HIS REGRET (Ex-Husband wants Me Back) novel Chapter 696

Chapter 696

Near noon, they stopped at a private restaurant inside the park.

Everyone had only just taken their seats when a tall man in a casual jacket walked in without ceremony.

“So it’s true. You rented an entire amusement park just for your last day in Hong Kong.”

Lydia looked up and broke into a wide smile.

“Chris.”

The man gave Lydia a brief hug, then greeted the others like someone long accustomed to this family.

But his gaze stopped when it landed on Naomi.

“I’ve never seen you before.” Chris looked at her sharply. “Who are you?”

“She’s Naomi,” Lydia said on Naomi’s behalf. “And… this is Chris, my husband’s younger brother.”

Ah, so another member of the Miller family.

How many siblings did Cale have?

The thought stirred Naomi’s curiosity, but she quickly pushed it aside. Why should she care about Cale Miller’s background?

“Nice to meet you. I’m Naomi,” she said softly.

Chris pulled out a chair and sat down. “I’m Chris.”

He glanced around the table. “I leave for a few weeks to handle TnC Group in Dallas, and Cale places someone by his side? Without me knowing?”

Naomi leaned back in her chair. “I don’t want to be in the middle of this family either.”

Chris smirked faintly. “So… who are you?”

“Chris,” Lydia warned, and that was enough to make him give up trying to pry for now.

During lunch, Chris slipped effortlessly into the family’s chaotic rhythm. He teased Grace, got lectured by Lydia, earned lazy looks from Daven, and occasionally shifted into serious conversation whenever business matters came up. Then Josh targeted him with endless questions about sports cars. Naomi, who had started out quiet, gradually found herself joining in.

By afternoon, they watched a private parade prepared especially for them.

Cheerful music filled the park’s main street. Cartoon characters danced, children ran laughing, and the sky slowly turned gold.

Naomi stood slightly behind the others, watching it all with a strange feeling she could not easily name.

Lydia approached carrying an ice cream cone.

“I thought you were planning to disappear without saying goodbye again, like last time,” she said lightly.

The comment made Naomi feel guilty.

“I actually prefer being alone. Besides, I’m not part of that family, am I?”

Lydia smiled faintly.

“And I have no intention of leaving while guards are posted everywhere.”

“Good.” Lydia chuckled. “Then you’d better keep eating your ice cream before it melts. Grace is already jealous because your scoop is still whole while hers is long gone.”

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Naomi accepted the ice cream, laughing as she imagined the little girl now watching the parade and getting angry at her over dessert.

“Why are you all so kind to me?”

Lydia had been watching her noisy family calling for Chris to come take photos. She turned quickly, giving Naomi her full

attention.

“I don’t know. Maybe because from the first moment I met you, you looked like a lost puppy.”

“That’s not an answer,” Naomi said with an annoyed pout.

“Because once, someone helped me too when my life was falling apart.”

Naomi fell silent.

Lydia looked at her gently. “And because you look like someone who has been alone for far too long.”

The sound of the parade, children’s laughter, and the golden evening light suddenly made Naomi’s chest tighten in a way that

did not hurt.

She turned to look at Josh running past with a balloon in hand, Grace whining for another photo, Althea complaining while smiling, Chris pretending to be too lazy to join the pictures, and Lydia standing beside her as though that was the most natural place in the world.

Warmth. Comfort.

Something Naomi had never truly felt before.

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