The CEO's Hidden Love: Midnight Temptations and Deep Desires novel Chapter 1009

Karen rolled her eyes. "Dorothy, you have no clue what's happening! Jeffrey has been acting like he's possessed at home, constantly going on about 'my daughter this, my daughter that.' I feel like he doesn't even care about me anymore."

"That's on you, Jeffrey," Dorothy said, trying to be fair. She knew that women could be quite sensitive and in need of extra affection right after giving birth.

Jeffrey frowned in frustration. "That's unfair! At home, Karen is treated like royalty! Whatever she wants, I get for her, be it food, drinks, clothes, you name it. How can she say I don't care about her?"

"Is it just food and drinks I need?"

"…"

"Before we had the baby, Jeffrey would spend all day in the bedroom with me, watching movies, even giving me advice on work stuff! Now, he spends twenty out of twenty-four hours in the nursery, almost never coming back to our bedroom at night!"

Karen's words were punctuated by tears starting to well up in her eyes.

Dorothy understood this was likely postpartum depression. Even though it's something many try to avoid, the hormonal imbalances after childbirth could still lead to discomfort.

Seeing Karen cry, Jeffrey immediately surrendered. No, he had actually surrendered earlier.

"Please don't cry! Dorothy, help me comfort her. From now on, I'll stay with you in our bedroom, okay? I won't go see our daughter anymore, I promise!"

Jeffrey's panicked reaction reassured Dorothy. At least her friend was being cherished and cared for. She had helped Jeffrey in the past, and it seemed her efforts weren't misplaced. If she had been wrong, Dorothy would have felt incredibly guilty.

...

It was a rare occasion that the four of them were together. Jeffrey and Karen, now with a daughter, were even busier than Everett.

Dorothy felt Heather's change of heart might be related to their meeting earlier. But...

Her sentence seemed a done deal, so why change her statement now?

"Will this affect us much?"

"Not really, it might just delay the appeal court date and… we'll need to review the other defendant's case as well," Ephraim cautiously added, "We can't tell if this is good or bad yet. Heather's change might actually help fulfill your wish for both defendants to face the death penalty."

Previously, Amanda had managed to escape punishment thanks to Heather taking all the blame. If Heather's change in statement affected this, the appeal's outcome was uncertain.

"I'll accept whatever the court decides," Dorothy said, suddenly noticing someone nearby. Looking up, she saw Everett. He had followed her outside.