Chapter 333
At the hospital, a guard stopped us outside Blake’s room.
‘Mr. Parker’s orders. Only Michael Chen and Miss Hayes allowed,” he said flatly. “He specifically mentioned keeping you out, ma’am.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Blake Parker really said that?”
This made no sense. Parker got injured saving Audrey shouldn’t he want her thanks?
‘Mr. Parker said since Mrs. Knox isn’t who he thought she was, he doesn’t want to see her again. If he’d known that last night, he wouldn’t have jumped in front of that trap.”
‘He considers it bad luck. Seeing her reminds him of someone else, which upsets him and hurts his recovery.” He looked at Audrey. “Please don’t make this hard for me,
ma’am. I’m following orders.”
Audrey’s POV
I stood still, a mocking smile forming as I listened. I wasn’t upset. Almost amused, really.
Ella’s message suddenly made perfect sense. Blake didn’t need to handle our collaboration personally because he’d confirmed I wasn’t Audrey Sinclair. His performance was over.
He hasn’t changed at all.
All that guilt and talk of making amends was just theater. The only person Blake truly loved was himself. Now that he knew I wasn’t his ex-wife, he could drop the act.
“This is ridiculous!” Adrian’s voice rose beside me. “We came to thank him and show concern, and he blocks us? Has he forgotten our collaboration
agreement?”
I touched his arm. “Adrian. His design director already contacted me last night.”
Adrian looked surprised.
I turned back to the guard. “Tell Mr. Parker 1 appreciate his help yesterday. I’ll work with Ella Murphy on the collaboration and honor the favorable terms I promised.
My voice stayed even. “We’re returning to Sydney today and won’t likely meet again, so these security measures seem unnecessary.”
I looked at Adrian. “Let’s go.”
He frowned once more at the closed door before we left together, neither of us looking back.
Back in Australia, Adrian and his parents helped me learn Evelyn’s routines. I picked up running Q-elegant quickly. Without my past weighing me down, everything felt lighter – I was more myself than I’d been in years.
A month later, Astrid called with news about Blake and Rachel.
“They’ve set a wedding date,” she told me. “It’s happening soon.”
Years ago, hearing my best friend was marrying my ex would have torn me apart. I would’ve worried about Rachel stepping into the same trap I’d barely escaped.
But now?
“Rachel’s different,” I said, surprised by my own calm. “She’s tough. Not a pushover like I was.”
“She knows what she wants. Blake might actually be useful to her career.”
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Chapter 333
Astrid went quiet for a beat. “Glad you’re not hung up on them anymore.”
“But there’s something else – do you know why they’re rushing it?”
1 leaned back, phone tucked between ear and shoulder while signing papers. “No idea.”
“Mr. William Parker is dying.
My pen dropped. “William?”
“Yeah, Astrid said. “Actually, he nearly died a few months back. Blake called the whole family home. His mom and aunt had funeral arrangements ready. But he pulled through that night… because of Rachel.”
“What do you mean?”
“William was confused and kept mistaking every young woman for you. He missed you so much.”
‘Rachel knows you better than almost anyone,” Astrid continued. “Your habits, the things you say. So she played along. Pretended to be you.”
“It worked. The old man believed her, and it pulled him back. Now he’s sick again. His last wish is to see you and Blake back together.”
My throat went dry. “So their wedding is for William?”
“His request, yeah.”
