Chapter 25
The moment Emma realized whose birthday party this was, she'd had a bad feeling.
Trace Donovan.
Yesterday, Mrs. Mercer had told her that Adrian was supposedly getting along well with the woman his family wanted him to marry.
Emma still had no idea what she'd meant by that.
Adrian had spent half of last night at her apartment, eating her food and developing an emotional attachment to a mango smoothie.
But this was Trace's birthday.
So there was still a very good chance Adrian would show up.
Which meant when Emma heard that familiar voice behind her—
she wasn't surprised.
She turned.
Sure enough.
Adrian Mercer.
Emma gave him a polite smile.
"Mr. Mercer."
Adrian stopped dead.
For several seconds, he simply stared at her.
Was that really Emma?
She wore a white off-the-shoulder evening gown, her long hair falling loosely over her shoulders.
Elegant.
Soft.
Beautiful.
Completely different from the practical, professionally dressed woman he was used to seeing at the office.
Adrian's brain briefly stopped functioning.
He'd never seen her like this.
She was—
beautiful.
Not cute.
Not kind of pretty.
Then his brain finally restarted.
Wait.
Why is Emma here?
If she'd come because of him, that made no sense.
She'd gotten here before he had.
Then Adrian noticed something else.
Her arm.
It was linked through someone else's.
A man's.
His gaze followed the man's arm upward.
Recognition hit him.
"Mr. Vance?"
They moved in the same wealthy social circles. Of course Adrian knew Lawrence Vance.
Lawrence recognized him too.
He gave him a faint nod.
"Adrian."
Adrian started walking toward them.
With every step, his expression grew darker.
"What are you two doing?"
Emma's eyelid twitched.
Oh, no.
In Adrian's mind, there was simply no possibility that Emma would voluntarily hold another man's arm.
She liked him.
Therefore—
Lawrence must have made her do it.
Perfectly reasonable.
At least to Adrian.
He looked directly at Lawrence.
"Let go of her."
Lawrence's eyebrows rose.
"Excuse me?"
Emma:
"......"
Dear God.
Not during billable hours.
Before she could react, Adrian caught her by the wrist.
"Come with me."
"Adrian—"
Emma barely had time to get the word out before he pulled her away.
Everyone nearby stared.
Isabelle hadn't expected the evening to suddenly become this entertaining.
She opened her mouth to say something—
then noticed Lawrence.
He was still looking in the direction Emma had disappeared.
Isabelle's brows drew together.
"Lawrence."
He finally looked back at her.
"We haven't seen each other in three years."
She paused.
"Don't you have anything you want to say to me?"
Lawrence went quiet.
Of course he did.
On the way here, he'd imagined this reunion a hundred different ways.
He'd had countless things he wanted to ask her.
Countless things he wanted to say.
But right now—
his date had just been dragged away by Adrian Mercer.
And Adrian had looked furious.
Not casually annoyed.
Not confused.
It wasn't difficult to understand what that meant.
Adrian liked Emma.
Lawrence's expression darkened slightly.
Since when do those two know each other?
And exactly what was their relationship?
Questions crowded his mind.
Still—
Emma wasn't Isabelle.
He'd waited three years for Isabelle to come back.
He looked at her.
"Yes."
His voice was calm.
"We should talk."
Isabelle smiled.
"Do you mind if Eric stays?"
Lawrence's gaze moved toward him.
His expression cooled.
"Do whatever you want."
"What exactly is going on between you and Lawrence Vance?"
Adrian stood in front of Emma with a deep frown.
The moment he'd pulled her into the private lounge, Emma had yanked her wrist free.
That alone bothered him.
She'd been perfectly happy linking arms with Lawrence.
But the second he touched her, she pulled away.
Emma smoothed her dress.
Then she looked at him.
"What you saw is what it is."
That was all she could say.
Client confidentiality.
Professional ethics.
Emma Carter might have had a highly unusual résumé, but she had standards.
Adrian's head was a mess.
There were too many questions.
He didn't even know which one to ask first.
He ran a frustrated hand through his blue hair.
"Did he make you block me?"
Emma blinked.
"What?"
"Did Lawrence tell you to quit?"
"No."
Emma shook her head.
"I resigned because I wanted to resign."
"I don't work for you anymore. Not showing up is generally how quitting works."
Adrian:
"......"
Emma glanced toward the door.
This was Lawrence's paid time.
Adrian was currently wasting it for free.
Unacceptable.
"I have to go."
She turned.
Adrian caught her wrist again.
Then the question came out before he could stop it.
"Don't you like me?"
Emma stopped.
Adrian stared at her.
"If you like me, why are you with him?"
Emma gently pulled her hand free.
Then she looked him directly in the eyes.
"No, Mr. Mercer."
Her voice was calm.
"I don't like you anymore."
Adrian went completely still.
For a moment, it felt as if the entire room had gone silent.
His fingers automatically reached for the silver chain around his neck.
Then he laughed.
It sounded forced even to him.
"Emma, what kind of joke is that?"
"Everyone saw you chasing after me for more than a year."
His smile tightened.
"You expect me to believe you suddenly don't like me?"
Emma nodded.
"That was before."
"I don't anymore."
"No."
Adrian shook his head.
"I don't believe you."
Then something occurred to him.
His eyes sharpened.
"Is this because of the arranged marriage?"
"I told you already. I'm not marrying Trace."
Emma frowned.
"That has nothing to do with me."
"I don't care who you marry."
The smile disappeared from Adrian's face.
"What do you care about, then?"
His voice came out sharper than he intended.
Emma looked at him.
Adrian immediately regretted it.
His tone softened.
"What do you care about?"
Emma smiled faintly.
"Something you'd never care about."
Money.
Obviously.
Emma studied him.
The more she looked at his expression, the stranger this became.
Why was he asking so many questions?
Wait.
He couldn't actually be interested in her now...
could he?
Emma's stomach dropped.
Oh, hell no.
She hated this kind of plot twist.
Adrian stared at her.
His blue hair had fallen slightly over his forehead, and for once there was something almost vulnerable in his eyes.
"What is it?"
Emma hardened her heart.
She needed to make this clear.
"Whatever it is..."
Her voice became deliberately distant.
"It's not you."
There.
That should do it.
Adrian had an ego the size of Mercer Holdings.
Even if he'd developed a little interest in her, getting rejected this directly should kill it immediately.
Sure enough—
Adrian got angry.
His eyes flashed.
"That's impossible."
"Emma, for over a year, you knew everything about me. You paid attention to everything I did."
His voice rose.
"And now you're telling me you don't care about me?"
Emma smiled brightly.
"People change."
Then she gave him a tiny wave.
"Bye."
Adrian stared at her.
People change?
That quickly?
And why did she look so damn happy about it?
Emma turned and walked away.
Adrian instinctively reached after her.
His fingers caught nothing but a few strands of her hair as they slipped across his palm.
Then even those were gone.
"Emma!"
She kept walking.
"Emma, come back!"
Emma Carter suddenly discovered remarkable athletic ability whenever unpaid emotional labor was chasing her.
Within seconds, she was gone.
Adrian stood there.
Frozen.
His feet felt impossibly heavy.
For the first time since Emma had resigned, a thought appeared that he genuinely didn't want to consider.
What if she means it?
His chest tightened.
No.
She couldn't.
Could she?
She'd liked him for more than a year.
People didn't just—
stop.
But she'd looked him directly in the eyes.
She hadn't hesitated.
She hadn't cried.
She hadn't even looked angry.
She'd just said:
I don't like you anymore.
Adrian's chest actually hurt.
He'd never experienced anything like it.
Emma didn't like him anymore.
She was heartless.
Cold.
Unbelievable.
And—
How the hell did she do that?
How could someone like him for more than a year and then just switch it off?
Another thought slipped into his head.
She's ruthless.
A second later:
She's so different.
Adrian:
"......"
Even his own brain had betrayed him.
"Why are you hiding in here?"
Ryan Brooks appeared at the entrance.
He'd gotten Adrian's message saying he'd arrived, but after looking around the party, Ryan hadn't been able to find him anywhere.
Then he finally found him here.
Ryan stopped.
Adrian's carefully styled blue hair was a mess.
His expression looked even worse.
"What happened to you?"
Adrian snapped,
"I got dumped."
Ryan stared at him.
A beat of silence.
Then—
"You were dating someone?"
Adrian:
"......"
Ryan realized his mistake approximately half a second too late.
Adrian grabbed him.
"Wait—Adrian—"
"Say that again."
"It was a valid question!"
It was.
Unfortunately, that did not save him.
Elsewhere at the party, Isabelle sat across from Lawrence.
Eric sat beside her.
Isabelle looked at Lawrence.
"How have you been these past few years?"
"Fine."
Isabelle waited.
That was it?
Just—
fine?
Wasn't he going to ask how she had been?
She took a breath.
Then deliberately reached for Eric's hand.
"I'm glad."
She smiled.
"I've been doing well too."
Eric smiled back and intertwined their fingers.
He knew Isabelle and Lawrence had history.
What he didn't know was exactly how complicated that history was.
As far as he was concerned, this was just a slightly awkward reunion with someone important from her past.
Lawrence's eyes landed on their joined hands.
His brows tightened.
Isabelle noticed immediately.
The corner of her mouth lifted.
There.
He still cares.
Then Lawrence glanced toward the direction Emma had disappeared.
"Why isn't she back yet?"
The words slipped out quietly.
Isabelle blinked.
"What?"
Lawrence looked back at her.
"Nothing."
His gaze dropped briefly to Eric's hand around hers.
"You two seem happy."
Isabelle smiled.
"We are."
She paused.
"And I hope you and your girlfriend are happy too."
She watched his face carefully.
She expected anger.
Jealousy.
Something.
Instead—
Lawrence remained calm.
Worse, he seemed distracted.
Isabelle's smile slowly faded.
Something wasn't right.
For years after she'd left, Lawrence had kept trying to convince her to come back.
Messages.
Calls.
Promises.
Their families had once expected the relationship to end in marriage.
But when the discussions became serious, Isabelle's family hadn't been satisfied with the financial arrangements the Vance family was willing to make.
They believed Lawrence's family could offer far more.
So they'd encouraged Isabelle to go abroad.
See the world.
Meet other people.
And give Lawrence time to prove how serious he really was.
Over the years—
he had tried.
The offers became increasingly generous.
But Isabelle's family kept expecting more.
Eventually, Isabelle started dating Eric.
Partly because she liked him.
Partly because she wanted Lawrence to understand that she wasn't going to wait forever.
But something had changed.
Over the past six months, Lawrence had stopped trying so hard.
Fewer messages.
Fewer calls.
Less talk about their future.
And now—
he had brought another woman to Trace's birthday party.
A woman who had clearly been styled to remind people of Isabelle...
yet somehow didn't feel like a replacement at all.
For the first time, Isabelle felt uneasy.
He couldn't actually have feelings for her... could he?
She tightened her grip on Eric's hand.
She and Eric had become physically intimate.
But deep down—
the man Isabelle still wanted was Lawrence.
Then a soft voice came from behind them.
"Mr. Vance."
Lawrence's shoulders visibly relaxed.
He turned.
Emma was back.
A quiet sense of relief washed through him.
Adrian Mercer had dragged her away.
But she'd come back to him.
Lawrence looked at Emma.
And one thought settled comfortably into place.
Of course she came back.
She really does love me.