Chapter 309
Adrian sat beside me and poured some tea. “Don’t let him get to you. I should never have agreed to bring you here.”
‘Are you not ready to face him?”
I shook my head. “Timing doesn’t matter. It would’ve been the same whenever we met.”
The truth was, after loving Blake for years, I couldn’t face him like a stranger. And he was too perceptive as long as I had this face, he’d suspect. Even with more preparation, nothing would have changed.
Adrian sighed. “You and Evelyn… your personalities are completely different.”
I perked up, surprised he’d mentioned her willingly. “What kind of person was my sister?” It was a question I’d wanted to ask for months, but he always changed the subject.
Adrian’s expression softened, a mixture of tenderness and pain crossing his face.
“She was nothing like you,” he said quietly. “Her parents spoiled her from childhood. Delicate, couldn’t handle any hardship. She’d cry over the smallest things.”
He shook his head, smiling sadly. “She’d call me in tears about being hurt, and I’d rush over to find just a tiny scratch. But she’d still lie in my arms sobbing, saying how much it hurt…”
“She must have suffered terribly with heart failure,” I said softly.
Adrian’s smile vanished, his eyes suddenly dark.
“She wasn’t in pain,” he said flatly. “When she was sick, I was the one who suffered.”
Blake’s POV
“Blake! Wait!”
Rachel’s voice faded behind me. as I pushed through the hotel doors. I didn’t slow down.
When I finally stopped at the curb to check my watch, Rachel stumbled up beside me, out of breath.
“Jesus, Blake,” she panted.
I didn’t look at her. She leaned against a railing, still catching her breath. “Where are you going?”
“Back to the hotel. Clarke’s party isn’t until tonight.”
My car pulled up. I got in without waiting.
Rachel slipped in before the door closed.
The AC hit us as the car pulled away. Rachel’s breathing finally slowed. She watched me check my emails, the silence between us growing thicker by the second.
‘Look,” she finally said. “I know I pissed you off back there.”
Chapter JUY
I kept scrolling.
“But you listened to me. You left. That means something, right?”
“So are we good?” she asked.
I put my phone down. “I’m not mad.”
Her suggestion in the hotel room kept replaying in my head:
“If that really is Audrey, you’re just giving her more reasons to stay away.”
Simple but true.
I’d been threatening a child to get what I wanted. Using fear and intimidation. My usual tactics.
For three years, that’s how I’d dealt with Audrey. I’d bullied her, dismissed her, made her feel small.
If Knox’s wife really was her, why would seeing the same behavior make her come back? I’d just confirmed her worst memories of
Rachel blinked at me, her surprise obvious. “Wait, seriously? You’re not mad?”
She studied my face. “Blake, you…”
“Rachel.” I leaned forward. “You still talk to Thalia, right?”
Her face dropped. “Yeah.”
“And Olivia too,” she added. “I know that bugs you, but since we’re both out here, and your grandfather needs –
“I need you to do something,” I said, cutting her off. “When we get back, tell them I gave Snow away.”
“What? Why would I –
I passed her my phone. “Make sure Thalia hears about it before tonight.”
N
Rachel took the phone, frowning at the event listing on screen. It showed tonight’s charity gala with a list of attendees.
Three names caught her attention: Astrid Wilson, Thalia Parker, and Olivia Cavendish.
She glanced up, getting it. “You want Astrid to find out about the cat?”
Divorce Me Before Death Takes Me, CEO
