"If the prenatal ho visits are too stressful for you, stop doing them. I can go straight to the director myself if you want," Rowan said.
Lyra shook her head quickly. "No. I’ll talk to the director on my own."
The next day, Lyra found herself in Dr. Carvin’s office, calmly explaining that she wanted to stop doing ho visits to the Cortez residence, citing exhaustion from the constant back-and-forth travel.
The real reason, however, was Dante, but she kept it to herself.
From the start, her intention had only been to help his wife. But she was increasingly uncomfortable with the way he kept holding her back.
Sotis he insisted she eat before leaving when she was already rushing.
At other tis, when she was in the middle of her tasks, he would ask her to stop and sit with him for als or draw her into conversations when she needed to focus on her duties.
Besides Dante, the pressure from the director didn’t help either. The constant reminders not to offend their important funder left her feeling trapped.
"It would be best if you were the one to inform him about this," Lyra said with a sigh. "If I’m the one who tells him, he keeps saying he’ll discuss it with you.
If you refuse, I can’t say more. My husband insists it would be better for to resign than to keep stressing myself over work."
"Okay, okay... just don’t resign," the director said.
Afraid of losing her, he agreed. After discussing the matter with Dante, he assured her that Dante would not be around when she carried out her duties.
From that day on, neither the director nor Dante interfered with her work, and for the first ti in a while, she felt genuinely at ease working without interference around her.
But the calm did not last.
Rosalba arrived in Mistvale late that morning with her son, Nico, without Dante knowing. It was Cala who had neglected to ask for Dante’s permission.
"Sir, your mother-in-law just arrived from Stonehollow."
Mr. Griffin pressed the phone to his ear as his eyes glanced toward Rosalba and her son, who sat leisurely on the sofa in the parlor.
Dante had been at one of his other residences when the call ca in and had imdiately dismissed the won around him.
He pulled the cigarette from his lips with two fingers and crushed it into the ashtray.
"When did they arrive?" Dante asked.
"They just got here. Your brother-in-law is with also here," Griffin replied.
Dante beco uneasy. "What is Dr. Ashford doing, where is she?"
"She’s in the madam’s room at the mont."
"I’ll be back now." He hung up, grabbed his clothes, and got dressed.
"Where are you going? We haven’t even started having fun yet," one of the won complained.
"I need to leave. Sothing important ca up."
He left without another word, ignoring the won’s disgruntled grumbles behind him.
Rosalba craned her neck the mont the sound of tires screeched into the driveway.
"Dante... you didn’t have to rush back," Rosalba said, opening her arms and giving him a quick hug.
"It’s no trouble, Mother. Did the maids send your bags to your room?"
"Already done."
Nico was nowhere to be seen, likely wandering around the mansion on his own.
"You must be tired, Mother. Go and rest in your room," Dante urged, trying to guide Rosalba away and keep her inside until Lyra was gone.
But he was too late.
The door to Cala’s room swung open, and Lyra stepped out with her bag slung over her shoulder, having just finished her check for the day.
She was in the middle of slowly removing her face mask.
Dante rushed toward her.
"Dr. Ashford, co with for a mont," he said, gripping her wrist.
Without waiting for a response, he pulled Lyra toward the study on the first floor and closed the door behind them.
Lyra was slightly startled. "Is sothing important?" she asked.
Dante moved to his chair, sitting down as he searched for a reason to justify dragging her in so suddenly.
"Would you like sothing to drink? I can have Griffin prepare it." He asked.
Feeling thirsty, Lyra ordered a li juice and waited for Dante to speak.
He leaned forward over the desk and asked, "My wife... she’s doing well now?"
"She’s doing very well."
Mr. Griffin entered the study with the drink. Lyra accepted it and took a small sip, relief settling in her throat.
"I think you don’t need to co for the ti being. My mother-in-law is here. She can take care of my wife. Once she leaves, I’ll call you again."
Lyra felt a surge of relief at his words.
"That’s good... it’ll be comforting for her to be cared for by her own mother. If anything cos up, just give a call, okay?"
Dante quietly asked Mr. Griffin to take Rosalba to the back garden, using the excuse of showing her around the house.
It was simply to ensure that Lyra could leave the mansion safely and without being noticed.
Unbeknownst to them, Nico had caught sight of them and quietly observed their every move from a distance.
"Is she the doctor? Why does he keep her so close, like a mistress?" he aske himself.
His lips pressed into a thin line as he processed what he had witnessed. "I have to tell Mother about this."
But then his gaze narrowed as he studied Lyra more closely. "That blonde hair... I’ve seen her sowhere before."
He rubbed his chin, trying to rember where.
As he turned to rush back inside, he spotted his mother in the back garden with the butler.
He hurried over and waved the butler away. "Mom... did you see the doctor just now?"
"No..." Rosalba looked puzzled.
He leaned closer and lowered his voice. "You should keep an eye on your son-in-law. He claid he brought in a doctor, but who knows? She might be his mistress."
Her eyes widened for a second before she sighed softly.
"n like him always have plenty of mistresses. What’s there to be surprised about?"
Nico frowned, frustrated by his mother’s reaction.
"Yes, he is, but rember all the influence you handed over to him. What if it doesn’t go to Cala’s child? What if it ends up going to a mistress’s child instead?"
Rosalba fell silent, processing Nico’s words.
"What are you going to do if what I said is true?"
"Go ask Cala first. Don’t jump to conclusions yet," she said, waving her hand as she pushed Nico back inside the building.
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