Audrey’s POV
I nodded slightly. “Go ahead, ask.
That call the other night,” he began, his voice carrying a hint of dangerous edge. “What was that about? Why didn’t you answer when I called back?”
My fingers twisted in my lap. “I… dialed wrong. The lie felt clumsy on my tongue. “When I saw you calling back, I didn’t know how to explain, so I just… didn’t answer.”
Really?” His eyes narrowed slightly. “Who were you trying to call then? James Collins?”
The way he said James’s name made my stomach clench. I shook my head quickly, perhaps too quickly. “No, of course not.”
Blake leaned back in his chair, but there was nothing relaxed in his posture. “Interesting. After you ignored my call, I met him in that Southern restaurant, and he looked a bit hurried. Later, when I went to your apartment, I ran into him again at your doorstep.”
My eyes widened in shock. “Wait, you came to my apartment that night?”
“You called without speaking, then wouldn’t answer.” His voice carried something I couldn’t quite identify. “I thought you might be dead in there.”
Blake let out a cold laugh. “So I went to check on you. What’s the most interesting part? He said you were already asleep. Do you know how I felt at that moment?”
I didn’t respond as my mind was spinning.
I had just learned that after taking me to the hospital, James had gone back to my apartment to look for my medication logs.
But he never mentioned anything about seeing Blake that night….
“Audrey Sinclair.” Blake’s eyes narrowed as he studied my face. “Were you really asleep then?”
I snapped back to reality, quickly shaking my head. “No, no I wasn’t.”
I couldn’t understand why James would claim I was asleep. At that hour, for a man to leave a woman’s apartment saying she was already asleep – wasn’t he just inviting misunderstandings?
Blake continued. “So when James said you wanted to cut ties with the past, that you didn’t want the cat we raised together anymore… was that really your decision?
“What?” My mind exploded with sudden understanding. “No! I never said I didn’t want Snow! I wasn’t even home that night!”
Tears pricked at my eyes as understanding dawned. “Astrid searched all day yesterday, and I looked all night.”
So Snow wasn’t lost – James gave her to Blake that night? The thought made my chest ache. No wonder James sounded so strange when I called about Snow yesterday.
I bit my lip. “Last night I was desperate, that’s why I tried asking for your help…”
Something shifted in Blake’s expression as he watched the tears gather in my eyes. The arctic chill in his gaze thawed slightly, replaced by a hint of satisfaction.
‘I see. He stood with fluid grace, “I almost thought you really didn’t want Snow anymore.”
I quickly shook my head, grabbing a tissue to wipe my face. “That’s not possible.”
Snow was my last attachment and support in this world. Even if I had given up on myself, I could never give up on her.
1/2
Chapter 66
Blake’s lips curved into a slight smile as he walked to my side. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, guiding me toward the door. “Come on. Let’s go.”
+
It wasn’t until we were in the elevator that my emotions finally settled enough for me to notice our position Blake’s arm still wrapped firmly around my shoulders.
This intimacy feels inappropriate for a divorcing couple, I thought hazily.
1 bit my lip, instinctively trying to pull away from his arm, but Blake only tightened his hold. “Don’t want to see Snow anymore?”
Snow was my weakness, and Blake knew it too well. Though I couldn’t une why bo
maintain such intimacy when he’d already decided on divorce, I
found myself yielding.
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