The Years Between Signing and Seeing novel Chapter 146

Suzie nodded distractedly, her voice hollow. “Mia, thank you for coming all this way. It means a lot. But my situation with him… it’s complicated. It’s not what you think, and it’s not what it looks like. It’s… a long story.”

She figured Jamie had only stepped in because she was his ex-wife. If news of her imprisonment reached his grandfather, the old man’s health would falter, and Jamie wouldn’t be able to bear his grandfather’s disappointment.

Mia looked at Suzie, only half-understanding. “Well, whatever it is, I’m just glad you’re okay,” she said, trying to comfort her. “I always knew you weren’t that kind of person. They were just being awful…”

Suzie’s gaze darkened, and she sighed. “That’s how things go sometimes. You end up on someone’s bad side without even knowing why. But let’s not talk about them. Mia, I probably can’t come back to the office for a while. When you get back, could you ask Mr. Young to pass a message to Oliver Cross for me? Just tell him I’m okay for now and that he shouldn’t worry. Tell him not to look for me, and don’t tell him where I am…”

She had no idea if Jamie would even let her leave. If she couldn’t, and Oliver found out Jamie was holding her here—especially since Oliver already suspected Jamie had hurt his parents—there was no telling what he might do.

“Of course, Suzie,” Mia replied, her eyes scanning the enormous, opulent bathroom with envy. “You know, looking at this place… I think you’d be better off staying here. I don’t really get what’s going on between you and Mr. Baylor, but…”

Her gaze drifted down to Suzie’s stomach. “If I were you, I’d stay. You’d be so well taken care of during your pregnancy, and you could finally get some rest. Working so hard every day is exhausting. And if you run into more people like Lexi and Chloe, I can’t even imagine…”

Suzie managed a bitter smile, looking at Mia’s still-youthful face. For a moment, she was at a loss for words, the bitterness too sharp to articulate.

His act of letting her go in front of everyone wasn’t an act of mercy at all.

“No, Jamie, it had nothing to do with me! It was all Lexi! She even confessed, and the police took her away based on her statement…” Chloe cried, rushing forward to grab his arm, her face ashen.

She tried to explain, her voice a desperate, pleading wail.

Jamie shot her a disgusted look and shook her hand off. “Even if I couldn’t find the evidence, the police would have,” he said in a low growl. “Not exposing you in public was the greatest mercy I could offer. Chloe, that debt I owed you… I think we’re about even now, don’t you?”