Flash Marriage to a Stunning CEO (Alistair and Richard)

Chapter 2 The Real Dad

Rebecca could hardly believe her eyes.

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The moment Alistair had been divorced, he looked... relieved. Almost weightless, as if a burden had been lifted.

He didn't seem the least bit nostalgic about their marriage.

Rebecca bristled. She'd let him stay by her side for six years, and she believed he should've been grateful for it. Honored, even.

Seeing him act so indifferent, so unbothered, sparked an unexpected irritation deep within her. However, she couldn't quite put her finger on why it bothered her so much.

It was over now. The years of tug-of-war with Richard, the man she truly loved, had finally come to an end. The placeholder, Alistair, the man she used to provoke Richard, had played his part and was now out of the picture. He was even sensible enough to leave without a fuss, and she should've been over the moon, awaiting Richard's proposal, ready to start their blissful life together.

Last night had been perfect. Richard and Daniel got along like father and son, and Richard had been unusually gentle with her. This should've been her happy ending, but something felt... off.

Now, with her, Richard, and Daniel, finally poised to live as a

Chapter 2 The Real Dad

happy family, everything was falling into place, just as she'd scripted it. Yet a nagging restlessness gnawed at her.

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When Alistair turned to leave without a word, that restlessness. boiled over.

"Hey, Alistair!" Rebecca snapped, yanking off her sunglasses and fixing him with a cold stare.

She'd once been the dream girl of countless guys, stunningly beautiful, with a figure that turned heads and a meticulous. skincare routine that kept her looking like a college student. No one would've guessed she was the mother of a five- year-old.

Alistair glanced back, his face blank, not a flicker of emotion in his eyes.

This man didn't feel like the Alistair she once knew.

The old Alistair was always at her beck and call, eager to please, bending over backward for her. But now, he looked at her with a cool detachment that unsettled her.

"Something up?" His voice was flat, almost bored.

Rebecca wanted to lash out, to use him as her punching bag like she always had. But when her eyes met his calm, steady gaze, the words caught in her throat.

He was different. Not the pushover she'd known.

She scrambled for an excuse to vent her anger, her eyes flicking

LOJES JOJ Jou Didweg

Chapter 2 The Real Dad

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to his cheap clothes. With a scornful huff, she sneered, “Alistair, you were with me for years, and your taste is still this awful? Let me make one thing clear. Don't you dare tell anyone you were my husband. I have a reputation to protect."

The insult, sharp as it was, didn't even graze him.

Six years of her sharp tongue had made him immune. Her insults were nothing

new.

her a faint, almost amused smile,

dazed, as he

fleeting smile lingered in her mind. It was cold, devoid of warmth,

her memory, Alistair

realized how striking he looked when he

view did it hit her

the streets aimlessly, his mind

and where it

figured even if he sat still, as long as the system was reliable, the opportunity would find

else on his plate, he decided to

2 The

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wanted to rent a place. Something small, even a bit run-down, would do just fine. After

his father

he was young. Not long after, his father remarried, starting a new family with a stepson the same age

a real family. To outsiders, they were

one out.

alone and had no

afternoon,

He wasn't discouraged, though.

forty-eight hours, and

pick Daniel up from school on time today? He's throwing a

Maggie Payne, Daniel's kindergarten teacher, caught Alistair off guard. He sighed, feeling a

2 The

frustration.

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It was now an hour

and he knew Rebecca probably forgot him or assumed

turned to him instead

sorry," Alistair said, keeping his tone even. "I'm divorced from Daniel's

waits came through the phone, loud and piercing. Maggie, clearly

to come. She hadn't

his voice, firm but calm. "Ms. Payne, I'm divorced from

her."

coincidentally, near the

listings and waiting for his opportunity, he'd

the area.

picked

าวเ

and reminded Rebecca to be more attentive. But he didn't want to do that. Daniel wasn't his son,

Real Dad

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parents before but rarely had

their child so soon after the split.

strong.

of the most hands-on, patient, and responsible dads in the whole school. She used to joke with her coworkers that if she ever got married, she'd want a husband just

she pleaded,

he cried. And today, he had

Rebecca, but her

more,