Chapter 44 Master
The tension cracked the moment Richard came storming out after
Reba.
He spotted Alistair and immediately scoffed, his lips curling into a sneer, "Well, what do we have here?"
No one answered.
Reba''s eyes were already red, but the second she saw Alistair, her expression wavered, and they brimmed with deeper hurt.
She looked devastated.
When their eyes briefly met and Alistair turned away without a word, she looked even more heartbroken.
Richard hated being ignored-by anyone. Whether it was Reba or Alistair, it bruised his ego all the same.
"Alistair, let''s be clear here. You''re divorced. You''ve got no reason to be here, so stop hanging around like a stray dog."
Alistair nced at him-once,zily, with the kind of contempt
that said more than any insult could. His eyes all but spelled out the word- pathetic.
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Richard reached for Reba''s wrist. "Don''t bother with him. Let''s go."
She yanked her hand back with a re he didn''t recognize. "Get away from me." Alistair, who''d already turned to leave, paused mid-step.
Wait. What?
Weren''t they supposed to be the kind of couple who couldn''t keep their hands off each other, the type who fed each other dessert in public and called it romance?
If they argued at all, it should be over Richard ncing too long at a waitress- Reba would lose it, use him of betrayal, and then make him beg for forgiveness.
But this? This looked like a breakup. Like she wanted him gone for good.
Did I get this all wrong?
Then again, it didn''t concern him.
"Let''s go, Alban," he said quietly.
"Yes, sir. This way."
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20 min left.
Alistair didn''t miss the sharp shift in atmosphere behind him. He
smiled.
Alban had done that on purpose.
That one word-sir-had effectively shut down the argument
behind them.
Richard blinked. "Wait-sir?"
Reba said nothing. Her lips were pressed tight, her eyes locked on Alistair''s retreating back. His figure was tall and elegant, his stride steady, his whole presence... unfamiliar in the worst way.
How did I never see it before?
The words Cordelia had whispered to her came rushing back.
"No parent wants to see their child suffer. Reba, if you evere to your senses-if you want to reconcile with Alistair-we won''t stand in your way. He''s proven himself. He passed every test your father and I could throw at him. Compared to the people we''ve met in our lifetime, Alistair stands out. If you''re with him, we''ll finally be able to stop worrying."
As Alistair disappeared from view, something hollow cracked open inside her. Like someone had scooped out her chest and left
Chapter 44 Master
it echoing.
Richard snorted, "What now? Still hung up on your ex? You
always had a thing for him, didn''t you?"
Reba didn''t answer. Hershes fluttered down like a curtain falling on a scene she didn''t want to watch.
He stepped closer, tone sharp. "I''ll ask onest time-are we getting married today or not?"
She lifted her chin slowly and met his gaze head-on. "No, we''re
not."
Maybe it was true what they said-people only wanted what they
couldn''t have.
Because whatever love she once felt for Richard was gone, buried beneath disappointment and something sourer.
She looked at the face she once adored, and all she could feel now was disgust.
"Fine," Richard snapped, yanking open the car door. "You''d better note crying back to me when you regret this."
As he turned to get in, his eyes caught the sleek ck Bentley parked next to him. Chapter 44 Master
If he wasn''t mistaken, It was Alistair''s.
And hadn''t Alistair been chauffeured around in a Maybach the other day
outside Daniel''s school?
Custom suits. High-end rides. And now-being called sir?
Wait. Is Alistair some kind of secret heir?
No. That didn''t track. Back in school, he was dirt poor. If he''d been old money,
why grovel for years just to scrape together two million
dors?
Unless...
Richard''s mind raced.
What if he was a lost son of some rich family, only found after the
divorce?
The jealousy twisted in his gut.
Why does he get so lucky?
But then came a new theory.
One thatforted him just enough to smirk again.
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19 min Jett
No. No, I get it now. Alistair''s being kept. He''s got a sugar mama. One of those
rich, wrinkled, perfume-drenched women who giggle like hyenas. That''s it. That''s the only exnation.
"Your ex really hit the jackpot," he muttered, dripping sarcasm.
"Guess that pretty face finally paid off."
Reba opened her mouth.
He cut her off, smirking. "Changed your mind? Too bad. I''m not in the mood anymore. We''ll talk about the whole getting registered thing some other day."
He turned to leave. But then-
"That''s my car." She didn''t raise her voice, didn''t scream, and just
stated it, calm and sharp.
Richard froze.
He let out a bitterugh, mmed the door shut, and tossed the keys at her feet.
Then he walked away.
Reba crouched to pick them up.
This time, she knew-he was actually mad.
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**) 19 min left
Richard, with all his arrogance, probably wouldn''te back.
And somehow, she didn''t care.
Not even a little.
Once they were out of sight, Alban dropped the formal tone
entirely.
"So... you knew them?"
Alistair gave a small nod. "My ex-wife and..."
He wasn''t even sure if that was true. Technically, Reba and Richard should''ve
been married by now. That had been her dream -marry Richard and live happily ever after.
So he finished his sentence. "And her... husband. Probably."
Alban, who had seen far worse, simply nodded.
The paperwork went through without a hitch.
Outside, Alban rushed ahead and pulled open the car door for
him.
Alistair thanked him with a small nod and ducked inside.
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(*) 19 min loft
What he didn''t see couldn''t see-was the woman sitting motionless in the driver''s
seat of a nearby car.
Reba watched as the Bentley pulled away, taillights ring
briefly before vanishing around the corner. Her world had stopped.
How did he go from being the man who bent over backward for me, to the one
other people call sir?
She refused to believe Richard''s theory about a sugar mama. That
was just... filthy.
Alistair wasn''t some nobody paying off his father''s debt. He wasn''t a servant. He
should be an heir, a real one. That was the only thing that made sense. But
then...
Why would someone like that waste six years waiting on me? Cooking, cleaning, raising my son like his own? Taking care of me like I was his whole world?
Her breath caught.
Because he loved me.
Because Alistair had loved her enough to ept her terms. To endure her indifference. To care for her and Daniel with quiet, loyal devotion. He must''ve waited every day for her to turn around and
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Chapter 44 Master
finally see him. And she hadn''t.
Her body broke into a cold sweat.
No. I was wrong. That woman at the school-she wasn''t his girlfriend. She was an
actress. Someone he hired to make me jealous. That has to be it!
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