Chapter 50
That evening, Lawrence returned to his villa after work.
He'd been in a foul mood all day.
Emma still hadn't contacted him.
The moment he got home, he found the housekeeper.
"Did Emma call you today?"
The housekeeper shook his head. "No."
Which was unfortunate, because he'd spent half the day mentally preparing several different speeches to help the two of them make up.
Not one had been useful.
Lawrence frowned. "What's going on with her?"
The housekeeper studied his expression carefully. "Would you like me to call her?"
Lawrence tugged at his tie and remained silent for a moment.
"Fine. But don't tell her I asked you to."
"Of course."
The housekeeper pulled out his phone and dialed Emma's number.
Emma was having dinner at home.
Adrian was there too.
Uninvited, naturally.
Emma had accepted the things he'd sent her, though, so throwing him out now felt a little harsh.
She'd listed most of the gifts for resale online after realizing returning them wasn't going to be as simple as she'd hoped. Quite a few people had already messaged her asking about prices.
Out of curiosity, she'd also looked everything up on the official brand websites.
That had been a mistake.
The total retail value was close to six figures.
Emma had stared at the number for a long time.
Seriously?
Could she please be born rich in her next life?
Her lease was up at the end of the month anyway. Since she was leaving the city after graduation, there was no point moving somewhere else just to avoid Adrian for another couple of weeks.
Soon she'd be back in Hollow Creek.
Surely Adrian wouldn't follow her all the way there.
It was a tiny town in West Virginia, about as far removed from Adrian's usual world as Emma could imagine. There was no way a spoiled rich kid like him would voluntarily follow her there.
Across the table, Adrian was in an excellent mood.
He'd even styled his blue hair before coming over.
Apparently, he'd become increasingly comfortable with his new position as the other man.
Lawrence was probably busy most of the time anyway. He hardly ever came looking for Emma.
Excellent.
Adrian took another bite of Emma's cooking, perfectly content.
"Emma, you—"
Her phone rang on the table.
Adrian stopped.
Emma glanced at the screen and answered.
"Hi. Is something wrong?"
At the Vance villa, the housekeeper heard nothing unusual in her voice. He glanced toward Lawrence.
That was enough.
The moment Lawrence heard Emma, his patience disappeared. He took the phone from the housekeeper.
"Emma."
She paused at the familiar voice.
Then blinked.
"Mr. Vance? Is something wrong?"
Mr. Vance.
Across the table, Adrian's hand stopped on the silver chain around his neck.
Interesting.
Last time, she'd been calling him Baby.
Now she was back to Mr. Vance?
Had they fought?
The distance in those few words was impossible for Lawrence to miss.
His expression darkened.
"What exactly are you upset about?"
Emma frowned.
Upset?
What was he talking about?
Their arrangement had ended because he'd ended it. Wasn't he supposed to be getting back together with Isabelle now?
The dining table in Emma's apartment wasn't large, so Adrian could hear most of the conversation from where he sat.
The grin threatening to spread across his face became increasingly difficult to control.
Oh.
They really had fought.
His opportunity had arrived.
Adrian casually spooned some mashed potatoes onto Emma's plate.
"These are good. Eat more."
Emma shot him a look.
Then ate them anyway.
He was right. They were good.
Besides, he should consider himself lucky she was feeding him at all. If those gifts hadn't turned out to be worth so much money, she would've charged him for dinner.
"What do you mean, upset?" Emma asked. "I'm not upset."
Lawrence clearly heard a man's voice on the other end.
His brows pulled together.
"Who are you with?"
Adrian helped himself to another piece of roast chicken.
"Emma, this is ridiculously good." This time, he made sure his voice carried. "You're a culinary goddess."
Emma stared at him.
The first time he'd spoken, Adrian had kept his voice down because he wasn't sure whether she'd get annoyed.
But she'd only glared at him and eaten what he'd put on her plate.
Which, as far as Adrian was concerned, meant she wasn't actually angry.
Maybe she didn't like Lawrence all that much after all.
At the Vance villa, every word came through clearly.
Lawrence knew that voice.
He was sure he'd heard it before, but with his thoughts already tangled, he couldn't immediately place it.
He'd spent half the day trying to figure out what he'd done wrong yesterday and still hadn't found an answer.
Everything had gone perfectly well.
He'd ended their contract. He'd introduced her to his family as his girlfriend.
What more could she possibly be upset about?
In Lawrence's mind, he'd already made his intentions perfectly clear.
He'd been forcing himself to stay patient all day. Hearing another man in her apartment was rapidly destroying what remained of it.
His grip tightened around the phone.
"What exactly are you doing?"
Before Emma could answer, Adrian looked up as though he'd only just realized she was on a call.
His bright eyes widened innocently.
"Emma, your boyfriend isn't going to get mad because you're cooking dinner for me, is he?"
**A Little Update From Me
I guess it's time for me to face reality again—I'll be going back to work soon. ??
That means I probably won't be able to post as many chapters every day as I have been lately. But don't worry, I'm not abandoning this story.
I'll still do my best to update every day, even if there are fewer chapters than before. And no matter how busy life gets, I fully intend to finish this story and give Emma, and everyone else the ending they deserve.
Thank you so much for all the support you've given me—for every read, vote, comment, and message, and most of all, for loving this story as much as you do.
Watching so many of you get invested in these characters has made writing this story even more enjoyable for me.
So this isn't goodbye or a break. We're still going.
The updates might be a little slower from now on, but I'll keep writing and keep doing my best.
Thank you for staying with me. ?? **