Chapter 272: ~ 271
Chapter 271
~Octavia~
The entire house was quiet. Lael was quiet. The only time she made noise was when she was hungry or when she was being disturbed or when she did not burp well.
I was sitting in the nursery lounge, carefully folding Lael’s clothes that were recently washed. I was also trying to take note of extra decor I would like to add to the room, something more girly.
Then suddenly, I heard the sound of clicking stiletto heels echoed down the hallway. Who could that be? I was not expecting anyone today.
The door burst open, and I caught a scent of a familiar perfume flooding the room. Standing there, with her hands filled with shopping bags.
"Oh my goodness, look at this little angel!" Victoria squealed, dropping her handbags onto the nearest armchair and rushing straight toward the bassinet.
Victoria, my best friend in the world, had finally arrived for her surprise visit, and the heavy, lingering tension of the house instantly vanished. She bent over the crib, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lael.
"Victoria! You didn’t tell me you were coming today!" I laughed, standing up to pull her into a tight, emotional hug.
"And miss seeing my favorite little human? Never," she said, pulling back to beam at me before immediately diving into the massive mountain of bags she had brought. "Alright, brace yourself. I went completely overboard."
For the next twenty minutes, the nursery floor was flooded with gift wrapper and ribbons torn from unboxing. Victoria completely showered Lael with gifts. There were custom, organic cotton onesies, a ridiculously soft cashmere baby blanket woven in Italy, and a giant, plush cream-colored teddy bear that was twice the size of the baby and other things.
"Victoria, this is way too much," I gasped, holding up a tiny, adorable pair of designer baby booties. "She’s going to grow out of these in two weeks!"
"Shush. A Flemington baby deserves only the best," Victoria countered playfully, waving her hand dismissively as Lila slipped into the room to set down a tray with a pot of hot chamomile tea.
Once the chaos of the baby bundles was cleared, Victoria kicked off her high heels, curled her legs up on the plush velvet sofa, and accepted a teacup from me. She took a slow sip, letting out a dramatic, exaggerated groan.
"Ugh, Octavia, you have no idea how empty the executive floor feels without you," she sighed, leaning her head back against the cushions. "Work has been so incredibly slow and tedious. I swear, working without you there to roll your eyes with me is a form of corporate torture."
I chuckled, pouring my own tea. "Is it really that bad? I thought the new product launch would keep everyone busy."
"Oh, please. The product launch is a disaster because nobody can make a decision," Victoria scoffed playfully, her eyes lighting up with juicy excitement. "But let’s talk about the real tragedy. Have you heard about John from marketing?"
"No! What did John do?" I asked, completely leaning in, suddenly realizing how much I had missed the regular rhythm of normal life.
"Well, rumor has it he accidentally shared his screen during a high-stakes regional board presentation," Victoria whispered conspiratorially, stifling a giggle behind her hand. "He forgot he had a tab open for a very xxx rated porn video was showing. While trying to close it down, a video of him masturbating displayed on the screen. The silence in the boardroom was deafening! He was embarrassed as hell!"
I burst out laughing, putting my teacup down so I wouldn’t spill it. "No way! He is usually so careful!"
"I know! And it gets better," Victoria continued, leaning closer. "The high-society drama is even more ridiculous right now. You know Charlie, that tech consultant who always tries to crash the charity galas? She got completely blacklisted from the summer ball because she tried to hack into the system and take the designs for herself. So many other things b! I thought of you instantly. I was dying to text you, but I knew you were deep in the newborn bubble."
"Oh, I’ve missed this so much," I said, a genuine smile spreading across my face. It felt amazing to just sit, gossip, and be normal women for an hour, completely removed from the suffocating pressure of family grudges and midnight feedings.
Right as Victoria was about to launch into another hilarious story about a catastrophic boardroom meeting, the door of the nursery swung open.
Flynn casually strolled into the room. He was carrying a small crystal saucer with a glass of chilled, freshly pressed green juice. As usual. He has overfed me these days.
"Hey, Octavia, I noticed you didn’t finish your breakfast drink, so I thought I’d bring you some fresh—"
Flynn’s voice cut off abruptly mid-sentence.
The casual, easygoing stride he had used to enter the room completely locked up. His entire body froze. His jaw tightened, and the goofy, carefree smirk he always wore vanished from his face in a split second, replaced by a cold, calculating stillness.
I looked up, confused by his sudden silence, and then turned my head to look at Victoria.
Victoria was staring at Flynn, her face losing every single ounce of its bright color. Her hands began to tremble so violently that her teacup rattled loudly against the saucer, the hot chamomile tea sloshing over the brim. She almost let the entire thing slip right through her fingers.
"Flynn?" Victoria gasped, her voice dropping into a breathless, shocked whisper.
Flynn stared back at her, his eyes narrowing into a sharp, unreadable glare. The easy, friendly cousin act was completely gone.
"Victoria?" Flynn murmured, his voice low, heavy, and completely stripped of its usual playful tone.
The silence that slammed into the nursery lounge was absolute. It was so thick and suffocating you could hear the faint, rhythmic ticking of the grandfather clock out in the hallway.
I sat there on the sofa, looking back and forth between my best friend and my husband’s cousin, my mind completely short-circuiting. The absolute shock on Victoria’s face and the rigid defensive posture of Flynn didn’t make sense.
Wow. They already know each other?
A cold, uneasy knot began to form in the pit of my stomach as I stared at them, completely blindsided in my own home. How on earth do they know each other? And why do they look like they’ve just seen a ghost?