You Had Me, You Lost Me, You'll Never Find Me novel Chapter 86

"Are you kidding? They were happy tears! If I had a man that handsome and protective, I'd wake up laughing every day."

"First Ashton Wyatt, now Julian Sterling. Sylvia really hits the jackpot. How far along do you think she is?"

A group of young women chattered excitedly by the office pantry.

Ashton had been walking past, completely uninterested, until the name Sylvia violently halted his steps.

"Who are you talking about?"

The women froze, staring in terror at the male lead of the very gossip they were dissecting.

An intern panicked. She meant to say she assumed he had already seen it online, but it came out as, "Mr. Wyatt, do you not have internet?"

A coworker quickly yanked her back and blurted, "Sylvia Harlow is pregnant and engaged! Haven't you seen the news?"

Ashton stood perfectly still. His mind went entirely blank, and a brutal, suffocating cramp seized his chest.

He suddenly couldn't breathe.

Seeing their CEO standing there, his predatory gaze clouded with a dark, terrifying intensity, the women exchanged panicked looks.

The news had been dominating the headlines all day. Had he really not seen it?

...

Inside the executive office.

Finley Harris walked in with a stack of financial reports. He immediately noticed the blackout blinds were drawn, plunging the room into gloom.

Ashton sat alone on the leather sofa, his long legs crossed, sinking into the shadows as he stared intently at an iPad playing the entertainment news.

"How does Ms. Harlow feel about her ex?" a reporter's voice rang out.

Sylvia's cool, deliberately distant voice replied, "Why would anyone care about my opinion on a failed investment? You'd be better off asking Reina for her secrets. I have a fiancé now, and I don't want to make him jealous by talking about other men."

The reporter pressed, "Can you tell us how far along you are?"

Sylvia hesitated, and Julian smoothly intervened. "We can only share that she's safely past the first trimester. We'd prefer to keep the exact timeline private."

Hearing that, Finley nervously glanced at Ashton's face.

Past the first trimester meant over three months. Ashton and Sylvia had broken up around three or four months ago—Finley wasn't entirely sure of the exact date.

But if they broke up four months ago, it meant Sylvia had either jumped instantly into another man's bed, or she had cheated on Ashton while they were still together.

No man with an ounce of pride could swallow that.

After much hesitation, he kept his mouth shut.

Now that the crisis was over and Sylvia had publicly flaunted her new engagement and pregnancy, bringing up the past seemed like career suicide.

Honestly, Finley wasn't even sure if Ashton had known about the acid attack. He assumed he did, but seeing his reaction to the pregnancy video... it looked like genuine news to him.

"Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt have returned to the main estate," Finley said, bracing himself. "They are discussing Reina's wedding arrangements. They've asked you to join them for dinner tonight."

"Understood," Ashton replied flatly, making no move to decline.

Finley silently exhaled in relief.

Maybe the boss really had moved on.

If he hadn't, given Ashton's fiercely vindictive nature, he would have torn the city apart.

If he didn't care about her getting pregnant by another man, he certainly didn't care about a near-miss acid attack.

At the end of the day, she was just another woman.

Even though she had warmed his bed for three years, Ashton was engaged to Reina now, and Sylvia had found a new target. With their vastly different social standings, their paths would never cross again.

Comforted by that logic, Finley quietly backed out of the room.