The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 565

Talk?

Cutting straight to the chase without any preamble—Franco was intimately familiar with this tactic. It was the standard opening of a negotiator holding the upper hand.

He had always been the one dictating the terms on the negotiation table. Never once had he been on the receiving end...

"Alright," he replied, his gaze never leaving her face.

It was still early, but the main house was already eerily quiet. The staff, reading the room, had retreated to their quarters. Jackson was likely in his room as well.

Even General had been forcibly dragged away by Jay.

Finally, they were alone. Just the two of them.

He had a thousand questions for her, but didn't know where to start. They all fought desperately to reach the tip of his tongue.

But looking at her clear, lively eyes, her glowing skin, and the healthy fullness in her face, none of those questions mattered anymore.

Franco pushed a glass of warm water across the coffee table toward her.

"Drink some water."

"Thank you." Petty picked up the glass. The temperature was absolutely perfect.

But Franco hadn't moved an inch from the sofa when she came downstairs. He hadn't just poured this. The temperature was too perfect, which meant he had calculated exactly how long it would take her to come back down.

She knew he was a master strategist, but she hadn't realized his foresight extended this far.

Catching the flash of disbelief in her eyes, Franco offered a simple explanation: "He skipped his nap today. I knew he wouldn't make it past eight o'clock."

Ah, that made sense.

Petty took a sip. It proved just how hands-on Franco was with Abacus; he knew the boy's internal clock flawlessly.

On the flight back, she had scrolled through some old news articles. Franco had brought Abacus to the office with him nearly every single workday. A drone had accidentally flown past The White Group's skyscraper and captured a massive Peppa Pig sticker plastered against the floor-to-ceiling windows of the CEO's top-floor office.

And not just any Peppa Pig—a bright pink one.

Before all this, no one would have ever believed Franco White was capable of such a thing.

Franco caught the subtle shift in her expression. A wave of long-lost familiarity rippled through his chest, making his heart ache.

He lowered his gaze. "You're a good mother, too."

Petty knew she hadn't earned that title yet. "I'm going to try my best."

She had a long way to go, but she and Abacus had a lifetime ahead of them. She was determined to be a competent mother and give him all the love he deserved.

"I'm not going to take Abacus away from you. That wouldn't be fair to him, and it wouldn't be fair to you." Petty had thought about this relentlessly from a mother's perspective.

Whatever happened between her and Franco could not be allowed to impact their son.

So...

"I want to co-parent Abacus with you."

"You want to co-parent Abacus with me?"

Their voices overlapped perfectly in the quiet room.