Chapter 145

“When are you divorcing her, Dan?” Monica blurted, barely able to contain her excitement.
For a while, she’d thought any chance with Daniel was long gone until he suddenly agreed to their engagement. Now, she was giddy with anticipation, eager to seal the deal as quickly as possible.
Daniel’s expression was unreadable, but Monica’s relentless badgering grated on his nerves. In his mind, the image of Payne calling Aurora “Mommy” kept replaying, along with the way Aurora’s eyes filled with tears of joy. Even now, that memory refused to fade.
Yes, their marriage had started as a business arrangement, and somehow, along the way, they’d become a real couple. The child-Payne-was from before, but that didn’t make it sting any less.
She loved that child.
Maybe she still loved Louis, too.
After all, she’d only agreed to marry Daniel because the Quinn family had forced her hand.
The pain of it all pressed down on him.
“By the way, have you heard?” Monica’s voice took on a mocking lilt. “Louis’s son has leukemia. Word is, the poor kid doesn’t have long.”
She sounded positively gleeful as she continued, “And speaking of Louis, no one seems to know who the kid’s mother is. But let’s be honest, she couldn’t have been much of a woman. Otherwise, the Winters family wouldn’t have taken in the child and swept the mother under the rug.”
“Probably just some floozy who spent a night with Louis and tried to use a pregnancy to pressure him. Serves her right if the Winters kicked her to the curb but kept the kid.”
She tossed her hair with a sneer. “She got what she deserved.”
The next moment, a bowl of soup came crashing down over Monica’s head.
She shrieked, leaping to her feet, and when she saw who stood before her, she nearly exploded.
Aurora set the empty bowl on the table, her face icy. “Apologize.”
Monica had spent hours on her appearance that morning, and now Aurora had ruined everything. She was livid. “Aurora, are you insane?”
Aurora’s eyes glimmered with cold fury. “I said, apologize.”
With a furious hiss, Monica raised her hand to slap Aurora—but someone caught her wrist midair.
A tall man stood beside Aurora, his gaze forbidding.
Louis.
Only then did Monica realize Louis had heard everything she’d just said. She faltered for a split second, but quickly shrugged it off. So what? It wasn’t any of Aurora’s business.
She glanced at Daniel. Aurora had Louis on her side-she had Daniel. Get full chapters from.net
Daniel rose from his seat with deliberate calm. But as his eyes rested on Aurora, something inside him twisted uncomfortably. He pulled out a napkin and, with gentle patience, wiped the soup from Monica’s face. Every motion was unhurried, almost tender.
Monica’s outrage melted into wounded vulnerability. “Dan
Daniel slipped an arm around her shoulders and turned, his gaze cool as it met Aurora’s. “Ms. Quinn, Monica only stated the facts. You’re the one who poured soup on her head. If anyone owes an apology, it’s you.”
Monica’s heart soared. Dan was defending her.
Aurora had always known Daniel would take Monica’s side. But now that he’d actually done it, she felt as if she couldn’t breathe.
“Ms. Quinn,” Daniel continued, his tone clipped and measured, “please apologize to my fiancée.”
Monica’s heart fluttered-Dan had called her his fiancée. Suddenly, the ruined outfit hardly seemed to matter.
Aurora pinched her palm, forcing herself to master the surge of emotion.
“She was the one who was out of line first.”
Daniel’s lips curled into a cold, mirthless smile. “Which part of what Monica said was wrong?”
Aurora looked Daniel square in the eye. “I am Payne’s mother. And my son will live a long and healthy life.”
It was her greatest wish.
“What?” Monica gasped, stunned.
Payne was Aurora and Louis’s child.
A wild delight sparked inside Monica.
No wonder Daniel had suddenly agreed to their engagement…