Chapter 27
Sydney’s gaze slid past Penelope, who trailed behind. Her voice came out flat. “No need.
Tiffany’s waiting for me.”
Caleb finally sensed something was wrong. He reached out and gently caught her wrist. “Sydney, wait a second.”
She tried to pull away, but he didn’t let go. Without looking at her, he told Penelope, “Go wait in the car.”
“Okay. Just make sure to talk it out nicely with Syd.” Penelope kept her expression gracious, but her clenched fists betrayed her mood.
Before climbing into the car, she threw Sydney a sour glance.
Caleb’s thumb brushed lightly against the inside of Sydney’s wrist while he searched for the right words. “About the hospital… When you hit Penny, she said she won’t press charges. She’s agreed to let it go. I also told her we’d hold off on the move for now.”
‘So that’s the story he chose to tell. Penelope, the generous one. Caleb, the helpless mediator, doing it all for my sake,‘ she sneered inwardly.
It was as if they were the ones cleaning up her so–called emotional mess.
“What if I wanted to file a report?” Sydney asked.
“What?” He looked caught off guard.
“I was shoved down a flight of stairs from that height, hit my head, and bled. Why shouldn’t I call the cops?” Her voice stayed even as she met his eyes. “If I had reported it that day, what would you have done? Spent all your time trying to protect Penelope?”
The words she had overheard at the hospital still echoed in her mind, bitter and absurd. She’d been the one lying in a hospital bed, bleeding. And yet, the first thing on her husband’s mind had been someone else.
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Chapter 27
Caleb looked stricken.
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Sydney saw the flicker of guilt cross his face. It didn’t surprise her. She continued straightforwardly, “If you wanted to, even if she called the police, you’d find a way to bury it. You’ve got the power to make things disappear. So let’s be honest. The reason you agreed to let her stay wasn’t for me. It was for you.”
Because he wanted her there. Because he liked being near his precious Penny. Why pretend it was some grand act of kindness?
She didn’t match his height at 5’5“, but she stood with quiet defiance. Her posture held steady. Her voice was measured. She wasn’t angry. She was stating facts.
Caleb had no response. For a moment, he couldn’t connect the poised woman standing before him with the gentle, compliant girl he remembered. If it had been anyone else, he might have laughed it off. But under Sydney’s calm, unwavering stare, the urge to argue
faded.
Rain began to fall harder.
Caleb walked to his car, opened the trunk, and pulled out an umbrella. He returned and gently placed it in her hand. “Give me a little time. I’ll make sure Penny’s properly settled.”
Sydney knew exactly what she wanted and smiled faintly. “Can you really cut her off completely?”
The quiet question made his jaw tighten. His voice dropped. “Syd, she’s my sister–in–law. My nephew’s biological mother. How am I supposed to cut her off? Not everyone is—”
He stopped.
‘Not everyone is what?‘ Sydney’s pale fingers curled around the umbrella. Her damp lashes lifted slightly.
Her voice came low and rough. “Not everyone is an orphan without a single blood relative. That’s what you were going to say, right?”
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Caleb didn’t answer.
She didn’t need him to. She bent down, set the umbrella at his feet, and turned toward
Tiffany’s car.
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Caleb watched her walk away. Her slim silhouette faded into the rain. Something shifted in his chest. The irritation drained from his face.
“When are you coming home?” he asked.
Sydney paused but didn’t turn around. “Later. Things are busy at the clinic.”
She had no plans to return. She’d been gone for days, and Caleb had been too wrapped up in everything else to even notice she never came home.
