The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 515

Nora's blunt permission caught Julia off guard, making her hesitate.

She didn't know much about Nora's personal life. The older man back at the precinct had screamed 'old money,' which meant Nora likely came from a very wealthy family.

But in all the years they had worked together, Nora had never uttered a single word about her father.

The mystery naturally fueled Julia's curiosity.

However, given the absolute disdain Nora had shown the man earlier, their relationship was clearly toxic.

Prying into it felt incredibly intrusive, like she was digging her fingers into an open wound.

The more Julia overthought it, the more her anxiety spiked. Her lips pressed together, the words dying in her throat.

Noticing her internal struggle, Nora let out a soft breath. "That man was my father," she stated simply.

"My mother helped him build his company from the ground up. But when I was just a kid, he had an affair. He kicked us to the curb to make room for his mistress and their illegitimate daughter. As far as I'm concerned, I don't have a father."

"Recently, because of our investigations, I ended up crossing paths with Nolan Devereaux. My father saw that as a massive networking opportunity. He wanted to sell me off in an arranged marriage to elevate his corporate standing."

Nora summarized the trauma with unnerving clinical detachment. Julia, however, was immediately outraged. "And he actually has the nerve to show his face at your precinct? What an absolute psycho!"

"It's always the rich ones! Why can't any of these guys keep it in their pants?"

"He sounds exactly like your cheating garbage ex-boyfriend! They're both absolutely repulsive."

Julia cast a deeply sympathetic look over her shoulder. "The fact that you've had to deal with two textbook narcissists in one lifetime is insane. You need to burn some sage or something to cleanse your aura."

Nora couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Is that really the kind of advice a woman of science should be giving?"

Realizing she was on the clock, Julia flushed and offered an awkward grin. "Fine. Just... take a really long, hot shower then."

Snapping back to the present, Nora realized Julia had seamlessly pivoted from raging about bad men to aggressively shipping her relationship. She rubbed her throbbing temples. "How did we end up on this topic?"

Just a minute ago, Julia had been wishing explosive diarrhea upon her ex.

How had the conversation derailed into praising Nathan Peyton?

Not that Nora disagreed. Nathan was incredible, and the time they spent together had genuinely been some of the best moments of her life.

But she still wasn't used to discussing her private love life so openly. A faint flush crept up her neck.

"Hey, complaining about toxic men drains your energy. We had to balance it out with something positive," Julia defended cheerfully.

"Nathan is literally a walking green flag. Talking about him fixes the vibe."

"Besides, ever since he took over the precinct, our closure rate has skyrocketed. The man is clearly our lucky charm."