The Officer's Runaway Wife & Secret Son novel Chapter 507

Early the next morning, Emily Lane initiated a group video call.

"Good morning!" Emily's face popped up in the top-left corner. "I'm the first one here to bring you all some holiday luck!"

She and Daniel had been busy visiting family and finally had a day off. They were still in bed, and Daniel's voice could be heard in the background telling her to get up for breakfast.

In the top-right corner, Simon Walker looked like he had a bird's nest for hair. He half-squinted, yawning widely. "What holiday luck? Why are you up so early? I was streaming until two in the morning..."

The bottom-right corner was a stark contrast to the bright morning light of the other three grids. Noah Carter sat wearing a turtleneck sweater, framed by the nighttime city lights of Zurich.

"Good morning to everyone back home."

Clara asked, "It's past midnight over there, isn't it? You're not sleeping yet?"

"Not tired yet," Noah said with a smile. "I saw how lively you all were this early, so I thought I'd join the fun."

Hearing Noah's voice, Felix completely abandoned Orange the cat, scrambling up and rushing to the camera. "Daddy Noah!"

Seeing the little boy, the smile in Noah's eyes deepened. "Felix, did you get a lot of holiday money?"

"So much!" Felix leaned close to the screen, his little mouth running a mile a minute as he reported his holiday haul.

By the dining cabinet, Rhys was crouching on the floor, feeding the cat.

Orange didn't even lift his head, but Rhys did.

Hearing that bright "Daddy Noah" and remembering what Clara had told him last time, he quickly managed his expression and walked over.

The incident where he investigated Noah's flight had been humiliating enough, and he had promised never to pull a stunt like that again.

Besides, Noah had bowed out gracefully and respectfully. If Rhys acted snarky now, he'd be nothing short of a massive jerk.

"Happy holidays," Rhys greeted him.

Noah gave a subtle nod. "Happy holidays. How's your health?"

"Improving," Rhys answered simply.

"That's good."

Rhys paused for a beat before forcing out, "Is it cold over there?"

Noah blinked, clearly not expecting Rhys to care.

"You get used to it. The Chinese takeout just isn't very authentic."

Felix immediately chimed in. "Then you have to come back soon! My dad's cooking is so good, and you haven't even tried it yet."

Noah chuckled but didn't take the bait.

Rhys ruffled Felix's hair. "I'm going to start prepping lunch."

Making an excuse, he turned and went back into the kitchen, deliberately leaving the space to the old friends.

Everything that needed to be said had been said, and no one was going to overstep.

Once she was certain Rhys couldn't hear them, Emily lowered her voice. "Hey, Clara, fess up."

"Fess up to what?"

"Did he propose to you again?" Emily's eyes sparkled with gossip. "I'm telling you, if you two remarry, I'm charging double for emotional distress."

Daniel calmly added, "Noah is right. From both a legal and practical standpoint, being an ex-wife is better than being a widow."

Emily whipped her head around to glare at Daniel, furious at how coldblooded he sounded.

It was the holidays, couldn't he phrase it better?

She cursed him out a few times in her head.

But when she was done, she couldn't refute it. Everyone understood Daniel's underlying meaning.

It wasn't that Rhys didn't want to.

The title of "widow" carried a completely different weight than "ex-wife."

An ex-wife was a closed chapter.

A widow was a lifelong sentence.

But he couldn't bring himself to let Clara go again. So he lived in self-deception, reasoning that when the worst finally happened, she would at least have a cleaner slate and an easier starting point to rebuild her life.

Rhys loved too bitterly, and too deeply.

Clara stared at the screen, a faint glisten of tears in her eyes that she quickly forced down.

"Want me to provoke him a little?" Noah offered half-jokingly. "If I call him up and say I've changed my mind and I'm moving back, he'd probably throw you over his shoulder and haul you to city hall by this afternoon."

Clara gave a wry smile. "If he tried that, I'd probably be the one hauling him to the hospital."

A few chuckles broke out, but they didn't last long.