THE DIVORCE GAMBIT From Dumped Wife to CEO's Forever novel Chapter 456

Farrell glanced at Carla Blake, searching for the right words but coming up empty.

While Old Mrs. Ryan had been away these last few days, Carla had deliberately kept quiet about what happened after Farrell’s visit to the Gonzales family, worried it would upset her.

So, Old Mrs. Ryan still had no idea just how badly her grandson had messed things up.

Catching her son’s anxious gaze, Carla hesitated as well, her eyes full of uncertainty.

Old Mrs. Ryan noticed the awkward silence and chuckled, “What’s going on? Why are you two acting so quiet all of a sudden?”

Farrell scratched his head, trying to come up with an explanation.

Then Old Mrs. Ryan seemed to remember something. “Oh, that’s right—Farrell, did you go see Freya at the Gonzales’?”

If she hadn’t brought it up, Farrell might’ve managed to hold it together—but now, he just felt even worse.

“Mom, when we went to the Gonzales’, there was a bit of an incident. Farrell might have offended Keira,” Carla admitted, her voice tentative. “We were hoping you could help explain things for us.”

“Oh, don’t worry about Keira. She’s not the type to hold a grudge. Leave it to me,” Old Mrs. Ryan waved it off, unconcerned.

Carla swallowed nervously. “Mom, please, let me finish.”

“Alright,” Old Mrs. Ryan nodded. “Go ahead.”

Carla carefully recounted everything that had happened that day.

When Old Mrs. Ryan heard that Farrell not only returned the family heirloom but also broke off the engagement, she nearly fainted from anger. She lifted her foot and kicked Farrell right in the leg. “You idiot! Do you realize you’ve just destroyed the relationship our family worked so hard to build with the Gonzaleses?”

Farrell didn’t even dare to defend himself. “Grandma, I know I was wrong. But I really do care about Freya. Please, can’t you help me talk to them? You like Freya too, don’t you?”

Meanwhile, the hiking trip was still in full swing.

Caitlin led the way up the trail.

Cassidy and Jimmy lagged behind.

By the time they reached the halfway point, Cassidy was completely out of breath. She grabbed Jimmy’s arm and slumped onto a rock at the side of the path. “Jimmy, I can’t go any farther. I need a break!”

Jimmy was drenched in sweat, looking just as exhausted.

Caitlin stopped and pulled two bottles of water from her backpack, handing them over. “Cassidy, Mr. Parsons, take a rest and hydrate. I’m going to check out the view up ahead.”

Cassidy looked up at Caitlin, surprised to see how composed she was, her face not even flushed. “Freya, aren’t you tired at all?”