Chapter 58

Angela POV

I closed the bedroom door behind me as quietly as possible.

Sean sat in the leather armchair by the window, dressed in just a white T-shirt and dark loungewear pants.

His usually perfect appearance was nowhere to be seen-his hair slightly disheveled, as if he'd been running his fingers through it repeatedly.

Elizabeth's words from earlier echoed in my mind: "That boy... when he heard you were in trouble, he ran out without even grabbing his coat."

I found my eyes drawn to his broad shoulders, noting how the thin cotton material of his T-shirt did little to hide his tensed muscles.

The thought of him rushing out into the cold night, focused only on reaching me, stirred something deep within my chest.

For a moment, I nearly broke the heavy silence between us.But pride held my tongue.

What would I say?

Thank you for coming to my rescue?

I'm sorry for worrying you?

None of it felt right, not when our marriage was nothing but a convenient arrangement with an expiration date.

As I moved toward the walk-in closet, my phone buzzed with a message. Christopher's name appeared on the screen:

"Save my new number, Little Angel."

My fingers hovered over the keyboard before I replied: "I'm not that little girl anymore, Christopher."

His response came quickly: "What should I call you then?"

"Just Angela is fine."

"Alright then, Angel it is."

I stared at the last message, a slight frown creasing my brow.

Angel-the name Sean used in his most tender moments with me, when his guard was down and his voice would soften with affection.

Hearing it from Christopher felt wrong somehow, like he was unknowingly intruding on something private, something that belonged only to Sean and me.

Sean's voice cut through my thoughts. "You should get some rest." His tone was carefully neutral, betraying nothing of what he might be thinking.

I nodded slightly, not trusting myself to speak. I gathered my nightclothes and headed to the bathroom, grateful for the excuse to escape the charged atmosphere of the bedroom.

By the time I emerged, freshly showered and wearing silk pajamas, Sean had disappeared.

Morning light filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows when I awoke.

Sean's side of the bed remained untouched, the pillows still perfectly arranged.

I found myself reaching out, my hand hovering over the cold sheets where he should have been.

After dressing in a cream-colored Chanel suit, I made my way toward the home office.

The door was ajar, and I caught sight of Sean inside, his tall frame bent over his laptop. He'd changed into a fresh shirt and suit pants, but the subtle shadows under his eyes suggested he'd spent the night there.

He looked up as I passed, our eyes meeting briefly.

"Good morning," he said, his voice cold. "Christopher's hosting a gathering at his house tonight. We should make an appearance."

My grip tightened slightly on my leather portfolio. "Both of us?"

"Unless you'd prefer to give the gossips more fuel?" His tone was light, but there was an edge to it. "They're already having a field day with last night's events."

I thought back to our prep school days, when our arguments would follow this same pattern. Sean would always be the first to extend an olive branch, even while maintaining that stern expression of his.

Some things, it seemed, never changed.

"What time?" I asked, relenting.

"I'll have Peter pick you up at seven."

I nodded, turning to leave, but his voice stopped me. "Angela." I paused, not turning around. "Be careful today."

His sudden show of concern caught me off guard, sending an unexpected warmth through my chest.

The executive floor of Shaw Tower hummed with its usual morning activity as I settled into my office.

Sophie's call came through just as I finished reviewing the quarterly reports. I put it on speaker, confident in the privacy of my corner office.

"How's the divorce coming along?" Sophie's voice filled the room.

I sighed, massaging my temples. "It's... complicated."

A knock at the door interrupted our conversation.

Emily stepped in, her expression hesitant.

"Angela, I... I wanted to apologize properly. I shouldn't have agreed to meet the client at that bar last night. I put you in danger, and I feel terrible about it."

I softened my expression. "Emily, what's done is done. Consider it a learning experience. Just be more careful with venue selections in the future, okay?"

She nodded gratefully, relief washing over her features. "Thank you, Angela. I won't let you down again." With a small bow, she left my office.

I returned to my phone call with Sophie. "Sorry about that. Where were we?"

"The divorce, Angela. You can't keep avoiding this conversation."

I was about to respond when movement caught my eye. Emily was back, pushing open my office door again, with Michael right behind her. At that exact moment, Sophie's voice rang out clearly through the speaker:

"If you weren't pregnant, I wouldn't be this worried! How are you planning to handle this? You can't keep dragging this out day after day-that baby bump isn't going to stay hidden forever!"

At that moment, I looked up to see Emily at the door, Michael right behind her, both clutching documents with eyes wide in shock.