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"My husband's emergencies at work happen quite a lot, don't you think?"
"I wouldn't really know, Mrs. Harcourt."
"I mean...he should be bankrupt by now at the rate he's having them."
"Perhaps they're not as bad as they sound."
He was so obviously doing his best to protect his employer's secret, and Summerine privately commended him for it.
"Everything alright, Mrs. Harcourt?"
She gave him a bright smile. "Yes, of course."
Everythingwasalright. Her husband might be a criminal, but she was not going to abandon him. Together, they would figure things out.
Andrew dropped her off at the entrance of the Sixty-Acre Woods Sanctuary, and an employee of the Sanctuary escorted her to the second-floor boardroom. It was empty save for a girl in her mid-teens, and her face immediately brightened upon seeing Summerine.
"Oh hey.Summerine, right? Ryu Harcourt's wife?"
Summerine gave a tentative smile in return. "Uh, yes..."
"I'm Billie," the girl introduced herself with ease. "My sister's married to Logan Hardwall."
Oh!
Summerine briefly recalled Logan and his wife attending her wedding, and weren't they... "You have a veryexpressiveface," Billie remarked with a grin. "You just remembered about my sister being the nanny, didn't you?"
Summerine turned red. That wasexactlywhat she had been thinking, but the younger girl only laughed when she tried to apologize.
"It's fine. It's totally obvious you weren't mentally dissing my sister or anything." Billie curled an arm around Summerine's. "You should totally sit next to me. I'd love to know about your love story."
Love story?
"Oh my gosh, you're blushing again. How cute!"
By the time the other board members showed up in quick succession, she and Billie had already exchanged numbers, and Summerine knew she had made her first friend in life.
"Thank you for attending today's meeting."
Summerine did her best to concentrate as Aryan Hale, the handsome but aloof founder of Sixty-Acre Woods Sanctuary, briefly outlined their agenda for the next ninety minutes.
But it was quite, quite hard...with her thoughts once again consumed by Ryu's secret life.
Why had he chosen to be a criminal?
Did he really earn all of his money...illegally?
Was he not afraid of getting caught?
"Summerine Harcourt, to serve as a proxy for her husband Ryu Harcourt, please raise your hand if you are in attendance."
A turbulent mix of emotions overwhelmed her even as she raised her hand to confirm her presence.
Her parents might not be criminals like Ryu, but they were as cruel to her as Ryu was kind.
He's not perfect, but no one really is.
What can I do to help him?