The Best Revenge It Wasn't Even Your Child novel Chapter 516

Lance sat back with his elbow propped casually on the sofa arm, his body tilted just enough to look effortlessly confident. The energy he gave off seemed to fill the whole room, something about his athletic build made it hard to ignore him.

“No need for that,” he said, his voice calm. “Catherine can handle her own favors.”

Gavin tried to brush off Lance’s words, but when it came down to it, he really couldn’t claim the right to return a favor for Catherine. The shift in the conversation left him at a disadvantage, and he didn’t have a comeback.

“Gavin, does your family do business in Eldervale?” Harrell jumped in, breaking up the heavy silence that had settled between the two men.

Gavin shook his head. “No, we don’t.”

“Then what brings you out here? And how long are you staying?” Harrell pressed.

Gavin smiled, glancing at the nursery. “I came to see Catherine. As for how long I’ll stay, I’ll head back once things calm down for her.”

The meaning behind his words hung in the air, obvious and full of unspoken tension. Ever since he’d brought Catherine into Golden Horizon Enterprises, everyone seemed to assume the baby was his. The only thing missing was someone from the Main Family making it official. Anyone could see this was Gavin’s way of telling Lance the baby belonged to him.

Lance’s eyes darkened and his jaw tightened, every line of his face turning sharp.

Harrell hadn’t expected that just a few questions would turn the tension up even higher.

“Is everyone here?” Alexa stepped out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. Lunch was just about ready. She scanned the room, but Catherine and Lorinda were nowhere in sight, and she didn’t recognize Harrell or Lance. She turned to the only person she knew.

“Gavin, should we eat soon?”

“Let’s wait for Catherine to come out,” Gavin replied. He almost sounded like he owned the place.

Alexa nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Still doing up the last buttons on her cardigan, Catherine started toward the nursery. “I’ll take over from here. Could you go check on Jasper…?”

Her cardigan hung open, showing the softened, curvy figure she’d gained since giving birth. Her cheeks were flushed pink from rushing, softening her features and making her look like a flower about to bloom.

She stepped into the room, only to find herself face to face with Lance. His eyes were shadowed, fixed on her, their intensity stopping her words.

She saw the way his gaze moved from her face down, lingering. Instinctively, she turned away, fumbled with her buttons, and quickly fastened everything up.

“What are you doing in here? Who told you to come in?”

Lance swallowed, his voice low and rough. “I heard the baby crying. The door was open. No one else was here, so I came in.”

Lanny was only a little over a month old, but he already knew strangers. From the first day home, he’d only let Catherine hold him. Anyone else, even Alexa, and he would wail. Maybe because Lance had helped look after him before, the baby calmed as soon as he picked him up. Little fists pressed together, his tiny eyes slowly checking out everyone in the room, completely at ease.