Lance let out a heavy sigh over the line. "Yeah, it's best you avoid him for now. With Julian's temper, if he actually saw you, he'd just make a mess of things and make your life harder."
"Mhm," Helena hummed, choosing not to elaborate.
"So, what's your situation now, Lena?" Lance asked, shifting the subject.
Helena bit her lip, pausing to collect her thoughts, but she didn't hide the truth from him. "He signed the papers. Once the baby is born and he secures the Hayes Estate's shares, I can take Wynn and leave."
Lance went dead silent for a moment before asking, "Sebastian agreed to let you take the baby?"
The Hayes Estate sat at the absolute pinnacle of Riverton's elite, which meant they were ruthlessly traditional. The family would never allow a Hayes bloodline to be raised outside their walls. Lance highly doubted Sebastian would actually let her walk away with the child.
At the same time, leaving the baby in that toxic environment wasn't exactly a great alternative. But Lance kept that thought to himself.
"I think he will," Helena answered quietly after a beat. "Knowing Janetta's personality, she would never tolerate raising a child that has nothing to do with her. Sebastian loves her too much to put her in that position. To him, this baby is just a tool to get his inheritance. He's not going to risk fighting with Janetta over it."
Her analysis was frighteningly logical. Lance couldn't find a flaw in her reasoning, yet his gut told him something was off.
Unable to put his finger on it, he dropped the subject.
"By the way, I've handled the situation with my grandfather. You don't need to worry about him; he won't be bothering you again," Lance said, bringing up Alistair Everett.
If Helena actually had ties to Ivy Everett, the entire power dynamic would shift instantly.
Helena laughed at the absurdity of it. "My mother was just a normal woman. If I had any connection to the Everetts, I never would have ended up marrying Sebastian in the first place."
"Fair point," Lance agreed.
They spent a few more minutes discussing work logistics before Lance ended the call.
Helena brushed off the mention of Ivy Everett entirely. But almost the second Lance hung up, her phone lit up again. It was Julian Campbell.

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: He Never Loved Me Until the Day I Finally Left Him