He Brought His Mistress, I Brought My Lawyers Chapter 08

He Brought His Mistress, I Brought My Lawyers Chapter 08

When I walked out of the ballroom, a crowd had gathered. The commotion had alerted the entire Newport Yacht Club. Guests and staff clustered near the doors, whispering, their gazes following me like searchlights.

I ignored them and headed for the parking lot.

Just as my hand touched the car door, two tall figures blocked my path.

Ethan’s bodyguards.

“Miss Caldwell, Mr. Ward requests your presence on the rooftop terrace.”

I stopped, my voice cold. “And if I say no?”

“Mr. Ward said,” the lead bodyguard replied, his tone even but undeniably threatening, “that if anything happens to Miss Pike, you may not be able to leave safely either.”

I was silent for two seconds.

I understood Ethan. The arrogance in his bones made him believe everything had to be under his control. When things went off script, he became obsessive. Sloane was injured, and to soothe her, Ethan might resort to extreme measures to “resolve” the problem—me.

“Lead the way.”

The bodyguards flanked me, “escorting” me into a private elevator to the rooftop terrace.

The sea wind was strong, snapping at the hem of my gown. Sloane stood by the railing, a thick bandage on her shoulder, tear tracks on her face as she looked pitifully out at the sea.

Ethan stood a few steps away, tense, a knight ready to save his damsel.

I was brought to the center of the terrace. Sloane immediately found her audience and began to sob.

“Avery… I know you hate me, but I really didn’t mean it! You already hit me with the champagne. Why are you still being so aggressive?”

I couldn’t be bothered to watch her pathetic performance. I looked directly at Ethan.

“Did you call me up here just to watch her little play?”

Ethan’s face was livid. “Avery! Sloane is emotionally unstable. She can’t take any more stress. Apologize to her. Calm her down!”

“Apologize?” I felt as if I’d heard the funniest joke in the world. “Why should I?”

“Because you assaulted her in public with three champagne bottles!” Ethan lowered his voice, fury practically bursting from his eyes. “The doctor said she might have long-term damage!”

“Then does she know,” I shot back, my voice rising over the roaring wind, “that veil was the only thing my mother left me?”

I stared at him. “Ethan, are you blind? You only see her wounds, her tears. What about me? My heart was torn to shreds. Did you see that?”

Ethan was rendered speechless, then grew furious from the embarrassment.

“We can talk about the veil later! Right now, a life is on the line!”

Sloane seized the moment. Her body trembled, and she leaned farther over the railing, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

“If you don’t apologize, I’ll jump.”

“Then jump.”

My words plunged the terrace into dead silence.

Sloane’s sobs stopped abruptly. Ethan’s eyes widened as he stared at me, as if I were a demon crawled up from hell.

“If you want to jump, do it now.” I stepped closer, my gaze like a blade aimed at Sloane’s pale face. “But you’d better be sure. Do you really want to die, or are you just using death to force me to back down?”

The last trace of color vanished from Sloane’s face.

“If you truly want to die, I won’t stop you. But if you’re just acting…” My mouth curved into a mocking smile. “Then let me tell you this. Even if you fall from here and end up a smear on the ground, I won’t shed a single tear. Because I did nothing wrong.”

The rooftop was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

“Avery! What the hell are you saying?!” Ethan finally snapped back to reality.

“I’m telling the truth.” I turned to him, the last trace of warmth gone from my eyes. “Ethan, you’re not just blind. You’re stupid. She doesn’t want to die. She wants to use her own life to blackmail you, to make you force me to surrender, and to make you owe her even more.”

“I don’t!” Sloane screamed, her acting skills at their peak. “Ethan, I don’t! I’m just in so much pain. Avery is pushing me so hard. I really can’t go on…”

As she spoke, she shifted another half-step over the railing.

Ethan panicked. “Sloane! Don’t be reckless!”

He whipped around to face me, and for the first time, his proud face showed a pleading expression.

“Avery, I’m begging you. Just apologize. For me. Once she calms down, we can…”

I looked at him, so humble and pleading, and suddenly remembered last summer on our yacht. He had looked at me the same way, his eyes full of affection.

He’d told me, his own eyes red-rimmed, “Avery, in this life, I will only ever bow my head to you. I will always let you be yourself and never let you suffer.”

Back then, I had been so moved, so sure I had found true love.

Now, the memory was laughable.

“Fine,” I said suddenly.

Hope lit Ethan’s eyes. “You agree?”

“On one condition.” I met his gaze and took a folded document from my clutch. My lawyer had prepared it long ago.

I opened it and pointed to the title, speaking each word with perfect clarity.

“I’ll apologize. And then you’ll sign this: Termination of Engagement and Asset Division Agreement. Our engagement, all commercial ties, the jointly owned villa… all of it will be void. From then on, we go our separate ways.”