What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 229

Noelle realized she was sick, seriously sick. Lately, whenever she thought about how Brynlee was conceived, she felt a suffocating tightness in her chest.

"It's getting late. Let's head back," Finnian said, completely having lost the mood to attend the banquet.

"Okay!" Noelle offered a gentle smile, picking up her coffee cup and following him out.

Kaia and Warren returned to their hotel around nine o'clock. Jane was coaxing Brynlee into eating something.

"Mom! Grandpa! Why didn't you wake me up when you went out to play?" Brynlee pouted, throwing a little tantrum.

Kaia laughed softly. "You were fast asleep! We'll go out exploring tomorrow and buy you some presents."

Brynlee finally nodded happily. "Okay, we'll talk about it tomorrow then."

The next morning.

Finnian woke up very early. He swam laps in the pool for over half an hour before pulling himself out of the water, wrapping a towel around his shoulders, and heading back to his room.

He was completely unaware that in a second-floor bedroom, Noelle, still in her pajamas, was hiding behind the floor-to-ceiling windows, her eyes glued to his every movement as he swam back and forth in the pool.

When Noelle saw him leave, she turned and climbed back into bed. Staring up at the ceiling, the aching emptiness inside her seemed to grow even more intense.

Back in his room, Finnian stepped out of the shower and saw a new message on his phone.

It was the background check from Dexter.

Not even bothering to dry his hair properly, Finnian carelessly shook the water off, unlocked his phone, and tapped the file open.

The very first section was dedicated to Simon Quinn.

"Simon Quinn, twenty-nine, current Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Comes from a long line of politicians, diplomats, and academic experts. First met Kaia ten years ago, when she was seventeen. Reason for meeting: Eleanor Quinn suffered from a chronic neurological condition. After consulting numerous doctors with poor results, they eventually hired Kaia's grandmother, Lillian. That summer, a seventeen-year-old Kaia moved into the Quinn family's suburban estate with her grandmother, treating Eleanor Quinn for nearly a month."

Finnian's gaze darkened. Perhaps the details were too vivid, but his mind involuntarily conjured the image of that summer—a seventeen-year-old Kaia, carrying a medicine box, her face youthful and innocent, following her grandmother into the Quinn estate.

Hearing this, the hazy images in Finnian's mind sharpened.

Teenagers in the throes of their first awakening to romance—it was inevitable that a unique kind of tension would blossom between them.

"So, Simon Quinn is still unmarried... is it because of Kaia?" Finnian pulled himself from his thoughts, analyzing the situation with chilling rationality. "Run another check. I want to know about his recent social circles. I want to know if he has any unusually close female relationships."

Dexter stared at his brilliant, usually level-headed boss in shock. Was he trying to dig up dirt from Mrs. Sanders's past to force her into conceding on the divorce agreement?

It wasn't that Dexter was being overly cynical; it was just that Finnian and Kaia's marriage had always been as plain as water. The fiery passion and blazing intensity that normal couples shared had never existed between them. From the moment they got their marriage license to now, seven years later, they had treated each other like polite guests. Kaia wasn't exactly a weak, dependent woman either—she silently handled most of her problems on her own.

By comparison, Finnian had merely played the obligatory role of a husband.

"Understood. It's been a long time; it's entirely possible he's had girlfriends or even considered marriage," Dexter noted. As a subordinate, solving his boss's problems was his job.

"Destroy all of this data. Make sure no one finds out about it." Finnian felt an inexplicable wave of agitation.