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.

almost

dazed, as he walked

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

Alistair

moment that she realized how striking he

from view did it hit her that he had completely ignored her and

his mind

be and where it might show

figured even if he sat still, as long as the system was

nothing else on his plate, he decided to

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

back to his father

lost his mother in an accident when he was young. Not long after, his father remarried, starting a new family with a stepson the same age as

a real family. To outsiders, they were the picture of father and son. Alistair, who took after his mother and looked nothing like his father, felt like the

one out.

to being alone and had no desire to disrupt

in the afternoon, his opportunity still

He wasn't discouraged, though.

it would activate within forty-eight hours, and there was still plenty of

time today? He's throwing a fit, crying to go home. Can you please come get

teacher, caught Alistair off guard. He

The Real

frustration.

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out at four-thirty. It was now an hour past

probably forgot

like many others, instinctively turned to him instead of Rebecca when something

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

loud and piercing. Maggie,

come. She hadn't even

but calm. "Ms. Payne, I'm divorced from Daniel's mother. She has

her."

was, coincidentally,

looking at rental listings and waiting for his

the area.

could've picked

าวเ

be more attentive. But he didn't want to do that. Daniel wasn't

2 The Real Dad Maggie

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before but rarely had one completely

with their child so soon after the split. After all, the blood

strong.

and the other teachers had always admired Daniel's father. He was one 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

she pleaded, "Mr. Harlow, can't you

cried.

but

called twice more,