He Brought His Mistress, I Brought My Lawyers Chapter 27

He Brought His Mistress, I Brought My Lawyers Chapter 27

Avery froze.

Julian’s intention wasn’t overt, but she could read in his deep eyes a question that went far beyond coffee. It was a careful, respectful test, completely different from Ethan’s possessiveness.

Unfortunately, she had only just escaped a relationship that had burned away all her trust. She couldn’t immediately enter a new one.

She smiled, a trace of distance in it, but not a complete rejection.

“I like respect and sincerity, not a specific type.”

Julian stared at the curve of her mouth, momentarily dazed. For that instant, he forgot to breathe, his heart suddenly quickening, each beat striking heavily against his chest.

He nodded, his voice carrying a joy he didn’t even notice.

“You’re right.”

The air in Santa Fe held the dryness of the desert, so different from the dampness of the East Coast.

Avery walked home, the empty iced Americano in her hand, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the cup.

A strange unease surged again, stronger than before, as if something were watching from the shadows, about to break through the ground.

Avery looked back. Under the streetlights, pedestrians hurried by. Everything was normal.

She turned forward again, her steps quickening.

Only when she stood at her own door did her heart finally begin to settle. She took a deep breath, entered the code, and pushed the door open.

She tossed the empty cup into the entryway trash. When she lifted her eyes, her gaze collided with a pair of red-rimmed eyes.

Her steps stopped. Her brow instantly knitted.

The person inside was Ethan.

They hadn’t seen each other in only a short time, but he looked as if all the light had been drained from him. He was exhausted, with heavy shadows under his eyes, his cheeks hollowed, and a glaring white bandage wrapped around his forehead.

At finally seeing the person he had been thinking of day and night, Ethan’s heart pounded. He almost immediately stood, opened his arms, and tried to pull her into an embrace.

“Avery…”

Before his arms could touch her, Avery dodged aside.

“What are you doing here?” Her back pressed against the cold wall. She looked him up and down, undisguised disgust in her eyes.

Ethan’s outstretched hands froze. He stared blankly at her guarded posture, pain piercing his heart. But he quickly thought of something and asked hoarsely, “You still love me, don’t you?”

Only after arriving had he discovered that the entry code to this house was the date he and Avery had once planned to register their marriage.

If she didn’t love him, why would she set that date as her code?

It had to be a signal.

“You’re overthinking it.”

Avery’s eyes were ice as she looked at him like a ridiculous stranger.

“That was my mother’s birthday. I just couldn’t be bothered to change it.”

She paused, then smashed the last of his fantasies.

“The engagement is over, Ethan. We are completely over.”