Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband?

Chapter 393

"Don't be afraid of me. That man, Cossio, he's violent-dangerous. He'll hurt you. Why don't you come with me instead?"

Mila bit her tongue, refusing to answer.

Is he for real? Just going to say that right in front of everyone?

What's his angle, being so blunt when Cossio's right there? Then again, maybe their relationship is close enough that this sort of thing isn't out of bounds.

Sure enough, the man everyone called Cossio-whose moods were notoriously unpredictable-didn't get angry. Instead, he simply yanked the other man aside and replied coolly in Italian, "She belongs to me."

The man just shrugged and dropped back into his seat at the poker table. As Cossio sat down, the man glanced at the veiled woman behind him and grinned. “Come on, Cossio, be serious. Let me have this beauty, will you? I caught a whiff of medicine on her-she's hurt. You always forget, women need to be cared for and cherished."

He seemed suddenly reminded of something, and went on, "Remember that foreign beauty from over twenty years ago? Didn't you—"

BANG!

The heavy ebony cane slammed down on the table, its tip aimed straight at the man's chest. Cossio's voice was icy and measured: "Are you challenging me to a duel? Fine. Name the place. Sign the contract."

A brief hush fell.

Then, as if on cue, the others crowded around the table burst out laughing and cheering, clapping their hands. "A duel! A duel!"

They were clearly here for the drama.

The man raised both hands in surrender, looking resigned. "Alright, alright, my fault for running my mouth. I'm not interested in a duel my lover's waiting for me back home."

The crowd groaned and booed, disappointed.

hidden by a black veil, brow furrowed in thought. A foreign beauty

had said, did it mean that, all those years ago, there was a foreign woman by Cossio's

Cossio seemed oddly attentive

suddenly-she'd been married into the Montgomery family for seven years, and yet there was so much she didn't know. All she really knew was that Felicity had suffered from postpartum depression after giving birth to her second child. Her mental health had been fragile ever since. Though she'd mostly stabilized in

her episodes, she

But... what if...

Felicity? And what if that man's casual use of

up Mila's spine, chilling her to the

illness really just

her like her own daughter, and Mila had come to love her as a true mother in return... The realization sent a shiver through her, her whole body

surfaced-something she'd never considered

routine. Yet, aside from Lysander, Mila couldn't recall any of the core Montgomery family ever traveling abroad-not even for leisure. Odd, considering how

took root, the more she recalled, the more strange inconsistencies

shook her head

Stop it.

Felicity's background was impeccable.

were a family of scholars. Mila had heard that Felicity was engaged to Lysander's father, Conrad, at eighteen. They'd been childhood sweethearts-the perfect

Montgomerys and the Fontaines-two of the most respected families in

and influence like that, how could anyone have hurt Felicity? How

No. Impossible.

could she even think such things about

not to get curious. None

around the hem of her dress, knuckles

it was true, what did these people want

Meanwhile,