Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband? novel Chapter 393

“Don’t be afraid of me. That man, Cossio, he’s violent—dangerous. He’ll hurt you. Why don’t you come with me instead?”

Mila bit her tongue, refusing to answer.

Is he for real? Just going to say that right in front of everyone?

What’s his angle, being so blunt when Cossio’s right there? Then again, maybe their relationship is close enough that this sort of thing isn’t out of bounds.

Sure enough, the man everyone called Cossio—whose moods were notoriously unpredictable—didn’t get angry. Instead, he simply yanked the other man aside and replied coolly in Italian, “She belongs to me.”

The man just shrugged and dropped back into his seat at the poker table. As Cossio sat down, the man glanced at the veiled woman behind him and grinned. “Come on, Cossio, be serious. Let me have this beauty, will you? I caught a whiff of medicine on her—she’s hurt. You always forget, women need to be cared for and cherished.”

He seemed suddenly reminded of something, and went on, “Remember that foreign beauty from over twenty years ago? Didn’t you—"

BANG!

The heavy ebony cane slammed down on the table, its tip aimed straight at the man’s chest. Cossio’s voice was icy and measured: “Are you challenging me to a duel? Fine. Name the place. Sign the contract.”

A brief hush fell.

Then, as if on cue, the others crowded around the table burst out laughing and cheering, clapping their hands. “A duel! A duel!”

They were clearly here for the drama.

The man raised both hands in surrender, looking resigned. “Alright, alright, my fault for running my mouth. I’m not interested in a duel—my lover’s waiting for me back home.”

The crowd groaned and booed, disappointed.

…

Mila sat behind Cossio, her face hidden by a black veil, brow furrowed in thought.

A foreign beauty from twenty years ago?

From what that man had said, did it mean that, all those years ago, there was a foreign woman by Cossio’s side?

Twenty years. The timing… and lately, she’d noticed how Cossio seemed oddly attentive whenever Felicity was mentioned. She tried to piece things together, but nothing fit.

It struck her suddenly—she’d been married into the Montgomery family for seven years, and yet there was so much she didn’t know. All she really knew was that Felicity had suffered from postpartum depression after giving birth to her second child. Her mental health had been fragile ever since. Though she’d mostly stabilized in recent years, she’d never fully recovered.

Sometimes, during her episodes, she didn’t even recognize people.

But… what if…

What if the “foreign beauty” from twenty years ago was Felicity? And what if that man’s casual use of the word “toyed with” meant more than it seemed?

A cold suspicion crept up Mila’s spine, chilling her to the bone.

Was Felicity’s illness really just postpartum depression?

She thought of Felicity’s gentle smile, her warm embrace—kinder to Mila than her own mother ever was. Felicity had treated her like her own daughter, and Mila had come to love her as a true mother in return… The realization sent a shiver through her, her whole body trembling.

Another detail surfaced—something she’d never considered before.

For a family as prominent as the Montgomerys, international travel should be routine. Yet, aside from Lysander, Mila couldn’t recall any of the core Montgomery family ever traveling abroad—not even for leisure. Odd, considering how many overseas businesses the family controlled.