What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 176

"Up late?"

He spoke first, his voice slightly hoarse.

"I'm going to sleep right now," Kaia answered briefly, turning to push open the master bedroom door.

Finnian suddenly spoke up. "About what happened at the dinner table tonight... don't let it bother you."

"I also had Dexter handle the fake rumors spreading around the company."

Kaia stopped in her tracks, a cold laugh bubbling up inside her.

He really thought he was the master of crisis management, didn't he? And he always executed it perfectly.

Was this supposed to be comforting?

"Handle it?" Kaia hated how lightly he threw that word around. It reminded her of the past, how he would always brush off her feelings with a casual 'I'll handle it.'

"How exactly did you handle it, Mr. Sanders? Did you make the people praising Noelle's humility apologize, or did you force the people calling me an arrogant snob to shut their mouths?"

Finnian frowned slightly, catching the heavy sarcasm in her voice.

He took a step forward, his tone flat. "Sorry, but I obviously couldn't do either of those things. But... if something like this happens again, I hope you find a way to resolve it yourself first. If these rumors keep spreading, it's eventually going to affect Brynlee."

Kaia stared at him silently for a moment before letting out a soft laugh. "You'd make a great politician, Finnian, the way you smooth things over."

Finnian looked caught off guard, then felt a flash of heat in his cheeks. He looked down at the amber liquid in his glass and smiled faintly. "Maybe."

Seeing his complete lack of concern, Kaia's expression turned icy. "Just make sure Noelle learns how to behave, and tell her to stop coming around to cause trouble for me. If she tries another one of her reckless stunts, I won't play nice."

Finnian's breath visibly caught in his throat.

"But you're right about one thing. For Brynlee's sake, I'll tolerate it. Just know my patience has a limit." With that, Kaia walked into the master bedroom, her eyes quickly darting to the small figure fast asleep in the bed.

She still felt a lingering sense of unease. She had clashed with Elaine at dinner tonight to defend herself, but her little girl had inherited her fiery spirit—she wouldn't back down if she knew she was in the right.

Finnian felt a heavy tightness in his chest. He downed the rest of his drink in one gulp, turned, and headed back downstairs to pour another.

Spring was in full bloom, and everything was coming back to life.

Inside the general manager's office at Aethelstan, afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows, carrying the faint, sweet scent of cherry blossoms.

It was Noelle's favorite perfume.

The desk phone rang. Noelle reached out and answered. It was her assistant, Wendy Vance. "Ms. Lawrence, I just emailed you a Company Brief. I highly recommend you take a look."

Noelle had just finished a grueling video conference and was feeling a bit drained. She rubbed her temples as she clicked open the internal memo Wendy had sent.

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