Cecilia stared at the texts for a while and did not reply.

She opened a delivery app. She ordered a box of extra-large condoms and put Lyon’s name as the recipient.

After placing an order, she set her phone face down on the bedside table, turned off the light, and went to sleep.

The next morning, Isabella woke up very early. She sat on the edge of the bed as she hugged her little bunny doll. Her curls were messy.

Cecilia had just picked out a dress for her when the bedroom door opened.

Lyon walked in. He smelled faintly of tobacco and an unfamiliar perfume.

“Papa!” Isabella’s eyes lit up, and she jumped into his arms.

Lyon lifted her easily. He touched his forehead to hers and smiled. “Today is my little princess’s dentist appointment! Are you scared?”

“I’m not scared!” Isabella said in her babyish voice.

Cecilia stood quietly to the side and watched them.

No matter how terrible he was, Lyon had always acted like a decent father in front of Isabella.

He remembered her dental appointments, what she liked to eat, and which stuffed animal she needed when she was afraid of thunder.

But being a good father could not make up for being a completely terrible husband.

“I’ll take you there.”

By the time the car was about to reach the private children’s clinic, Isabella was asleep in the back seat.

While waiting at a red light, Lyon turned slightly to look at Cecilia and gave her a faint smile. “Last night, I thought you’d storm into the hotel with people. Instead, I only got a box of condoms. Cecilia, this isn’t like you.”

Cecilia looked out the window and did not turn her head to him.

“You wanted me to stop making a scene, didn’t you?” she said calmly. “Well, now you got your wish.”

Lyon seemed momentarily caught off guard. After two seconds, he scoffed. “Don’t pretend to be so calm. I know exactly what kind of temper you have.”

Cecilia said nothing.

She took a stack of forms that needed a parent’s signature and handed them to him. “Dental records and summer camp registration. Sign here.”

The stack of papers also included the divorce agreement.

Lyon did not even look at them. He pulled out a pen and signed them while leaning on the steering wheel.

He sighed and said casually, “From now on, handle these little things yourself. You don’t have to wait for me.”

Cecilia took back the signed documents and pressed down on the page with the divorce agreement in the middle. Her fingers clenched for a moment.

At the clinic entrance, a nurse led a few children through some games before their checkups.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out on the other side of the lobby. A young woman held a child and argued at the front desk. She said her insurance had not been approved, so she could not proceed with treatment.

Lyon, who was holding Isabella, paused slightly as he noticed the scene.

Cecilia recognized the woman immediately.

She had been one of Lyon’s brief flings.

Cecilia said calmly, “Aren’t you going to step in and help? Aren’t you the best at playing the savior?”

Lyon looked away and adjusted Isabella in his arms. “I don’t have time to deal with other people today.”

After the checkup, Cecilia took Isabella to the children’s bookstore next door to choose picture books.

She crouched by a shelf and picked out a bedtime story when her phone buzzed.

Lyon had sent her a text. [Need to take care of something. I’ll make it up to Isabella later.]

Almost at the same time, photos appeared on social media.

In them, he stood outside the hospital holding the car door open for the woman. He leaned down and spoke to her. He looked patient and almost gentle.

Cecilia looked at the photos and felt too exhausted to be angry.

Isabella tugged on her sleeve and pointed at a pirate picture book. “Mamma, I want this one.”

Cecilia looked down and forced out a smile. “Okay, we’ll get this one.”

When they left the store, Cecilia fastened Isabella’s seatbelt and asked softly, “Isabella, if one day your papa and I don’t live together anymore, would you want to come live with me?”

“I want to,” Isabella said without hesitation. “Wherever you go, I’ll go too.”

Then, she added, “Papa’s always busy. Just having you with me is enough.”

Her words were simple and direct, and that made it hit the hardest.

Cecilia stroked her head. After she dropped Isabella back at the estate, her phone rang.

It was her assistant.

“Donna Melville, the Don sent someone to take a diamond necklace set from your jewelry vault.”

The assistant said in a low voice, “He said he only needs it for two days. It has already been sent to Gianna.”

Cecilia’s face darkened.

That set of jewelry had been her grandmother’s gift to her for her coming-of-age ceremony. She never lent it to anyone, even for media photoshoots.

Lyon knew exactly which set to choose. Of course, he picked the one she cared about the most.

She paused for a moment. Then, she told her assistant to do two things.

The first was to pull up the insurance appraisal and private rental price for the set.

The second was to send the invoice to Lyon.

If he wanted to show off her things to his mistress, he would pay the highest rental fee.

Less than ten minutes after the invoice went out, Cecilia received a bank notification.

Lyon had transferred the money. The amount far exceeded the normal rental fee. There was also a note. [Enough?]

Cecilia did not reply.

In the days that followed, Lyon remained in the public eye.

He appeared at casinos, on yachts, at film premieres, and at night banquets at the harbor. Photos of him and Gianna Moretti were everywhere.

The gossip pages made the story explosive, as if the Melville family was about to replace its current Donna.

Cecilia stopped following the news.

She focused her energy on her consulting firm. She checked the inventory of her collection, organized the restoration team, and completed the final preparations for the upcoming charity preview.

She had believed that once she stepped back, many things would cease being her concern.

Everything changed on Isabella’s birthday.

The estate was filled with guests. They were all familiar faces whom Margaret had invited.

Cecilia personally inspected the dessert table and the children’s area. When she came out of the kitchen, she noticed a circle of people in the main hall.

Isabella stood in the middle. Her eyes filled with tears. She looked clearly frightened.

Gianna crouched in front of her. She was holding a limited-edition motorized teddy bear almost as tall as Isabella. A beautifully wrapped amusement park tickets lay next to her.

“Isabella, this is a gift I prepared specially for you.”

Gianna smiled sweetly. “Next time, I’ll take you there myself. Okay?”

Isabella instinctively took a step back and whispered, “I don’t want it.”

“Why don’t you want it?” Gianna stayed in front of her, as if she had to keep the cheerful show going. “I really like children.”

Cecilia walked forward and pulled Isabella behind her. Her eyes were cold and sharp.

“Stay away from her!”

The smile on Gianna’s face froze. She looked at Lyon nearby with a wounded face. “I just wanted to give her a gift…”

Lyon walked over and frowned. “Cecilia, it’s Isabella’s birthday. Do you have to make a scene here as well?”

Cecilia looked at him. Her voice was quiet but firm, and everyone around instantly went silent.

“You used my jewelry to make her happy, and now you bring her here to my daughter’s birthday party to act like a caring mother! Do you really think that just because I’ve been quiet these past few days, I don’t matter anymore?”

Lyon’s face darkened immediately.

He hated it when she refused to show him respect in front of others.

“Gianna is my guest today,” he said coldly. “The gift is for Isabella. It’s not for you to judge. Stop causing trouble.”

“Gift?” Cecilia almost laughed. “She cornered my daughter. She knew Isabella was shy around strangers and still forced her way forward. You call that giving a gift?”

Isabella held onto Cecilia’s dress tightly. Her face was pale.

Margaret sat at the head of the table. Her expression was grim.

Gianna realized things had gone wrong, and her eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know she would reject me like this. I only wanted to help Don Melville a little—”

“Do you even deserve to?” Cecilia coldly cut her off.

The room went completely tense.

Lyon stepped forward and stood in front of Gianna. His voice was low. “Enough! Don’t make this any worse.”

His willingness to side with Gianna hurt more than any explanation could.

Cecilia did not argue. She picked up Isabella and turned away from the crowd.

At that moment, she realized that the last bit of hope she had for this man was fading, little by little.

Isabella came down with a slight fever that night.

Cecilia stayed with her past midnight. When Isabella’s temperature finally dropped, Cecilia returned to the study and continued sorting through her assets and documents.

She needed to get everything in order before she left.

When she reached the family trust under Isabella’s name, she suddenly stopped.

The numbers did not match.

The old Don had personally set up an education trust in her name. The terms clearly stated that no one could access the funds in advance. Yet within just a few days, most of the money had been withdrawn. The approval signature was Lyon’s. The funds had been transferred into a newly established film production company.

Cecilia stared at the transaction records. A chill spread down her spine.

She did not need to investigate to know who the company was meant for.

She did not go to the family building, and she did not go to the harbor to find him. She drove straight to the pre-marital apartment in Mahattan’s Upper East Side.

It was her property. It was the place Lyon used to visit most often when he was chasing after her.

She had always believed that, at the very least, this place would remain untouched.

The moment the fingerprint lock opened, an unfamiliar fragrance rushed toward her. She understood that she had been wrong.

There was an unfinished bottle of champagne on the coffee table in the living room. A woman’s shawl lay on the couch. Low, hushed laughter came from the bedroom.

When she walked in, Gianna stood by the window. She wore one of Cecilia’s silk robes while holding a glass of wine.

That robe had been custom-made for Cecilia in Nilam. There was only one like it in the world.

Lyon stood nearby. He had just finished fastening his cufflinks. He did not look the least bit embarrassed at having been caught.

“How did you find this place?” he asked as he looked at her. His tone was calm and almost indifferent.

Cecilia did not answer. She threw the trust transaction records onto the table.

“Did you touch Isabella’s money?”

Gianna’s eyes turned teary, and she said, “I’m sorry. This is all my fault. That film project was originally meant for me, but the contract suddenly required a large guaranteed investment. Don Melville only wanted to help me! I didn’t expect it to make you this angry.”

Cecilia looked at her. Her gaze was cold as ice.

“Help you?” She turned to Lyon. “You used your daughter’s money to buy your mistress a role?”

Lyon frowned, as if her words were unpleasant to his ears.

“It is just a temporary transfer,” he said. His tone remained steady. “At the end of the month, a batch of payments from the port will come in. I’ll put the money back.”

“That’s Isabella’s trust! It’s not your cash pool.”

“Cecilia…” Lyon’s voice turned cold. “Don’t make it sound so ugly. Company projects and family accounts are often used to cover each other. I know what I’m doing.”

Cecilia looked at the man in front of her. It all felt like a cruel joke.

In the past, no matter how far he went, he had never touched anything that belonged to Isabella.

Just to please a woman, he had dared to use the protection the old Don had left for his granddaughter.

“Fine!” She gave a slight nod. “What about this apartment? Is this place also something you can use however you like, just to please someone?”

Lyon looked around. It was as if he had just remembered where he was.

He took out a checkbook from his inner pocket and wrote a string of numbers. He tore out the check and placed it in front of her.

“This is the rent,” he said. “I added an extra cleaning fee. If you think this place is dirty, have someone clean it.”

He spoke as if he were dealing with a hotel suite.

Cecilia looked at the check. At that moment, all her anger drained away.

She did not look at them again and did not argue. She folded the check and put it into her bag. She said indifferently, “Fine. Then, I’ll charge at market rate. I’ll charge you for every day you stay.”

She turned and walked out.

When she reached the door, Lyon seemed to grow impatient. He lowered his voice and said warningly, “Don’t drag my mother into this. You’ve already made enough of a scene lately.”

Cecilia did not stop.

The familiar decor faded from her view. She vaguely remembered that she and Lyon once shared a few good moments here.

After all these years, those memories only made her feel nauseous.