"We''re supposed to be godparents, remember?"


    "Yeah, I call dibs on the baby girl."


    "Then I want the boy."


    "I want both! Don''t hog them all to yourself."


    Ailie pressed her fingers to her temples, feeling a headacheing on, while Yasmine tried to stifle herughter beside her.


    Victoria''s head was pounding, their bickering like a jackhammer in her ears. With a hoarse voice, she groaned, "Can someone please kick them all out? They''re driving me insane."


    She''d just given birth, for heaven''s sake-was a little peace and quiet too much to ask?


    "Enough-out. Go argue in the hallway," she finally managed to say.


    Her vision swam as exhaustion washed over her, and, letting her head fall to the side, Victoria drifted off to sleep.


    Starfall City


    Violet stared at McNeil, the man who hade to take her out of jail, and all her pent-up grievances flooded her eyes like a broken dam.


    "I knew you''de for me. I knew you wouldn''t leave me behind."


    She''d been used of grandrceny, facing at least two years in prison. McNeil


    had pulled every string he could to get her sentence reduced to just three months. Today, as she walked out, he was there to meet her in person.


    Violet wanted to throw herself into his arms, but one of McNeil''s bodyguards stepped in and blocked her.


    "McNeil!" she called, tears glistening in her eyes.


    "Violet, from now on, we''re even," he replied, his gaze cold and distant.


    Violet shook her head, refusing to believe he could be that heartless. "You said thatst time too, but you still showed up to save me."


    "I did," McNeil said tly. "Because you once saved me. So this is me repaying you, for thest time."


    After this, he was making the break permanent.


    "McNeil, do you really think we''re even? I won''t let you walk away. You promised


    me you''d take care of me for as long as I live."


    His voice was calm, almost


    detached. "You crossed a line.


    Taking care of you was my way of


    repaying a debt—not sacrificing my marriage. I offered you support helped where I could, but I never agreed to let you destroy my family."


    Only now did Violet grasp how serious this was. McNeil was desperate to draw a


    line because she''de between him and Victoria.


    "That''s not fair. You and I were together first, remember? Victoria came between us. If it weren''t for her "


    "There are no


    what ifs'' in this world,"


    McNeil interrupted. "I used to think I


    married her because I had


    to-because my grandfather insisted, because it was what the family needed. But no one can force a man to go mad over a woman he doesn''t love."


    His words cut deep, leaving Violet in despair.


    Was he saying he''d fallen for Victoria?


    "That''s not true," Violet pleaded. "You''re just infatuated. When you''ve had time to think, you''ll see—I''m the one who really understands you. I''m the one who can help you."


    Her words hit McNeil like a thunderp, but all he could think of was Victoria- how she''d stood by him, how together they''d built the Langford Group from the ground up.


    "She''s always been there for me. You haven''t. The Langford Group is something Victoria and I made together. You were never part of that."


    He''d never imagined that losing Victoria could hurt this much.


    Six years ago, back when he and Violet were inseparable, she''d stormed off to another country onc whim and disappeared for two. months. Back then, he''d simply missed a partner-in-crime, not someone he couldn''t live without.


    But now, Victoria hadn''t spoken to him in three months.


    Every day felt endless, and the only thing that kept him going were the asional photos of Victoria that a sympathetic housekeeper managed to sneak to him.


    Truth be told, he resented Violet. If she hadn''t suddenly run off to Evermore City to stir up trouble with Victoria, he could have been with Victoria through the pregnancy, could have stayed by her side until the baby was born.


    "McNeil, can''t you see reason? Victoria''s just a pretty face-she''s got nothing else going for her. You''ve been with her all these years, don''t tell me you haven''t noticed?"


    Violet''s voice was raw, a final desperate gamble.


    McNeil stared at her, a strange look in his eyes. "Vivian, is that you?"