Boss, Your Wife Signed the Divorce Agreement Before the Wedding novel Chapter 276

Raelynn was still absentmindedly tracing the edge of the ring in her coat pocket.

When she looked up, she saw Sebastian leaning casually against the elevator wall. One hand was tucked into his pocket, his towering frame exuding a quiet authority. As his gaze drifted downward to meet hers, his eyes were dangerously unreadable.

Raelynn paused mid-step.

But on second thought, why should she feel uncomfortable?

They were practically divorced.

She stepped inside, and the doors slid shut.

The restaurant was on the sixtieth floor, so the descent was going to take a while.

"Did you meet him through Chloe Hudson?" Sebastian was the first to break the silence.

Raelynn met his eyes in the reflection of the polished metal doors.

"I did." Her answer was confident and brief.

She had no intention of elaborating. Nor did she feel the need to justify her fake engagement to her ex-husband.

Sebastian's gaze remained steady. A faint, mocking smirk touched his lips. "Enjoy playing stepmother?"

The question was delivered casually.

It didn't even sound like an insult.

But the words grated on Raelynn's nerves.

She knew Sebastian firmly believed Lily was Ian's biological daughter.

Which was fine.

So, she leaned into the narrative and smiled. "Is that a bad thing? She's an adorable little girl. I love kids, and I'm more than happy to embrace her. We'll make a wonderful family."

It was far better than the life she had lived for the last seven years, trapped in a dead marriage with a man who had zero interest in starting a family with her.

Sebastian easily caught the thinly veiled venom in her words.

He turned his head to look at her. "Did Ian happen to mention his engagement to the Yves family?"

Raelynn actually had heard Chloe mention it.

Ian had only put Lily under his name to build an excuse to reject the arranged marriage with the Yves family when the time came.

It wasn't a secret, and since she had no real plans to marry Ian anyway, it didn't concern her.

"Oh, thank you for the warning. Yes, he told me."

Her tone was completely indifferent.

To anyone else, she sounded like a woman so blinded by love she was ignoring massive red flags.

Sebastian's eyes narrowed.

"I see."

"Then you should also know that getting involved with Ian Hudson means making a powerful enemy out of the Yves family."

Raelynn turned to look at him, genuinely surprised. Was Sebastian Croix actually giving her advice? Weighing the pros and cons for her? Since when was he so benevolent?

Raelynn offered a razor-thin, polite smile. "Thank you, my wonderful ex-husband, for being so incredibly considerate of my future. But right now, you shouldn't be worrying about whether I offend the Yves family. You should be figuring out how you're going to bring Seraphina into the Croix family."

After all, he still had a private conversation to finish with Seraphina tonight.

Seraphina's sudden urge to orchestrate a public proposal made Raelynn wonder if things had escalated between them that rainy night at the Flynn estate.

Sebastian was holding the deed to The Ortiz Antique Shop hostage. It wouldn't be transferred to her name until the year was up.

Before Raelynn could fire back.

The elevator chimed.

The figure waiting in the lobby turned around.

Ian locked eyes with Sebastian standing inside the elevator with Raelynn.

His expression didn't change. "Mr. Croix. I didn't get a chance to greet you earlier."

Raelynn walked straight past Sebastian and stood next to Ian.

Sebastian followed at a leisurely pace, his peripheral vision tracking Raelynn.

"Are you in Houston on business, Mr. Hudson?" Sebastian asked.

The two men exchanged pleasantries as if they were casual acquaintances.

There was no acknowledgment of the massive, complicated web connecting them.

One acted as if he wasn't Raelynn's husband, and the other acted as if he didn't know they were married.

"You could say that. Though I ended up taking care of something much more important while I was here," Ian replied.

Everyone present knew exactly what that 'important' thing was.

Ian didn't care how Sebastian might react. He met the man's dark gaze head-on and smiled with faux sympathy. "I hope you don't mind, Mr. Croix."

Raelynn's heart skipped a beat. She shot Ian a startled look.

Sebastian slowly raised his eyes to meet Ian's, his pupils dark and bottomless. "Mind what, exactly?"