The unwanted wife’s unexpected comeback

Chapter 22:

? ? ? ? ?

As soon as Caden finished speaking, Gerry's eyes snapped open. It took him a few seconds to process that Caden was standing next to him.

Eyes wide, Gerry removed his headphones and asked, confused, “When did you get here?”

"Right now, actually."

Caden had arrived late, so Alicia had already finished recording the song. There was no way she was going to perform it again just because he had walked in. Not that it mattered, Caden wasn't particularly interested in music. He was there to have fun, nothing more.

But Gerry's reaction was something else entirely. "It's exactly what I imagined; in fact, more than I expected. No wonder he can compete with you for the top spot. He's very talented, Caden."

Caden studied him, intrigued. Gerry, a man rarely impressed, especially when he came to other artists, seemed unusually enthusiastic.

“Oh, yeah?” Caden replied, his tone deliberately nonchalant. “I guess I’m going to lose our bet.”

“You better get that groundwork ready for the handover,” Gerry joked with a smirk as he handed the lyric sheet to Caden. “Don't feel too bad about missing the recording session. Here, check out his lyrics instead. Maybe you can learn a thing or two from his lyrics.”

Caden picked up the piece of paper and scanned the page silently. He let out a sigh, raising an eyebrow. “I thought your movie was about Transformers fighting zombies. Why are the lyrics so… heartfelt?”

“What?” Gerry's mood changed instantly. His bright eyes narrowed, irritation creeping into his tone. “Zombies”? Really? It's a heartwarming sci-fi movie. Didn't I send you a copy? Haven’t you seen it?”

“Oh, I don't watch cartoons,” Caden replied nonchalantly.

indignantly. “It's 3D animation! It's not a cartoon.

door creaked and Alice

looked up and stared. The warm light from the recording booth spilled into the

tired. “Mr. Hopkins, let's wrap things up for today. If

looked at

restaurant downtown. Would you like to join us

But declining the invitation would not sit well with her business relationship

Alicia and Caden shared the backseat. Without saying anything to each other, they gravitated toward their respective windows, the space between them just wide enough

flipping through the listings for the best properties. He was looking for photos of expensive and hard-to-find properties.

the photos with disdain, his tone cold. “Why

Gerry joked without missing a

these,” Gerry said, completely

slight smirk. “Careful. You don’t want to count your chickens before they

gaze sharp. She quickly stiffened, pretending to be absorbed in the scenery outside. Her long, wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders, partially obscuring her face. But Caden noticed that her delicate eyebrows were

his gaze lingered for

Alicia, however, remained in her seat. “Mr. Hopkins,” she called with an apologetic smile, “come in. “I need to touch up

appearance, simply agreed. “There's no hurry. When you're ready, tell the

"Thank you."

glance before heading to the entrance. Beside him, Gerry

Caden stopped dead in

I think I left my phone in the car. Go ahead. I'll catch

raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced, and cast a suspicious glance at the sleek vehicle parked behind them.