Chapter 576

Sylvia could tell Chris had seen right through her, so she didn't bother pretending. "What's going on with him? Is this about what happened with Yves last time?"

Chris frowned, unsure where to even begin.

After the Yves incident, Sylvia had grown totally averse to Rupert.

Rupert, for his part, looked calm on the outside, but every bit of his turmoil showed itself in how slowly he was recovering.

He was in a dark place.

It got so bad he had to get a minor spinal procedure, and he's still in recovery- walking with a cane.

Chris opened his mouth, but then remembered Rupert's warning.

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From the day he'd met Rupert, Chris knew the guy was cold and obsessive. Rupert was convinced Sylvia belonged to him, and he'd keep her through business logic and sheer force, never warmth.

Sylvia, on the other hand, was stubborn and conflicted.

The person she cared about, and the person she tried hardest to ignore, were one and the same-Rupert.

Her biggest pain was that her head and her heart just couldn't line up.

Watching them, Chris sometimes wondered if things would've been better if, back then, Sylvia had owned up to that night, admitted she was the woman, and just married Rupert while everyone was still talking about it.

But after all that had happened, he realized a forced marriage-unaccepted by both-would never end well, no matter how hard Rupert tried to hold on.

Like now: Reese was disabled. In an ordinary family, the Garcias wouldn't even give her a second look.

But she was the Sanford heiress. When she and Rupert stood together, everyone called them a match made in heaven.

Well.

Maybe it was for the best if they split.

Even Chris thought so.

"Dr. Chris?" Sylvia called softly, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Chris cleared his throat. "Yeah, it's kind of about Yves. Rupert had a bad accident -hurt his back. He's recovering, can't put too much strain on it, but, uh... don't worry. Everything will work just fine in the future."

Sylvia paused, then realized what he meant by "work just fine." She shot him a glare. "Christine!"

"Hey! Only my mom calls me that. Watch it," Chris snapped, bristling.

"If you've got time to joke, he must really be fine. I'll get going. Here's

elhet

back and turned to leav

Bottle

your wine." Sylvia handed o

belongs to s

Chris called after her, clutching the wine, finally asking the question Rupert most wanted answered.

"Wait. You're suddenly so concerned-are you worried about him?"

Sylvia stopped, her voice cool. "I just don't want to owe him anything."

Chris shot back, "So what about him risking his life racing to save you? How does that count?"

Sylvia's voice was quiet, but steady. "Who was he really trying to save? Do I have to spell it out? He covered for Kay because of Reese. He used me to catch ves, afraid xves would lose control and hurt Reese. To this day, Reese doesn't even know Yves hurt those other women because of her. Everyone's been protecting her." s

Sylvia spoke softly, as if she'd already accepted the facts.

But Chris noticed her hands, hidden in her sleeves, were trembling.

"That's because Ms. Sanford..." Chris started, but the words died in his throat.

"Dr. Chris, you got their wedding e-invite, right? Reese wanted me to help pick it out with her."

Sylvia's lips curled into a faint smile, her eyes flashing with a hint of coldness.

Chris fell silent.

It was all set in stone.

When he came back to himself, Sylvia was gone.

...

Sylvia asked the waiter for a wine recommendation and went back to her private room, explaining to her: coworkers that Fay had left early s

St.

It was the least she could do for appearances.

After the dinner, Sylvia said goodbye to her colleagues outside the restaurant.

She was about to call a cab when her phone rang-Lester.

"Turn around."

She spun and, to her surprise, Lester was standing right behind her.

He looked her over, his gaze landing on her flushed cheeks. "You've been

drinking?"

"Just a little,” Sylvia said, holding up her fingers to show how little.

She wasn't drunk, just a bit uncomfortable-she'd only drunk for the sake of her colleagues.