No Second Baby No You Only Divorce (Scarlett and Vincent) novel Chapter 540

Lily had already put dinner together—nothing fancy, just a simple, balanced meal with a few dishes and soup.

With Scarlett not home, the house felt emptier than usual to Vincent. Too quiet.

The moment he stepped through the door of Ravenshade Villa, Vanessa's voice rang out from the living room. "Daddy! You're home!"

He shrugged off his coat by the entrance and swapped his shoes for slippers.

Straightening up, he smiled toward the living room. "Yeah, I'm back."

Vanessa set down the toy she'd been holding and padded over to him, looking up with those big eyes. "Daddy, where's Mommy? Is she coming home today?"

Vincent reached out and ruffled her hair gently. "I don't know, sweetheart."

Vanessa's face fell a little. "Is she coming back tonight?"

He shook his head, a faint smile on his lips. "I'm not sure about that either."

Vanessa wrapped her small arms around his and started tugging. "Daddy, call her. Please. Tell her Vanessa misses her. Tell her I want her to come home."

Vincent blinked, caught off guard.

His daughter had never said she missed her mother before. Not once.

He felt for her, he really did. But it was still early—Scarlett might just be caught up in something.

He hesitated, then said, "Be good, Vanessa. If Mommy's still not back later, I'll call her, okay?"

That set her off. Her face crumpled, and a loud wail burst out. "Waaah!"

Seeing her cry like that, her little shoulders shaking, Vincent caved. "Alright, alright. I'll call her now. Right now."

Vanessa's sobs tapered off almost immediately.

Vincent pulled out his phone and dialed Scarlett.

It rang twice before she picked up.

"Hello." Her voice came through slightly hoarse.

Vincent didn't bother with pleasantries. "Vanessa says she misses you. She wants you to come home."

Scarlett's answer was blunt. "I'm not in Rivergate right now. I won't be back today or tomorrow."

Before Vincent could respond, Vanessa tugged at his sleeve. "Daddy, let me talk to her."

He handed the phone over.

Vanessa took it, setting aside whatever reservations she usually had with Scarlett. Her tone did a complete one-eighty. "Mommy, I really miss you. Please come home."

Hearing her daughter's voice, Scarlett gripped the phone tighter, momentarily stunned.

Vanessa? Missing me?

The pleading in her daughter's voice didn't soften Scarlett. If anything, it made her uneasy.

She hated this feeling. So she said, flatly, "Vanessa, if there's nothing else, I'm going to hang up now. I'm feeling a little carsick."

And without waiting for a goodbye, she ended the call.

She tucked her phone away and turned to Nolan. "If you get tired of driving, I can take over."

Nolan glanced at her, a faint smile on his face. "Okay."

He wanted to ask about the divorce, but it felt too personal, so he kept quiet.

Back at Ravenshade Villa, Vanessa stood frozen, the dial tone buzzing in her ear.

She'd stopped crying. She just stood there, lost.

Staring at the blank screen of the phone, she suddenly huffed, "Hmph. Bad Mommy. If you don't want to come back, then don't ever come back."

She shoved the phone back at Vincent and stomped over to the couch, plopping down with her arms crossed.

But even in her anger, a small part of her still believed Scarlett would show up. She'd cried, after all. That always worked before.

So she'd wait. She'd sit right here and wait for her mom to come home.