He Brought His Mistress, I Brought My Lawyers Chapter 16

He Brought His Mistress, I Brought My Lawyers Chapter 16

On the other end of the line, his father’s roar paused, then turned into a cold, weary scoff.

“That’s no longer your decision. Avery’s grandfather signed in person. The legal notice arrived this morning. Under the terms of the prenup, the engagement has been lawfully, unilaterally, and irrevocably terminated by the Caldwell family.”

Every word was a nail, pinning him in place.

“Impossible.” Ethan shook his head, his voice dry. “She promised me… She said…”

Said what?

His mind went blank. Avery had loved him so much. How could she be willing to cancel the engagement?

Thoughts exploded in chaos. He clutched his aching temples, and a scene he had ignored flashed back.

In the hospital, he had held her hand and promised that once she healed, they would get married immediately.

How had she answered?

“No need.” Her voice had been calm, her empty gaze fixed on the window. “The ring size was never right.”

At the time, he had dismissed it as nonsense.

Now he realized she hadn’t been talking about the ring.

She had been talking about him.

About their relationship.

So even then, she had already decided to leave.

That conclusion was harder to bear than any legal notice. The thought of Avery truly letting go made his heart feel as if it were being seized by an invisible hand, the pain stealing his breath.

He bent forward, nearly collapsing onto the edge of the bed. His fingers clenched the diamond ring, futilely trying to hold on to something.

The hard edge of the diamond dug into his flesh, cutting his palm. Blood seeped out, but he seemed unable to feel it. He only clenched it tighter, until the sting became a desperate confirmation.

Blood dripped onto the floor, spreading into a small, dark stain. Ethan finally loosened his hand. The wound was shocking. Without looking at it, he unlocked his phone with his uninjured hand and called his chief assistant.

“Within three days,” he said, his voice hoarse but beyond dispute, “no matter what it takes, I want Avery’s whereabouts.”

He had to find her.

He had to win her back.

Over the next few days, Ethan was trapped in the empty apartment as if in hell.

Without Avery, it wasn’t a home. It was a cold cage, a constant reminder of what he had lost.

He kept remembering moments from when she was there.

When he’d been overwhelmed by a multinational bidding project, it was Avery who stayed up all night helping him organize information on every competitor, sorting it all with color-coded tabs, then setting a perfectly warm coffee before him the next morning.

On his birthday, Avery, who called herself a disaster in the kitchen, had spent a week secretly practicing just to make him a Wellington steak, even though the one she finally served was a little overdone.

Another time, he had casually said over the phone, “I miss you.” Avery, who was already in Europe for Fashion Week, had bought a ticket for the first flight back and appeared at the door the next morning, just to give him a hug.

With him, Avery had never been stingy with her love.

So Ethan had never doubted her feelings. He had treated them like air, like something that would always be there.

But now, he had cut off his own oxygen with his own hands.

He had lost the girl whose world had once revolved around him.