Page 85 of The Edge Of Us

"Allen?" she said slowly, her eyes falling to the two small bodies beside me. For a second, her expression broke. Her hand covered her mouth, and tears sprung into her eyes. "Kyle? Astrid?"

"Mommy!" Astrid squealed, wriggling free and running into her mother's arms.

Corinne knelt down quickly, wrapping them both into her embrace. Her laugh came out wet with emotion. "What are you two doing here?"

Kyle beamed. "Daddy said we're surprising you. He said you miss us."

She looked up, eyes meeting mine, and for a split second, everything softened. "Of course I missed you," she whispered, clutching them close.

But then the realization hit. Her gaze sharpened.

"Brittany," she said flatly. "Please take the kids out. Let them grab cupcakes from the lounge."

"Cori-"

"Please, Brit."

Brittany hesitated, glancing at me, then at Jasper, then gently led Kyle and Astrid away. Kyle looked back, confused.

"Mommy?"

She smiled faintly. "Go on, sweetheart. I'll be right out."

Once the door clicked shut, the storm broke.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?!"

I flinched. Jasper shifted uncomfortably but didn't leave.

"You brought our kids to London? Without telling me? You took Kyle out of school without informing me?Astrid was finally sleeping through the night again! I had just gotten their schedule to stabilize!"

"I just wanted-"

"To what? Score points? Make me look like the absent mom in front of my staff? I've been working day and night to balance this launch and motherhood-and you think dragging them across the Atlantic is helping?!"

"Corinne, that's not fair. I'm their father. They miss you. I thought-"

"No, you didn't think. That's the problem. You just acted. As usual. Kyle is four, Allen. He has a routine, a structure! You can't just yank him out of school for an impulsive trip because you miss me or you feel guilty."

The guilt hit harder than I expected.

I reached out toward her, but she stepped back.

"I didn't come here to fight. I came because they've been asking for you every night. Astrid wakes up screaming sometimes, and nothing I do helps. I thought-maybe seeing you would-"

She looked like she was about to break.

Then I ruined it.

"I'm still a stakeholder in Luxe, Corinne. Don't forget that. You built this with my investment. My money. My name. If I want to be here-"

Her face collapsed. Not with tears. With disgust.

Even Jasper looked stunned.

"Wow," she whispered. "So that's what I am to you? An investment? A project? You think your money givesyou the right to barge into my launch and disrupt everything I've built?"

"No, I didn't mean it like-"

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