The next day, whispers filled the office about the size of the diamond on Addilyn Freeman's finger. Everywhere Thea Gonzales went, she felt the weight of curious stares following her.

Her close friend, Paislee Larson, pulled her into the break room, fuming, "Addilyn's got some nerve, doesn't she? You should've made sure Xavier Ford walked away with nothing, and taken over the company!"

Thea calmly brewed herself a cup of espresso and replied, "Xavier's no fool. He gave me the house, the car, the savings, and our daughter, Celine. That means he wanted to keep the company. How else would he support Addilyn?"

"But, Thea, you know what people are saying behind your back, right? They say you’re lingering around, refusing to be tossed aside, just to win him back."

Through the break room’s glass wall, Thea glanced at the office area. Those who'd been watching quickly pretended to be engrossed in their work.

"They're not entirely wrong," she thought aloud. "I’m not ready to just walk away."

"Why should I be the one who stood by Xavier through thick and thin, only for Addilyn to swoop in and reap the rewards? Why does her child get a father while my daughter ends up in a single-parent household?"

"But I don’t want that good-for-nothing man," Thea continued, her voice steady. "What I want is his company, the very thing he prides himself on."

For that, she was willing to do whatever it took.

In the afternoon, Thea Gonzales brought the documents into Xavier Ford's office for his signature. After signing, Xavier handed them back to her and said, "Thea, I'm sorry about last night's video. Addilyn wasn't thinking. Is Celine okay?"

Holding the documents, Thea replied, "Celine's fine."

Perhaps due to lingering guilt, Xavier's attitude toward Thea had softened considerably since their divorce. He was no longer as confrontational as before. Noticing the dress that beautifully highlighted Thea's waist, he remarked, "You've lost a lot of weight. That dress looks fantastic on you."

For the past couple of months, Thea had been working out regularly, and it was beginning to show. Meanwhile, as Addilyn's pregnancy advanced, her once slender waistline had vanished.

Xavier paused, as if he noticed something different, and asked, "Have you changed your perfume?"

In a casual tone, Thea replied, "Yes, a friend gave it to me. They thought it suited me."

Xavier's eyes flickered with a momentary change. He teased, "A male friend?"

Thea didn’t answer him directly. Instead, as she turned to leave, her smile widened.

Weekends were Xavier's days to spend with his daughter.

Celine, bubbling with excitement, had changed into her Elsa dress early in the morning, eagerly anticipating a day at the amusement park with her father. However, Xavier called to say something had come up and he wouldn't be able to make it.

Distraught, Celine was inconsolable and later that night developed a high fever.

Thea, by herself, drove her to the emergency room. There, at the hospital, she ran into Xavier.

He explained that Addilyn wasn't feeling well and was also at the hospital.

...

While Thea was cradling a sleeping Celine and supervising her second IV drip, Xavier approached.

For the first time since the divorce, he expressed some semblance of regret. "Thea, I'm sorry. This must be really hard for you."

Thea looked down at Celine nestled in her arms, willing herself not to cry. "It's Celine you should apologize to. She's been counting the days to see you, and then you didn’t show."

Xavier knelt beside them and reached out to touch Celine's face. But as he did, she stirred and instinctively moved closer to Thea.

His hand lingered in the air for a moment before he let it fall, defeated.

"Have you eaten?" he asked Thea. She shook her head.

Just then, Xavier’s phone went off—Addilyn was calling. Whatever she said made his expression grow increasingly somber.

Eventually, as if worn down by her persistence, he said, "Just get some rest. I'll join you after I finish up here, okay?"

The cycle had turned. There was a time when Thea had called Xavier, urging him to come home, only to be met with excuses about work. But back then, his tone with her was anything but gentle, filled instead with irritation.

After hanging up, Xavier looked at Thea awkwardly. "Addilyn wasn't like this before. Maybe it’s the pregnancy making her extra clingy. Don’t take it personally. I'll go find you something to eat."

"No need," Thea replied with an air of grace. "She's pregnant; you should go be with her. I can handle things here."

Her deliberate show of understanding left Xavier racked with guilt, something evident in the way he looked at her.

"Thea, you've really changed," he remarked.

She smiled. "When you don't have a safe harbor, you learn to grow up."

His hands clenched into fists at his sides, avoiding her gaze.

"Thea," a voice called from behind Xavier. He turned to see a man in a white lab coat, holding a takeout container, approaching them.