Chapter 324
Chapter 321-2
The next morning, my new peace is shattered by the insistent buzz of my phone. I fumble for it, my mind still foggy with sleep. Mikhail’s name glows on the screen.
Gemma, get up for work. His voice is a brisk, unwelcome intrusion. “Don’t you remember we have an event to attend today? ”
I rub a hand over my face, groggy and annoyed. “What event starts at seven in the morning?” I mumble, my voice thick with sleep.
I’m outside your place. Come out.
I sit up, the sheets pooling around my waist. “Which entrance?” I ask, assuming he’s at the Urban Lane studio.
Oakhaven.
Damn it, he’s at the wrong place.
“You’ve got the wrong place. I don’t live at Oakhaven anymore.“,
He mutters something I can’t catch under his breath. Just then, through the phone, I hear a distinct, mechanical hum. Moments later, the sound resolves into something I know very well- the slow, heavy roll of the automated garage door of Oakhaven opening, followed by the purr of a powerful engine.
A Rolls–Royce slowly pulls out onto the street.
15:33
< Chapter 321-2
Cassian’s POV
Lucky Draw
The morning sun glints off Voloshin’s obnoxious Rolls–Royce as it pulls up beside mine. I lower my window, the cool air doing nothing to douse the fire in my chest.
His presence here, at the gates of Oakhaven, is a deliberate taunt
at me.
Didn’t Gemma tell you she moved? The question leaves my lips laced with a provocation I don’t even try to hide.
Mikhail just smirks, that infuriating, knowing look in his eyes. “I know! I just wanted to annoy you. I’m leaving now!”
Before I can form a response, he guns the engine and speeds away, leaving me gripping my steering wheel, my knuckles white.
Fury, hot and acidic, burns in my throat. Is this his victory lap? Is this why Gemma was so resolute? Because she had him waiting in the wings? The question that has been eating at me since the courthouse claws its way to the surface: Is it his child in her belly?
I snatch my phone from the passenger seat. I need to ask her, I need to hear her deny it. But when I pull up her contact, the call doesn’t go through.
I’m blocked. Of course. I switch to a text message. The same stark notification appears, she has severed the line completely.
By the time I storm into my office at Blackwell Industries, the:33
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Lucky Draw
furious as I feel because Liam watches me with the cautious expression of a man approaching live wire.
Cassian, he begins, his voice tentative, “are you and Gemma… really divorced?”
The question is a spark on gasoline. My glare is answer enough, and he physically flinches.
I just thought… she seemed hesitant before. Why is she so determined this time? He pauses, then ventures the unthinkable. “Should you… try to appease her?”
Appease her? The words are an outrage. I slam my phone onto the polished surface of my desk. “Appease what?” I snap, the sound echoing in the quiet room. She’s blocked all my contacts. Every single one.”
Liam, ever the idiot, looks thoughtful. “Maybe try PayPal comments?” he suggests, as if this is a normal, reasonable solution for a disintegrated marriage.
The absurdity of it is almost enough to make me laugh. “If she’s determined to divorce me like this, why should I go and appease her?” I demand, the words meant to convince myself as much as him. “Do I really need her?” I sound confident. I sound in control. It’s a lie.
Liam just nods, keeping his head down, and makes a hasty retreat. The moment the door clicks shut, I’m grabbing my phone again. PayPal. It’s pathetic, but it’s the only channel left.
My finger hovers over the screen. A minimal transaction feel5:33
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Lucky Brow
and insincere. I hesitate, then type in a quick transfer of twenty thousand dollars. The amount should get her attention. Below, I type the question burning a hole in my mind: (Whose child is it, after all?]
But my thumb freezes before hitting send. It’s too aggressive, too desperate. I delete it, the letters vanishing one by one. I try again, my movements jerky. [In for a chat today?]
I stare at the bland, innocuous message. It’s safe. It’s fine. I press send.
The response is instantaneous. A single, brutal exclamation mark. A failed transaction notification.
She blocked me on PayPal too?!
I stare at the screen, my hands beginning to tremble with a fresh, helpless rage. She has erased me from her life!
The glass door swings open. Liam pokes his head back in, a question in his eyes. “Any luck with PayPal?”
That’s it. I snatch a heavy folder from my desk and hurl it at him. “Get out and get to work!” I roar.
He ducks, the folder slamming against the doorframe, and scurries away without another word. I sink into my chair, the silence in the office suddenly deafening.
How could that be…? Damn heartless.
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