sleeve.
Pulling his gaze back, he looked down briefly. "No. It's nothing important."
With that, he turned and walked back into the restaurant's courtyard.
Seraphina smiled and quickly followed him inside.
Tonight, the restaurant was filled exclusively with their closest friends. Julian was seated next to Leo, which was how he found out they had just run into Raelynn outside.
"We're hosting a private party, and she just magically happens to show up. If the manager hadn't cleared the place out, she probably would have forced her way in."
Leo shrugged, his tone laced with mockery.
Julian paused with his drink halfway to his mouth. "She was here?"
"Yeah. Probably caught wind of it and tracked Seb down."
Julian frowned silently.
"You and Raelynn aren't even in the same league. She only managed to cling to the fringes of the project out of pure luck. You'll have countless opportunities in the future. Missing this one is no big deal," Leo offered sympathetically.
Seraphina smiled gracefully, shaking her head with a delicate sigh. "It's fine. I heard that Raelynn used Mr. Moreno's backing to completely overhaul my formulas. She replaced all my work. She seems a bit too obsessed with outshining me. At the end of the day, I'm her older sister. She doesn't need to try so hard to prove herself. Recklessly altering formulas could lead to a catastrophe. Her blind arrogance is going to cost her."
A friend from Kingsford University had relayed the gossip to her.
She was genuinely furious.
If the clinical trials were successful, every last trace of her contribution would be wiped clean.
Was Raelynn that terrified of letting her share the glory?
With her head full of petty jealousy, Raelynn would never achieve anything of actual value.
"What do you think, Sebastian?" Seraphina turned to the man beside her.
Sebastian's eyes were downcast, his thumb absentmindedly stroking his glass as if lost in thought.
He looked up, his expression unreadable.
Instead of validating her complaints, he completely changed the subject. "Does Preston Moreno have a child?"

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Boss, Your Wife Signed the Divorce Agreement Before the Wedding
I think for as slow as the beginning was, their turning point is just so fast... really hope we actually get to read about R and S and their rekindle.... we did not read 950 pages for their story to be sidelined. Im for this sideline story, but it if it's to separate from the main characters and their story, please make it separate book....
Author please update more chapters...
I really like Zella, she is becoming a good friend to Raelynn. Ian needs to go. The relationship with Chloe is confusing. Some chapters they are cousins, sometimes they're sibling. A little confusing....
Julians role as big brother- I feel comes from a genuine place, but in a relationship thats is just as stained as Raelynns and Sebastians. It hard for me to connect to his big brother role as he too was such a problem before. And while they talked a little bit, the conversation did not give me the believe there was resolution between Raelynn and Julian. For a brute, he should make his feelings clear about the situation to Raelynn and then step back, until there is more foundation for him to stand on....
Knife in my heart. I hurt for Raelynn. She has made it this far, but how much does she have in her, everyone has a breaking point. Some back of me hopes the author is joking to lighten the mood after so many intense chapters, but thats not this kind of story or couple....
My heart cannot take this. This, cannot be how it ends with these too. They need resolution with each other. Raelynn needs to be more humanize with Sebastian. We know she is hurt, but this is the branch. She needs all these answers, if not for them to be together, then for Lily to have both her parents. Stop with the mind games Raelynn!...
Its like the story is just repeating itself...
Timeline is getting lost for me. So many treasured little memories Raelynn has but yet, he was gone for years ? Anyways... still rooting for them! These two need a heart to heart. Lily "forgetting" someone, not possible in this day and age and I hope thats not their storyline....
Sebastian, the man of few words.... needs to find all the words! Needs to fight for her! On note, seven years seems like a long time for this master plan (which I am sure goes back much farther). Rereading this novel, and it seems like everything has played out in a 5-8 month time span. And I feel like all Sebastian's doings/ plan have not been revealed. I hope we get to see the whole picture and have the resolutions we hope. But seven years of mistreatment, I just don't see Raelynn fully coming back. If these was 2-3 years, maybe, and I know it changes some characters around, but it would still work. Rooting for them!...
Literally on edge!...