THE DIVORCE GAMBIT From Dumped Wife to CEO's Forever novel Chapter 139

Beatrice stood frozen, staring at Caitlin as if she'd been turned to stone.

For a long moment, she couldn't process what she was seeing.

Was she… was she really not dreaming?

Her beloved daughter-in-law was actually standing right here, in her own home.

She was really here.

Beatrice's total shock didn't go unnoticed. Alaina found it odd—her mother was always the epitome of poise and etiquette. She could hardly remember a time when Beatrice had ever lost her composure like this. At least, not in Alaina's memory.

What on earth was going on today? Why was her mother looking at Caitlin like that? Could it be that she didn't like her?

Alaina couldn't think of any other reason.

Honestly, her mother had no taste! Caitlin was wonderful, and if Beatrice didn't appreciate that, it was her loss.

Alaina frowned slightly, a touch of worry flickering in her eyes. Nudging Beatrice discreetly with her elbow, she lowered her voice and whispered, "Mom, Catie's saying hello to you."

That finally snapped Beatrice out of her trance. She almost raised a hand to smack herself, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. But then she remembered—her precious daughter-in-law was right here! Even if this was a dream, she couldn't embarrass herself in front of Caitlin.

After all, she prided herself on being the world's number one mother-in-law!

With that thought, Beatrice instantly composed herself, beaming with warm affection as she grasped Caitlin's hand. "Oh, don't call me Mrs. Sylvester! That's far too formal, Catie. Just call me Mom—"

She barely got the word out before realizing her slip. Scrambling to recover, she quickly changed course, "Aunt! I meant, call me Aunt! Haha, just kidding—Catie, ‘Mrs. Sylvester' is perfectly fine."

When she finally finished, Beatrice let out a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness for her quick thinking. She'd managed to save face and not frighten her dear daughter-in-law—a perfect recovery.

"Mrs. Sylvester," Caitlin replied, not at all expecting Beatrice, who always seemed so dignified, to have such a playful side.

Alaina caught the exchange and relaxed. Clearly, she'd been worrying for nothing—her mother liked Caitlin. Otherwise, she wouldn't have joked with her.

With a natural, affectionate motion, Alaina looped her arm through Caitlin's and grinned, "Come on, Mom, Catie, let's not stand around outside. Let's go in and talk."

"Yes, let's go in," Beatrice agreed, slipping her arm through Caitlin's other arm. As they walked, she called over her shoulder, "Skyler! Go see if your uncle is ready and coming down."

"Sure thing, Grandma!" Skyler called back, darting off toward the house.

"Catie, do you like tea?" Beatrice asked as they entered the foyer.

"Uncle, Boss Caitlin is here," Skyler announced.

"Mm." Gordon's tone was nonchalant, as if the news didn't faze him at all.

Skyler crossed the room and tugged at Gordon's arm. "Uncle, Boss Caitlin is here, and you're still buried in paperwork? Come on, let's go downstairs."

As Skyler pulled him up, he suddenly paused, looking Gordon over with suspicion. He leaned in and sniffed.

"Uncle… are you wearing cologne?"

The Sylvester family laundry room always had a subtle scent of pine from the wood incense they used, so Gordon usually carried that woody aroma. But today, there was something else—a faint, refined note of high-end woodsy cologne, crisp and pleasant, nothing like the chemical tang of commercial fragrances.

"No," Gordon denied flatly, his cool expression betraying nothing. "You must be imagining things. Why would I use cologne?"

"Guess I was mistaken," Skyler shrugged, not pressing the issue. "Oh, by the way—Apex is launching their new game, Imperial Ascent, in three days. Do you really think they'll outpace The Chandler Group and release the country's first AAA game? Maybe even snag this year's Celestial Awards?"

AAA games were notoriously difficult to pull off. Even though Apex's mysterious Miss Kensington had elevated their project to new heights, pulling off a true AAA title was still almost impossible.

Gordon's eyes narrowed slightly. "If Imperial Ascent can live up to the screenshots they've been teasing on their official Twitter, then they'll have no problem at all."