The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 566

Petty quietly curled her fingers into fists.

He truly was a master negotiator. He had seen right through her intentions instantly.

He was remarkably calm. It was a very 'Franco' reaction.

What she missed, however, was the imperceptible twitch of his brow and the faint, almost invisible upward curve of his lips the moment their words aligned.

"Yes," she nodded, continuing smoothly. "Abacus is deeply attached to you. After you've spent all this time raising him, it would be cruel of me to just take him away. So, I figured this was the best solution for everyone. And since you're still serving your probation and are legally restricted to this jurisdiction, I won't be leaving Cabinda."

Franco barely registered the first half of her speech. He already knew the outcome, and he had pretty much mapped out her reasoning before she even spoke.

It was that last sentence that caught his full attention.

He stared at her, his gaze darkening. "You know about my probation restrictions?"

Petty hadn't expected him to fixate on something so trivial. "I went abroad for medical treatment, not to live under a rock. I still have internet access."

"The Wi-Fi overseas must be fantastic."

His tone was suddenly sharp and weird. Petty frowned. "Hans can afford to pay for good internet."

Bringing up Hans so casually felt like a deliberate twist of the knife.

Whether she meant to provoke him or not, Franco swallowed the surge of irritation, but the bitter jealousy burned the back of his throat.

His Adam's apple bobbed, his voice suddenly thick with an unreadable emotion. "Didn't you say you wanted to talk? Go on. What else are you thinking?"

She picked up her glass and took another sip. The heating was on full blast, and her heavy Santa suit was starting to swelter.

Setting the glass down, she continued, "I have absolutely no intention of ever getting married. But if you decide to take a wife in the future, I want full physical custody of Abacus. I know this hasn't happened yet, but I think it's better to put all our cards on the table now so everyone knows where they stand."

Franco's expression remained perfectly impassive, though he slowly clenched his jaw.

"Right," she stood up. It was way too hot; she needed to get out of this suit immediately. "I'd like to sleep with Abacus tonight. Is it alright if I stay here for the next couple of days? I'm worried that if I just pull him out of Misty Vale right away, it'll be too jarring for him."

Besides, even though she had hired a crew to clean her place at Belvedere Heights, it had been empty for a long time. It wasn't a great idea to move a toddler straight in.

Franco listened to her rapid-fire, ruthlessly polite demands. Clean, decisive, with zero lingering attachments.

It was as if to her, he was now strictly nothing more than her son's father. When she said she wanted to talk, she meant *strictly* business.

She was back where he could see her. Shouldn't that be enough?

Somehow... it wasn't.

It wasn't even close to being enough.

"If it's fine with you, it's fine with me," he replied.