Chapter 2

"Good, I know I can count on you." She paused. "Lysander didn't come home last night again?"

I took a sip of my coffee, keeping my voice calm. "He said he was with a client."

There was a brief silence, then my mother-in-law sighed. "Autumn, you're just too sensible for your own good."

I smiled. "Isn't being sensible a good thing?"

"It is...but sometimes it's not." With that, she hung up.

I set my phone down and went back to my coffee.

Christopher looked up at me. "Mom, did Dad not come home last night?"

"Yeah, Dad's busy with work," I replied.

"Is he coming home today?" he asked.

"Maybe, maybe not," I said.

Christopher lowered his head, thought for a moment, then asked, "Mom, are you sad?"

I was taken aback.

I wondered how a six-year-old had come up with a question like that.

"No, I'm not sad," I said, patting his head. "Hurry up and eat, or you'll be late for school."

Christopher didn't ask anything else. He just finished his milk.

When I walked him to the car, he suddenly turned around and hugged my leg. "Mom, I'll come home every day and keep you company."

I crouched down and looked into his eyes. "Christopher, Mom doesn't need anyone with her. I'm really okay."

He nodded, not quite getting it, and climbed into the car.

I stood at the door, watching the car disappear around the corner.

Six years old and already asking if his mom was sad; that kid was just too sensitive.

Who did he take after? Not Lysander, he had never cared about anyone else's feelings.

Not me, either. I had learned to bury my feelings a long time ago.

Maybe after spending so many years in that house, he had just become extra sensitive, always picking up on the slightest shift in mood.

I turned around and went back inside, tidying up and getting ready to spend the afternoon with my mother-in-law.

At exactly two o'clock, I pulled up in front of her villa.

My mother-in-law's maiden name was Fairfax, and her given name was Philomena.

She was the youngest daughter of the Fairfax family.

And when she married Magnus Linwood, her wedding was so extravagant it became the talk of the entire city.

Now, just past sixty, she looked barely fifty thanks to years of careful self-care.

She always said her proudest accomplishment wasn't marrying into a wealthy family, but having a son.

And she had said it right to my face.

"Autumn, you're here." She opened the door and let me in, still in her silk robe.

"Hang on a sec, I'll go get changed," she said.

I sat down in the living room to wait. The housekeeper brought over some coffee.

I had been to that house so many times, I could have drawn the floor plan with my eyes closed.

But every visit, I still noticed something new.

Like that day, there was a bracelet on the table, top-grade jadeite, the kind collectors drooled over.

Philomena came out, dressed and ready, and caught me eyeing the bracelet.

She grinned, "Beautiful, right? Won it in a card game last night. Mrs. Granville got desperate and used it to pay her debt."

"You really have a knack for winning," I said.

"It's not my luck. She just can't play cards to save her life," she said.

Philomena slipped the jade bracelet onto my wrist. "Go on, wear it, just for fun."

I glanced at the bracelet on my wrist and accepted it without hesitation. "Thanks, Philomena."

She nodded, clearly pleased, and took my arm as we headed out.

In the car, she asked, "Autumn, don't you think all men are pretty much cut from the same cloth?"

I focused on driving and answered offhandedly, "What's going on, Philomena?"

"Mrs. Granville was there last night. She's getting up there in years, but she's still making a fuss about divorcing her husband.

"Says the old man's got a mistress who's even younger than her own daughter," she detailed.

My mother-in-law shook her head, adding, "I don't even bother trying to talk her out of it. What's the point? In the end, she'll just split the money and walk away."

I stayed silent.

She went on, "Honestly, the most important thing for a woman is to figure out what she really wants.

"If she wants love, then don't marry a rich guy.

"If you want money, just don't bother about what he's up to."

At a red light, I stopped the car and turned to her.

"Philomena, did you ever think about divorcing Dad when you were younger?" I asked.

She paused, then laughed.

"Of course, I did.

"When Magnus was young, he was even worse than Lysander.

"He'd switch girlfriends every three months," she complained.

“Once, he even brought one home and had her stay in the room right next to our bedroom," she recalled.

"So, why didn't you ever leave?" I asked.

"Where would I go?" She gazed out the window. "My family had money, sure, but back then, people would talk behind your back if you were a divorced woman."

"And besides, if I left, who would get all this family wealth? Those homewreckers? Over my dead body," she sighed.

The light turned green, and I stepped on the gas.

She patted my hand. "That's why you're smarter than me, Autumn.

"You don't make a fuss, you don't argue. You just live well and hold onto the money. That's the real way to do it," she suggested.

I smiled. "Magnus, you taught me well."

She snorted. "Oh, please. I didn't teach you anything. You figured it out yourself."

I didn't say anything more.