Divorce Me Before Death Takes Me, CEO
Chapter 231
Laurel’s POV
I sat frozen next to Blake, watching his profile in the dim car light. His words stung. My face went pale as I bit my lip, hands balled into fists at my sider.
Just yesterday he’d agreed to our engagement. I thought everything was finally going right – that he was accepting me, that I’d become the most important person in his life. Now his coldness pushed me right back to where I started.
What good was his promise if he kept me at arm’s length? What did it matter if he stopped seeing Audrey when she still occupied his thoughts? In his eyes, I’d never measure up to what she was five years ago.
I studied him more carefully. The smell of alcohol was strong. Our engagement had just been announced publicly – what could be bothering him enough to ignore my messages and drink alone?
Blake darling, whispered, “are you having regrets? About our engagement?”
Blake leaned back, eyes closed, reeking of alcohol. “If you don’t get out now, I really will regret it.”
I swallowed my words and turned to the door. The moment I closed it, his car roared to life and sped away. I stood watching his taillights disappear, biting my lip until I tasted blood.
Back at the mansion, I broke everything I saw. After my mother’s comfort, I went to bed. But sleep was impossible. I kept hearing Blake comparing me to Audrey from five years ago. Like I could never measure up to what she had been.
I grabbed my phone, planning to message Andrew Jensen when a social media post caught my eye. Astrid had uploaded a photo of three hands holding drinks: her own with a distinctive manicure holding beer, Audrey’s with juice, and a man’s hand with wine.
The caption: “Drinking until we drop! Three’s company!”
I stared at that male hand, everything clicking into place. Blake came to me tonight smelling of alcohol. Had he been with them? Had he broken his promise so quickly?
Liar!
I threw down my phone, mind racing. Clearly, keeping Blake from seeing Audrey wasn’t enough. As long as she existed in his world, he would never truly be
mine.
I needed Audrey Sinclair to disappear!
Audrey’s POV
“Audrey!”
Astrid’s shout jerked me awake. I groaned and pulled the pillow over my head.
“What?” I mumbled.
“Something weird about our new neighbor.”
I sat up slowly, squinting as she yanked open the curtains. “What do
you mean?”
‘I was heading out and found their key still in the door.” She dangled a set of keys in front of me. “Knocked for a while, but nobody answered.”
I yawned. “Maybe they forgot last night when they left.”
“That’s why I took them, she said. “There are all kinds of people coming through this building. What if someone saw an empty apar there?
with keys hanging
“Taking someone’s keys seems like crossing a line,” I said. “If they don’t want to interact with their neighbors, this isn’t helping.”
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Astrid rolled her eyes. I was being helpful! They could’ve been robbed. I’m protecting their property
She checked her watch and cursed. ‘I’m late. I’ll get their number from the landlord so you can return these.
After she left, I placed the keys on my coffee table and got to work.
I spent the morning focused on designing rings for Blake and Laurel. The women’s ring was simpler – just modifications to my existing collection. Blake was trickier, but I was determined to make it equally impressive.
For hours, I lost myself in the work. No distractions, no emotions, just pure creation.
Around noon, my phone pinged with a message from Astrid: “Neighbor’s contact. Add him.”
I sent a message through the app.
“Hello. I’m your next–door neighbor. Got your number from the landlord. You left your keys in the door, and my friend took them for safekeeping. Let me know when you’ll be home.”
They accepted my request immediately and replied: “What should I call you?”
Weird last night they seemed to be avoiding me, now they wanted my name?
–
I hesitated, strangely reluctant to share my name. “Call me Silentia.”
“Your name is Silentia?”
“It’s a nickname. An old friend used to call me that.”
I waited, but no response came. So I put my phone down and made lunch from yesterday’s leftovers, taking my medication afterward.
When I returned, there was a message from an hour ago: “Having a friend give you such an affectionate nickname… do you like it?”
The question triggered a flood of memories from five years ago.
Back then, my throat was injured – I couldn’t speak. Blake couldn’t see. Rachel once joked we were “a perfect match: a blind man and a mute woman.” I hated that description. My injury was temporary; I believed Blake would see again. We wouldn’t always be that way.
During that time, Blake called me “Silentia – referencing my silence, but with such tenderness that it became precious to me. Growing up, nicknames had only been used to mock me. I’d told Rachel how much I disliked them.
But when Blake softly called me ‘Silentia,” I realized I didn’t hate nicknames themselves, just the people who’d given them to me. for use an affectionate name filled me with warmth.
Hearing someone I cared
Rachel didn’t know my feelings had changed. When Blake called me “Silentia” in front of her, she objected strongly, thinking she was protecting me. After that, Blake stopped using it and addressed me as “Miss Hayes,” just like he did with Rachel.
I stared at my neighbor’s message and before I could stop myself, typed: “Because the person who gave me that nickname meant a lot to me. He always called me ‘Silentia‘ so tenderly, so yes, I love that nickname.”
As soon as I sent it, I regretted revealing so much. I deleted it quickly and sent instead: “I’ll be home all day. Come get your keys whenever you return.”
I set my phone down and took a deep breath, trying to refocus my thoughts. I needed to finish the ring designs, not get lost in memories of Blake.
Blake’s POV
I leaned back in my office chair, watching the/notification on my phone screen. Audrey had deleted her message about the nickname, but not before I’d caught it.
So she claims to like being called “Silentia.
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I couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. Five years ago when Laurel was caring for me during my blindness, she couldn’t speak because of her fans condition. I called her “Silentia” for a few days until Rachel mentioned her sister hated nicknames I stopped immediately.
It all made sense now. Audrey must have read through Rachel’s diary after taking her phone. She’d discovered the nickname but not that Lavel actually hated it.
I set my phone down and rubbed my eyes. When Laurel accused Audrey of trying to pass herself off as the woman from five years ago, I hada’i enpletely bought it. Now, seeing Audrey deliberately use that name…
Women understand each other better than I thought.
I still knew far too little about Audrey Sinclair.
I picked up my phone again and called Michael. “Send someone to get my keys. I left them at the apartment.”
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