bChapter /bb264 /b

    Five minutester, Maxine copsed onto the sofa,ughing and pleading repeatedly, “I was wrong! Vivian, I shouldn’t have said you were bout /bof shape. Your figure is actually amazing!”

    Vivian gave a satisfied huff as she straightened up. “That’s more like it,” she said.

    Maxine, still catching her breath, settled back onto the sofa and smoothed her tousled hair.

    Vivian sat down beside her and nudged her with her elbow. “Come on, what’s really going on in that head of iyours/i?”

    “Wait, what?” Maxine blinked in confusion.

    Vivian sighed. “You and your ex–husband, with two grown kids between you, I bet you’ll get all love–struck and just blindly follow him without thinking.b” /b

    Maxine squinted at her. She thought, ‘Just a few days in Hathnd and she’s already picked up the local ng, even learned terms like love–struckb./b‘

    Vivian cupped her face with mock seriousness. “If you were Lisa, I’d totally smack you!”

    Maxine finally had enough and grabbed Vivian’s arm. “Alright, cut it out.”

    Maxine thought, ‘Honestly, I still haven’t figured out how to get along with Sebastian. He does seem much better than before, but once bitten, twice shy, it’s almost impossible for me to ept him again without any reservations.

    After a long pause, she finally managed to say, “Let’s just…see how it goes.”

    Vivian shot her an exasperated look.

    The next morning, Brian came downstairs for breakfast before school, only to find Sebastian already seated at the dining table. Brian eyed him warily, moving slowly as he took his seat, clearly on guard.

    Normally, Sebastian would head straight to the office, but today, he broke his routine and stayed at home.

    Brian moved with exaggerated caution, terrified he might get caught out if he slipped up.

    Putting down his fork, Sebastian asked, “Did you visit your mom yesterday?”

    Brian nodded. “Yeah, there was ady there. She went upstairs right after I entered the room.”

    “Alright,” Sebastian responded.

    Brian looked at him nkly, clearly puzzled as to why his father’s questions ended there,

    “Finish up and get going to school. Don’t bete,” Sebastian said evenly.

    With that, Sebastian rose and left the house.

    Sebastian got into the car. He’d restrained himself from going bto /bsee Maxine for a long time, partly because he was afraid she’d stam the door in bhis /bfaceb, /band partly because he couldn’t gauge her friend’s attitude.

    After seeing what happened with Brian, Sebastian could tell that Vivian clearly wanted nothing to do with them, hence her retreat upstairs bthe /bbmoment /b

    Brian walked in.

    He felt that these thingsplicated matters for them.

    Sebastian sat with a slight frown, his right hand resting on the armrest while his fingers tapped lightly against bit/bb. /b

    bWith /bCharles taking the day offi, /iScott was behind the wheel. While waiting bat /ba red light, he nced in the rearview mirror band /bbsaw /bbSebastian /bbin /bbthe /bbback /b

    b1/2 /b

    07:47 Thu, 3 Jul 06

    b3 /b

    b80/bb% /b

    seat, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Scott couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. He thought, ‘That’s the CEO for you. Even on the way to work. he’spletely absorbed in high–stakes business matters.

    ‘Clearly handling million–dor deals every minute!

    ‘Just another day being totally impressed by Mr. Mason.‘

    Viviannded a consulting gig at a localpany, with her impressive resume, finding work here was effortless. Not that she needed the money, it was just a nominal position anyway, and she only showed up when actually needed.

    Her real purpose was to get a feel for the local market in Hathnd, though most of the time she just stayed home, keeping Maxinepany.

    The moment Maxine threw away her crutches, Vivian pped a hand over her mouth, her ivoice /itrembling with emotion. “Oh my God! Honey, you’re finally healed! I’ve been waiting for this moment forever!”