Chapter 279
When Lucy arrived home, someone was already waiting at the door to pick up Phil.
She pushed the front door open to find Seven eagerly waiting up for her. The moment he spotted the toy in her hands, his eyes lit up. “Wow, Mom! I don’t have this one! I love it!”
Lucy handed over the toy, her voice softening. “Mom is going to take a shower first. Once I’m done, I’ll come tuck you in.”
She casually tossed her phone onto a side table and headed upstairs.
A few minutes later, the phone on the table began to buzz, the screen flashing with an unknown number.
Seven paused his fierce unboxing and scrambled over to the table. Mimicking the adults, he swiped his little finger across the screen. “Hello, who is this?” his sweet, childish voice chimed.
On the other end of the line, Kingsley heard that soft, adorable voice, and his lips curled into an involuntary smile. “Why don’t you guess?” he teased gently.
Seven clutched the phone as he sat cross-legged on the rug, his logic surprisingly sharp for his age. “I know it’s you! But you have to promise not to be mean to Uncle Holt again. Otherwise, we can’t be friends.”
He paused for a second before adding crisply, “People who are too mean don’t have any friends, you know.”
A deep chuckle tumbled from Kingsley’s chest as he surrendered. “Alright, I will listen to Seven. Does that mean we’re friends now?”
Seven tilted his little head, mulling it over, before giving a firm, “Yeah!”
“Where is your mom?” Kingsley asked.
“Mom’s taking a shower,” Seven said, standing up with the phone in his hands. Kingsley hummed in acknowledgment, his tone softening even further. “It’s getting late. Hang up and get some sleep. I will pick you up after class tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Seven agreed obediently. He swiped his tiny finger across the screen and ended the call.
Before Lucy had even made it downstairs, Seven had somehow crawled onto the couch and fallen fast asleep.
The nanny gently scooped him up and carried him into the master bedroom, carefully tucking him into bed.
Lucy was in the middle of her skincare routine when she heard the rustling. “He fell asleep that fast?” she asked casually.
“Yes, he didn’t nap for long this afternoon. He must have been exhausted,” the nanny replied, then added something else.
“Your phone rang while you were in the shower. Seven answered it, and it sounded like Mr. Sherwood.”
Lucy froze mid-motion, her fingers still resting against her skin. “Alright, I got it,” she replied flatly.
It suddenly hit her that she had left her phone downstairs on the coffee table.
A few minutes later, she went downstairs and picked up her
device Sure enough there was a record of an answered call, followed by an unread text: [Can I pick up Seven after his class tomorrow?]
Lucy glanced at the screen with absolutely no intention of replying. Even if she said no, Kingsley would just find a way to do it anyway. Texting back was entirely pointless.
She closed out of her messages, silently resigning herself to the fact that blocking his number wouldn’t work. He would always just buy a new phone and call again.
Meanwhile, Kingsley had just
finished applying ointment to his
bruised face. He picked up his
phone, saw there was no reply, and
casually tossed it aside before
opening his laptop to review the files
Shane had sent over.
He had barely typed two lines when his phone began to vibrate. It was a call from Shane. He tapped the speaker button.
“Mr. Sherwood, Ms. Talmadge has been quietly asking around for Mr. Winston Sherwood’s itinerary.”
Kingsley didn’t stop typing, his tone arctic. “Ignore it. They’re divorced. Winston won’t tolerate her behavior like he used to.”
He knew his father far too well. If the
man hadn’t been incredibly
principled and resistant to nepotism, he would never have reached his current position. There was absolutely zero chance he would agree to any of Ms. Talmadge’s outrageous demands.
“Understood,” Shane replied, adding a final piece of news.
“Ever since they got back from Switzerland, Alistair Neville has been right by her
side.”