The Doormat Wife’s Ultimate Glow-Up novel Chapter 148

Leslie stood frozen, watching Sebastian disappear around the corner. He didn’t look back. Not even once.

The soft, sickly look she’d worn only moments before slipped away, leaving her face cold and her eyes burning with resentment.

Why was Sebastian treating her like this? Was it because of Reese? Had things gotten so bad that he was now avoiding her just to keep things clean for Reese’s sake?

Leslie pulled out her phone and quickly texted a number she used often but never saved: [Handle it as soon as possible.] She deleted the message, pulled her coat tighter, and walked out of the hospital. The bitterness in her heart seemed to trail behind her with every step.

—

Reese barely slept that night. She tossed and turned, worry about the old man’s condition gnawing at her.

She wasn’t afraid he’d blame her for ending the pregnancy on her own. What really scared her was the idea of him asking why, and her having to tell him that Sebastian wanted her to be a surrogate. The thought of that conversation, of making him even angrier, was too much.

Whatever had existed between her and the old man was over, but Reese couldn’t bring herself to wish anything bad on him. No matter what, she couldn’t hope for something terrible to happen to someone just because he was old.

Just as the sky started getting light, Reese finally got the news: Mr. Ratcliff was out of danger. The relief was instant. The tension that had kept her up all night finally let go, and she drifted off to sleep.

When she finally woke up, her head felt heavy and foggy from the lack of sleep. She dragged herself to BlackOak. As soon as she stepped into the engineering department, she saw Lyla slipping out of the lab that she shared with Matthew.

Lyla’s steps faltered for just a second when she spotted Reese. A stiff, unnatural smile flickered across her face.

Reese didn’t expect any good intentions from Lyla. She gave her a quick once-over, one eyebrow raised, half-smiling, half-daring.

She wasn’t the timid housewife everyone used to walk all over anymore. There was a quiet confidence about her now, something that made people think twice before messing with her.

Lyla met Reese’s gaze but quickly looked away, rushing to explain herself. “I was looking for Matthew to go over today’s work, but he wasn’t here, so I was just leaving.”

Reese’s eyes narrowed just a bit. She caught every trace of panic in Lyla’s eyes, then glanced into the lab.

“Alright. I’ll let Matthew know you were looking for him when I see him.”

Lyla let out a barely hidden sigh of relief and hurried off to her own office.

Reese watched her go, a knowing smile tugging at her lips. She walked into the lab.

The computer screen was still on. The screensaver hadn’t even popped up yet, and the mouse was clearly out of place.

“What are you looking at?”

Matthew’s voice came from the door. He wore a dark shirt, sleeves rolled up, his forearms lean and strong.

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