What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 209

Finnian stood frozen in the doorway, staring at the velvet box for a long time. Finally, he bent down and snatched it off the floor, his eyes turning dangerously dark.

What was Kaia playing at?

She accepted it in front of their daughter just to coldly toss it outside his door the next morning?

Finnian felt a sudden, irrational spike of rage burning in his chest. Clenching the box in his fist, he marched over to the master bedroom, raising his hand to knock. But just as his knuckles were about to hit the wood, he stopped, terrified of waking Brynlee. He let his arm drop.

Ever since she brought up the divorce, Kaia had become colder and more unpredictable by the day. Was she really going to go through with this?

As Finnian stood there seething, the door suddenly clicked open. Kaia stood in the doorway, fully dressed in her workout clothes.

They locked eyes—one visibly uncomfortable, the other absolutely furious.

"Can I help you?" Kaia asked, keeping her voice low.

Finnian glanced past her at Brynlee, who was still sound asleep in the bed, and took a step back to give Kaia room to walk out.

Kaia began stretching her arms as she headed for the stairs.

Finnian caught up to her in three long strides. "Kaia, we need to talk."

Kaia paused at the top of the stairs. She turned to look at him. "Talk about what?"

Finnian was completely thrown by how calm and unfazed she was. Did she seriously have no emotions left for him at all?

"Talk about..." Finnian's handsome face darkened. "If I did something wrong, you can just tell me."

"We have nothing to talk about," Kaia said flatly. "And you don't need to try and buy me off with gifts anymore."

With that, she turned her back on him and continued down the stairs.

Finnian stood at the top of the landing, staring at her retreating figure. His jaw clenched so tight it ached. He suddenly didn't feel like talking anymore either.

Wednesday, 3:00 PM. Westwood Medical University.

A massive lecture hall built for three hundred people was quickly filling up with eager medical students and industry experts.

By the time the bell rang, there wasn't a single empty seat left.

This wasn't Kaia's first time being invited back to her alma mater as a guest lecturer. She walked through the side door with total, effortless confidence.

In the dead center of the first row, Miles and Silas sat together, though it was unclear if they had planned it. Miles had a pen in hand, occasionally jotting down notes. Silas, on the other hand, sat with his arms crossed, staring intently at Kaia with a totally unreadable expression.

Both men were exceptionally handsome and powerful, drawing more than a few stares from the female students around them, leaving several girls blushing furiously.

Compared to their intense focus, Simon looked entirely relaxed in his corner seat.

Resting on the desk in front of him wasn't the standard dozen roses or lilies—it was a stunning arrangement of white peonies and baby's breath.

At 5:30 PM, the two-and-a-half-hour lecture was finally wrapping up. Kaia stood center stage, her silhouette perfectly framed by the massive projector screen behind her.

She delivered her closing remarks. "Holistic healing and modern medicine stem from entirely different cultural backgrounds and use completely different frameworks. But they can communicate. They can be layered together to give us a much more comprehensive understanding of human health."

"The future of medicine isn't about choosing one or the other. It's about a fully integrated, patient-centered approach."

The moment Kaia finished speaking, the room erupted into thunderous applause.

It was deafening and relentless.

Kaia tried to add one last thought, but her voice was completely drowned out by the standing ovation.