He Brought His Mistress, I Brought My Lawyers Chapter 15

He Brought His Mistress, I Brought My Lawyers Chapter 15

The moment the door opened, the smile on Ethan’s face froze.

The apartment was dead silent. He couldn’t smell the sweet gardenia scent that always clung to Avery, nor hear the faint sound of her watching art documentaries on the sofa.

The entire space was empty, devoid of life.

He looked around and belatedly realized that the abstract painting Avery had bought at Sotheby’s was gone. The Italian custom cushions she had chosen for the sofa had disappeared.

They were ordinary things, easily overlooked, yet they had become part of the texture of his life.

An inexplicable panic seized his heart.

She had just gone to stay at the Caldwell estate for a few days. That had to be it. He soothed himself with the explanation, but his feet rushed uncontrollably toward the second floor.

He practically slammed open the bedroom door.

The empty, disordered room struck him like a punch to the chest.

Every trace of Avery had been systematically erased. The gowns and handbags that had filled half the dressing room were gone. The expensive skincare products and perfumes on the vanity had vanished. Even the silk bedding she loved had been replaced by cold, hotel-style white sateen.

The room was emptier, yet Ethan felt so suffocated he could barely breathe. His heart plunged into an icy abyss.

He dragged his heavy feet inside, his gaze fixed on the bedside table.

A Harry Winston engagement ring lay there, its diamond facets refracting a cold, glaring light.

It was the ring he had given her when he proposed. Since that day, Avery had never taken it off.

Ethan’s eyes reddened. He picked up the ring with trembling hands, his voice floating as he tried to convince himself.

“How could she be so careless… She’s just throwing a tantrum. She even forgot the ring…”

He fumbled for his phone, his fingers shaking so badly he misdialed several times before finally getting the number right.

“Answer… Avery… please answer…” he prayed in a broken voice.

“The number you have dialed is not in service.”

The cold, automated voice crushed the last shred of his self-deception.

He quickly switched to iMessage and typed:

*Why aren’t you answering?*

He pressed send. No “Delivered” notification appeared.

Blocked.

The color drained from Ethan’s lips. In disbelief, he opened Instagram and searched for her name.

No results.

In that instant, all his strength seemed to drain away. He sank onto the edge of the bed.

He knew Avery was angry, but he had thought it was the kind of anger a sapphire necklace could fix. He had never imagined it was a long-planned, absolute disappearance.

His phone rang.

Ethan practically lunged for it, his voice hoarse.

“Avery!”

“Avery, my ass!” His father’s thunderous rage exploded from the other end. “You bastard, you finally decided to answer your phone? Why didn’t you just die out there?”

Ethan’s head throbbed. He rubbed his brow in irritation.

“Sloane isn’t that kind of person.”

The voice on the other end grew even angrier.

“I don’t care what kind of person she is! The Caldwell family’s legal notice is sitting on my desk! Your engagement to Avery is over!”

The word *over* pierced Ethan’s eardrum like an electric shock. He sprang up and roared into the phone, “Avery and I are not breaking up!”