Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband?

Chapter 414 Kingsford.

Montgomery Manor.

Word had it that Lysander's mother, Felicity, hadn't been well lately. Giselle, always attentive, brought a bundle of tonic remedies to visit and asked the housekeeper to fetch them from the car.

"Where is Mrs. Montgomery?" she inquired.

"In the conservatory," the housekeeper replied.

Back when they were young, Felicity and Giselle's mother, Rosalind, had been close friends. The two families had maintained ties for generations, and with a childhood engagement between the children, Giselle had practically grown up in this house. No one ever stopped her from coming or going.

She made her way easily through the manor's winding halls to the garden, where, nestled among a riot of scarlet roses, she found a pale, weary-looking woman reclining in a rocking chair, half dozing in the morning sun.

Giselle approached quietly and called, "Aunt Felicity." Lately, Felicity's health had declined. The medications made her drowsy and left her in a perpetual haze. She took a moment to register Giselle's voice before responding softly.

"Giselle, dear, cand sit with me." Giselle settled beside her, gently taking Felicity's thin hand in her own. "My mother's worried about you," she said, concern plain in her voice. "She sentto check in. Why have you been so unwell lately, Aunt Felicity? Where's Lysander? Why isn't he here with you?" Felicity smiled faintly and shook her head. "He's traveling with Mila. Your Uncle is keepingcompany." "Traveling?" Giselle echoed, surprised.

Only recently, she'd orchestrated things to send Mila abroad, believing that with Forrest's resources, Lysander wouldn't catch on right away. By the the realized Mila was gone, it would be too late. But to her astonishment, Lysander himself had disappeared the very next day.

She'd tried reaching out to him repeatedly but got no response.

And with Conrad now firmly in control at Montgomery Holdings, she'd lost her usual channels for gathering information. Felicity's illness had given her an excuse to visit, but from the woman's vacant expression, it was clear she knew nothing either.

Giselle's fingers tightened unconsciously around Felicity's hand.

Damn it. Even with her contacts abroad, she couldn't track Lysander's movements. The minute he left the country, he vanished without a trace.

She had no idea how things were unfolding.

A soft gasp snapped Giselle out of her thoughts. She realized she'd gripped Felicity's hand too tightly, lost in her own scheming, and had hurt her by accident. "I'm so sorry, Aunt Felicity. I didn't mean to," Giselle apologized quickly.

Felicity shook her head gently, dismissing the pain.

Noticing the fatigue etched across Felicity's face, Giselle suggested, "Are you feeling tired, Aunt Felicity? You'll catch a chill napping out here-let's go back inside and rest." "No need, I've slept more than enough these days," Felicity declined quietly.

Giselle didn't press. Since Felicity seemed to have forgotten the brief discomfort, Giselle simply sat with her, making gentle conversation. Before long, her thoughts drifted back to Lysander and Mila's supposed trip.

"Oh, right, Aunt Felicity," Giselle said suddenly, a note of realization in her voice. "You mentioned Lysander is traveling with Mila, but as far as I know, Mila hasn't worked at Montgomery Holdings in ages. She resigned a long tago. What kind of business trip could they possibly be on? And honestly, there hasn't been any company matter that would require Lysander to travel recently, either." She added, almost as an afterthought, "Maybe they just went on vacation together -though no matter how much you like to travel, you should chif your mother's ill." "Hm? What was that?" Felicity murmured, visibly confused.

Her mind, dulled by fatigue and medication, struggled to keep up with the conversation. She stared at Giselle, bewildered.

Giselle, well aware of Felicity's condition, gave her tto process. When the housekeeper arrived with tea, Giselle stopped pushing for answers and instead squeezed Felicity's hand warmly. "Don't worry, Aunt Felicity. I have sfree tthese days, so I can cby and keep you company whenever you like." After sitting with her a while longer, Giselle took her leave.

If she couldn't find Lysander, she'd have to think of another way to draw him back.

Maybe news of his mother's worsening condition would be enough.

This time, she told herself grimly, Mila would not be allowed to cback.

The next morning.

Restless in her cabin, Mila changed the dressing on her wound, got dressed, and made her way to the ship's dining room for breakfast.

She stared out the window, lost in thought as the morning fog drifted by.

She hadn't been sitting long when a familiar shadow flickered in her periphery. Turning, she found Lysander sliding into the seat across from her, coffee in hand and a bright, easy smile on his lips.

She stood, silent and guarded.

"We need to talk," Lysander said.

There was nothing left to discuss. Mila had already made herself clear; if he refused to listen, she didn't see any point in repeating herself. She was simply too exhausted. "I can give you what you want," Lysander said softly.

That made Mila pause.

"I'll agree to the divorce. I'll also give you substantial assets as compensation. Once we're back, we'll settle it right away." "And you think I'd believe you?" she shot back, her tone flat.

She'd been lied to so many times that words like his meant nothing to her now.

Lysander sipped his coffee, smiling faintly. "Of course, there's a condition. You should realize something. Coswon't judge your connection tobased on whether our marriage is officially over." Mila fell silent.

He was right. Judging by Cossio's attitude at the manor, the dangem wasn't just Lysande about her marriage to Lysander. Felicity's affection for her was probably a bigger factor. A divorce wouldn't untangle everything.

Still- "I want the divorce first," Mila insisted. She was done. Whatever happened next, she needed to sever this tie.

"I said there would be a condition."