Fake Mating To My Ex's Powerful Enemy

Chapter 272: Chapter 272 Bad News

Hudson’s POV

"Penny for your thoughts."

I turned away from the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Highrise City’s skyline. "Nothing. Just thinking about work."

Lea didn’t buy it. "Work doesn’t make you look like that."

"Not my work. Christina’s."

I glanced at my phone, knuckles white from gripping it too hard. Christina had just texted saying she was extending her stay in Paris. No timeline given. Just that work was piling up, they were short-staffed, and she needed to pull her weight. When I called to get more details, she barely spoke two sentences before ending the call.

Something felt off. My instincts were rarely wrong.

"Ah, yes, the famous jewelry designer." Lea nodded toward the safe tucked into the corner of my office. "May I?"

I punched in the code and unlocked it. freёwebnovel.com

She removed the top box, opened the velvet case inside, and lifted out a necklace that caught the light. "What’s this one called again?"

"Veyra."

"Beautiful name. Eliza Black wore it at that premiere, right? I remember seeing those red carpet photos." She carefully placed it back in its case. "I wish I’d had the chance to meet your Luna."

We’d left Paris before dawn that morning. Christina was still asleep.

"You will. At the wedding," I said, though each passing day and now this delay planted seeds of doubt about whether we’d actually have one in June. Or ever.

Lycaon growled inside me. "She’s your mate. Stop doubting."

"Not before then?" Lea asked. "I was hoping to commission something custom. I saw her portfolio online, exactly my taste."

"I’ll let you know," I said, shifting topics. "How’s your case progressing?"

Lea collapsed into the chair across from my desk, rubbing between her eyebrows. "My lawyer just filed the divorce petition. We’re waiting for Pierre’s response, but knowing him, he’ll drag this out for years." She waved her phone. "Changed my number. He’ll lose his mind once he gets served."

"He can’t touch you here in Highrise City." This was my territory. The Sabreridge pack controlled most of the city’s key business districts. "In the meantime, you could start looking into setting up a Titanova office here."

"Here?" She straightened, surprised. "I thought you didn’t want us anywhere near your clean slate."

"I never said that. I just didn’t want the mess from my past contaminating my present." Titanova was legitimate now—on paper, at least. "You’d still be CEO."

"And you’d still pull the strings." She shrugged. "Fine by me. But I’ll need time. And people. Kylian’s stuck in Belgrade, Rusty’s chasing some woman in Medellín, and Simon’s holding things together in Eindhoven. I need someone who knows this city’s players. I don’t want to step on any toes."

"LGH gets invited to half the business events in the city." I called Dominic and asked him to send over the latest calendar. "There’s a chamber of commerce dinner coming up. I can get you in."

"You coming too?" I could practically see Lea’s mind calculating opportunities.

When it wasn’t about her husband, she was laser-focused.

"I’ll think about it." I was seriously considering flying to Paris that afternoon just to see what Christina was really doing.

If I’d known she was staying longer, I would’ve insisted she take an assistant, regardless of her protests. Right now, there was no one near her who could tell me what was happening.

Well, there was Fabrizio. But I’d rather chew glass than ask that man for updates on my Luna.

I’d considered reaching out to my contacts in Paris, maybe having someone discreetly check in, but Christina would only dig her heels in deeper once she found out.

And yes, I knew she’d been pulling away lately. Blaming everything on work.

Maybe it was just pre-wedding jitters. Or maybe something more serious. I didn’t want to have to drag it out of her.

I was waiting for her to come to me.

Perhaps I’d been pushing too hard—asking about planning details, guest lists, honeymoon destinations. I’d backed off. Given her space. Let the silence speak for itself.

Maybe she’d realize I only cared about the details because this was OUR wedding. The only one I ever intended to have.

"She’s stubborn," Lycaon reminded me." Just like you."

"There it is again."

"What?"

Lea pointed at my face. "That look. All distant and brooding. Like something’s eating at you and you can’t decide what to do about it."

I sat down and turned to my computer. "Don’t you have somewhere to be?"

"Nope. I’m on vacation."

I slid a stack of documents her way. "Then sort these. Prioritize. Flag anything urgent. You know how it works."

"I’m not your assistant anymore," Lea muttered.

"Then either work or get out."

"Yes, Alpha." She grumbled, "Kylian thinks you’ve changed. He should see this—same old taskmaster." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

I shot her a warning look.

She mimed zipping her lips. "Not another word, promise."

A knock interrupted us. Dominic appeared in the doorway, hesitating when he noticed I had company. "I can come back later."

"What is it?" I asked.

He stepped in, tablet clutched in his hand. "You asked me to flag anything related to Luna Christina. Well..."

"Go on."

"Franklin Vance is dead. He committed suicide in prison."