The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 8

After breakfast with Adelaide, Petty got ready to leave. With her leg still injured, driving was out of the question, so she just asked the butler to arrange a car.

While she waited, she dug a tube of anti-swelling cream out of her bag. She’d found it on the table right outside her bedroom this morning. It was the same brand the housekeeper at Misty Vale used to give her. She had no clue who’d left it for her.

She wandered into the courtyard and stopped beneath the giant magnolia tree. It stretched up two stories, but in December, the branches were nothing but a tangle of bare twigs. The magnolias in Cabinda wouldn’t bloom until April.

Petty remembered her first day with the White family, back when the tree was covered in flowers. She had been seven, Franco twelve. The sun was shining, and Franco stood under the magnolia while a servant introduced her. He barely spared her a glance and just said, “Don’t bother me.”

“Petty, you sure have a lot of time on your hands. The whole house is practically on fire, and here you are, staring at a dead tree.” The voice behind her was cool and mocking.

She didn’t bother turning around. She already knew it was Owen, Franco’s cousin from the second branch of the Whites.

Owen and Franco had always been at odds, and Petty really didn’t have the patience for him right now. She started to walk away.

“Wait up.” Owen blocked her path, stretching out his arm with a half-smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Aren’t you curious where Franco’s hiding Laura?”

Petty stopped in her tracks.

Owen noticed and smirked, strolling in front of her and looking down with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve been married to him for three years. Franco can be pretty heartless, can’t he…”

Petty shoved her hands into her pockets. “Whatever’s going on between Franco and me is our own business. If you’re so interested in family drama, maybe try focusing on actually making something of yourself at the White Group instead.”

Her words clearly hit a sore spot.

Owen’s face darkened. He grabbed her arm, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Your business? You’re fooling yourself. Do you really think Franco sees you as his wife?”

It stung—like he’d slapped her in front of everyone. Petty’s face burned, and her heart twisted painfully. The whole family knew Franco never acknowledged her as his wife.

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