Every Night She Sleepwalked to Him—Until He Pretended No More Chapter 07

Every Night She Sleepwalked to Him—Until He Pretended No More Chapter 07

So Camille’s online boyfriend really was Bennett.

I pushed the thought aside and focused. “Miss Westcott, what do you have so far? Can I take a look at your messages with Brent?”

“Of course.” Camille opened the chat history and handed me her phone.

Comments appeared. [I’m so tired. The FMC is way too trusting.]

[The chat history has the video of the FMC changing. She’s literally putting her biggest vulnerability in her rival’s hands.]

[If the side character leaks that video, the FMC is done for.]

I ignored the comments. I was her lawyer. That video was confidential. End of story.

Comments appeared. [I don’t believe her.]

[No matter how hard the side character grinds, a lawyer’s salary caps out at a few hundred K.]

[But if she steals Bennett and becomes Mrs. Langford? Even with a prenup, a divorce payout would dwarf her

entire career. Way better ROI than billable hours.]

[Don’t tempt her like this. Money breaks everyone.]

The comments didn’t know me. I became a lawyer to protect women like Camille; that mattered more than

any amount of money. And no man, no matter who he was, was worth compromising that.

Comments appeared. [The FMC should just tell the MMC. Why hire the side character?]

[The MMC could deal with Brent in five minutes flat.]

[Her brother could handle it too, but she doesn’t want any man knowing about this.]

[Even if she denies it’s her, the damage is done once that video gets out.]

[For a girl from her world, reputation is everything.]

I walked her through it. “Recording you without your consent is illegal, but so far he hasn’t asked for a payout. He’s using it as leverage to force a relationship, but the video hasn’t been distributed.”

“If we go after him now, the legal consequences won’t be severe enough to really stop him.”

“If the video ever surfaces, you deny it’s you. The burden of proof is on him; you don’t owe anyone an explanation.”

“In the meantime, save everything. Every message, every threat if he keeps pushing we escalate

Camille nodded. ‘I understand. We’ll do it your way, Miss Whitlock

We signed the retainer agreement, and I walked her through the evidence she needed to collect Before she

left, we exchanged numbers.

That afternoon, Graham and I made a coffee run.

The second we walked in, I spotted them: Bennett and Camille, sitting by the window.

Bennett had his head down, reading something. Camille sat beside him, sipping her coffee. They had that

stiff, careful energy of two people still figuring out how to act around each other.

Comments appeared. [The MMC and FMC finally met IRL!]

[They look insanely good together.]

[I ship them so hard.]

[Is this gonna be the side character’s villain origin story?]

They both looked up at the same time.

Camille smiled. “Miss Whitlock, Mr. Ellison, what a coincidence.”

I walked over. “Hi, Miss Westcott. Just grabbing coffee.”

Bennett set down whatever he was reading. His eyes flicked past me and landed on Graham. The air tightened.

Great. This was only going to confirm what I’d told him this morning.

Camille winked at me and turned to Bennett. “This is Miss Whitlock.

Bennett’s gaze didn’t move from my face. “I know.”

Camille raised an eyebrow. “You two know each other?”

I kept my voice even. “Mr. Langford’s a client of our firm.

I stepped back. “I’ll let you two catch up.

I felt his eyes on my back as Graham and I walked away. I didn’t turn around, but I didn’t need to. I already knew what his face looked like.