"I already had Mr. Taylor look into it. The case checks out-nothing to worry


    about," Mr. Walker said. "Autumn, try not to think about anything else. Focus on your pregnancy. If you don''t need to go out, then don''t. Just stay home and take care of yourself."


    At this point, Mr. Walker wasn''t even thinking about any case—his only concern was the baby growing inside Autumn.


    "But Julie''s case..." Autumn started, unwilling to let it drop.


    "That''s enough, I know what I''m doing," Mr. Walker said with a smile. "I trust Mr. Taylor. Julie admitted it herself, the evidence is all there there''s nothing to overturn. Tell me, Autumn, are you so eager to reopen the case because you want to, or is this about that old ssmate of yours?"


    His words made Autumn falter, her confidence wavering. "I just want to be sure we''re not ming the wrong person, that''s all. Devin only has one daughter. Maybe he''s just struggling to ept the truth."


    "The police will be fair and impartial. There won''t be any mistakes, Autumn, so stop worrying," Mr. Walker insisted. "Get some rest. Tomorrow I''ll go with you for another check-up. That''ll make me feel better."


    "Okay." Autumn didn''t dare mention Julie''s case again. Instead, she brought up the idea of adopting her cousin''s grandson. "Weren''t you saying we should bring Mika to Riverdale? When should we do that? He''s such a handful, and the doctor said I need to be on bed rest... Maybe we should wait?"


    "Whatever you think is best," Mr. Walker replied with augh. "You need to take care of yourself. Little Mika is a ball of energy—if hees and keeps you up, I''ll just tell your cousin we''ll hold off for now."


    "Alright." Autumn let it drop.


    Honestly, she never liked her cousin''s grandkids much anyway. If they really moved to Riverdale, there''d be no end to the chaos.


    She knew exactly what her cousin was after-seeing that she and Mr. Walker were childless, they wanted to get something out of it.


    It wasn''t long before word of Autumn''s pregnancy reached Katelyn as well.


    Nelson quickly got someone to pass the news to Devin, even hinting that the baby Autumn was carrying might actually be Devin''s.


    The second Devin heard, he practically lost his mind with excitement. Having a kid at his age—especially with the mayor''s wife! It was the stuff of family legends.


    Over the moon, Devin called Autumn immediately, but she was so freaked out she wouldn''t even pick up.


    She hid at home, not daring to see him at all.


    Anastasia hadn''t heard from Monica in days. On her way to see Rowan, she dialed Monica''s number.


    "Monica, what happened after you left with Jason the other day? Did you two patch things up?"


    Anastasia was sure they had-probably holed up together somewhere, too busy with each other to text her back.


    "Nope," Monica replied. "I''m not about to get back with an ex."


    Anastasia was taken aback. “Really? Jason was clearly there for you that night. Wasn''t he trying to make up?"


    Monica thought back to that night. She''d left with Jason, they''d argued in the car, and then, somehow, their fight turned into something else.


    Not a fistfight-they ended up in bed together.


    In the heat of the moment, Jason had asked her to get back together. Monica had almost said yes, but then she remembered all the old issues—and she hesitated.


    belongs to s


    Nothing fundamental had changed between them. Even if they got back together


    now, they''d still end up butting heads and breaking up again.


    "Ana, he and I just aren''t a good


    match. Sleeping together is fine, but<fn8b30> ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? findnovel</fn8b30>


    I can''t deal with his emotional distance," Monica said bluntly.


    “When I need him, he''s never there.”


    s


    Monica knew she was clingy, and Jason''s job meant he could never give her the attention she wanted. They just weren''t cut out for each other.


    Anastasia was at a loss for words.


    "So what, you two are just... hooking up, no strings attached?" Anastasia asked, frowning. “You both just silently agreed to this?"


    Just fun, no responsibilities?


    Monica shrugged. "Yeah, why not? He''s great in bed, so I might as well enjoy it. No drama, no expectations."


    Anastasia snorted. “You


    heartbreaker. That might work for


    now, but you can''t keep living like


    that forever. Alright, I''ll stop


    lecturing. Figure it out yourself gotta park  s


    Monica asked, "You''re out right now?"


    "Yeah, I''m stopping by to see someone who helped me," Anastasia answered.


    She parked her car and, just like always, walked straight into the clinic.


    After what happened with Asher, Rowan hadid low for a while, but now that things had settled, he was back.


    As soon as Anastasia stepped into the backyard, she heard Hanna''s shrill voice: "Rowan, have you lost your mind? You actually broke someone out of jail!"