Jeanette looked at Raelynn, a sudden, malicious smile curving her lips. "I brought a plus-one today. I hope you don't mind."
Raelynn thought the woman was utterly unhinged. "You could bring a stolen corpse for all I care. It has nothing to do with me."
Jeanette choked.
She inhaled sharply to maintain her composure, refusing to lose her temper in public over Raelynn's insolence.
With a dismissive wave, she signaled for her guest to enter.
Raelynn genuinely didn't care who the guest was, but when she caught sight of Seraphina out of the corner of her eye, a frown creased her forehead.
She instantly understood that Jeanette had brought her here solely to humiliate her.
Seraphina approached with a picture-perfect, obedient smile. "Mrs. Croix, thank you so much for agreeing to see me."
Jeanette didn't even bother looking at her, taking a delicate sip of her tea with aristocratic flair. "Have a seat."
Seraphina had reached out to her earlier that day, begging for an audience with the elders. Jeanette had fully intended to ignore her, but after Raelynn's brazen disrespect at the door.
She decided to weaponize Seraphina to make Raelynn suffer.
Seeing Seraphina take a seat, Brenda's face darkened instantly.
However, mindful of the prying eyes around them, she bit her tongue and suppressed her outrage.
She had to choke down her fury.
Seraphina noticed Raelynn as well, a dark, calculating glint flashing in her eyes before she sat down beside Jeanette. She had an agenda for seeking out the Croix family elders today.
The fallout from the Yves family disaster hadn't fully erupted yet.
The Yves were too busy handling their internal affairs to immediately launch a retaliation campaign against her.
She had to use this brief window of opportunity to secure her place in the Croix family.
Before they discovered she had been faking her identity as an Yves heiress.
"What did you want to discuss? Spit it out," Jeanette said, setting down her teacup. Her tone was cold, making it painfully obvious she looked down on Seraphina.
Still, in Jeanette's mind, Sebastian choosing such a pathetic woman wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
If the Patriarch lost faith in Sebastian, then Jeanette's own son would become the primary focus of the family's succession plans.
Raelynn tuned them out.
All eyes zeroed in on the document Seraphina had unfurled, an official ultrasound and bloodwork report.
"You're pregnant?" Jeanette asked, genuinely stunned.
Sitting at the same table.
It was impossible for Raelynn to block out the conversation. She heard every word perfectly.
Her chewing slowed to a halt as her gaze landed on the medical report.
It was stamped by Covenant Medical Center.
It was impossible to forge.
Seraphina's smile widened into a smug smirk. "Sebastian accompanied me to the appointment. We're having a baby. It's such joyous news, I felt the family had a right to know."
As she spoke.
She threw a subtle, mocking glance at the silent Raelynn.
Tilting her head, she added with casual cruelty, "Raelynn, you're practically a master of traditional medicine, aren't you? Why don't you check my pulse to confirm it for yourself? While you're at it, maybe you could prescribe some supplements to keep Sebastian's baby healthy."

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!...