"I'm fine," she replied coolly. "You don't need to worry."

There was another pause. Her tone had definitely cooled, and he noticed.

He said finally, "Sloane told me you got Corrine to recommend her to Glenn.”

At Lyndon's words, Tilda's fingers tightened around her phone, a ripple of discomfort coursing through her.

She managed only a soft hum in reply.

Lyndon had spoken with Sloane, so he must have known she had seen Rita at Glenn's studio, right?

"You saw Rita there, didn't you? I'm the one who recommended her," Lyndon began, his tone matter-of-fact. "I owed her a favor. She was looking for a skilled musician to mentor her, so I made it happen."

"Save it! I don't care about your affairs. Do whatever you want," Tilda snapped, cutting him off as irritation flared within her.

He had arranged Rita's introduction to Glenn without so much as a word to her.

Only after it was done did he bother to mention it.

This wasn't a conversation-it was him informing her after the fact.

If she hadn't seen Rita there herself, would he have kept it a secret forever?

"Tilda, do you have to speak to me like that?" Lyndon's voice grew low, his frustration barely masked.

Tilda pressed her lips together. "Anything else? I'm hanging up.

Lyndon went quiet, the air between them thick with unspoken tension.

Moments Later, he hung up abruptly, the beep jarring in her ear.

Tilda bit her lip, wrestling with a storm of conflicting feelings.

Both she and Lyndon were too stubborn to yield.

She knew it must have taken him ages to work up the nerve to make this call, yet she had met him with cold indifference.

Had they finally reached a breaking point? Was he.. considering divorce?

On the other side, Lyndon slammed his phone onto the desk, his expression darkening.

His chest rose and fell with suppressed anger.

Pushing his chair back, he stood and poured himself a glass of cold water, gulping down half in one go.

The icy liquid slid down his throat, doing little to cool his simmering rage.