What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 46

These seemingly complimentary gestures from Noelle felt like a silent boast, reminding Kaia that she had been a core part of their little family outing.

Standing in the living room with her daughter in her arms, Kaia looked right at Finnian. "Next time you decide to pick her up early, discuss it with me first."

"Okay," Finnian nodded.

"Brynlee, you're all sweaty. How about Mom gives you a bath?" Kaia didn't want to take any chances. Amusement parks were crawling with kids, and picking up a virus would be disastrous.

"Okay!" Brynlee nodded obediently, always clinging closest to her mom.

While Kaia bathed her, Brynlee chattered non-stop, recounting every fun detail of the day. She babbled about how next time she wanted to go with both Mom and Dad, and how some lady had mistaken Aunt Noelle for her mom.

Hearing this, Kaia felt a suffocating weight settle in her chest. She promised her daughter that she would personally take her next time.

After the bath, Kaia led her daughter downstairs. Finnian suddenly spoke up. "I'm taking Brynlee upstairs to work on her new lessons. Noelle has something to talk to you about."

Kaia looked at Noelle.

Noelle met her gaze naturally, wearing her usual gentle, approachable smile.

"Kaia, I'm sorry to bother you, but I came to ask for your advice on some work matters," Noelle said, smoothly transitioning into shop talk as she always did.

Kaia took a sip from her teacup, her demeanor noticeably colder. "What is it?"

Noelle quickly pulled several bound documents from her handbag. "Aethelstan has been evaluating an early-stage project for an AI-assisted herbal remedy formula. A few of the core algorithmic models cite the dialectical paper you published two years ago. The part about data quantification is, as you know, your absolute academic specialty. We've hit a bottleneck, and I was wondering if you could take a look and see if there's room for optimization."

Noelle's tone was polite, carrying the humble air of someone seeking guidance, which made it hard to refuse outright.

But Kaia didn't reach for the files. She simply replied in an even tone, "Thank you for the vote of confidence, Ms. Lawrence. However, I'm currently handing over my work to Gordon and will soon be taking up my post at Veridian Future. In terms of non-compete agreements and professional ethics, it's no longer appropriate for me to get involved in Aethelstan's projects. I hope you understand."

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