His Final Betrayal Was My First Move Chapter 24

His Final Betrayal Was My First Move Chapter 24

The scene at the gallery was like a thorn in his side, leaving Griffin restless. The feeling lingered until he was back at the hotel, lying on the soft king-size bed, but still finding no relief.

His mind was full of Amelia. Standing in the center of the gallery, she was no longer the gentle Mrs. Whitaker who followed him around, handling everything. She had changed, becoming calm, almost cold. Her eyes no longer held that complete dependence on him. And the man beside her, Julian Mercer, was a poisoned thorn making his chest tighten.

He took out his phone and once again dialed the private number he had never saved. After a dozen seconds, the cold automated message came through: the call had been rejected.

Irritation washed over him like a tide.

Amelia.

Her name circled in his mind all night.

Even when Daphne leaned over and traced circles on his chest, he was thinking of Amelia and the man beside her.

Daphne was thinking, too. Not about Amelia, but about Julian Mercer. The Mercer family stood at the true peak of Boston’s social pyramid. What right did a woman she had once manipulated have to turn around and find a man even better than Griffin?

Jealousy wound around her heart like vines.

The two of them shared the same bed but dreamed different dreams, each distracted, neither noticing the other’s perfunctory and absent-minded movements.

On the other side of the city, Amelia returned to her hotel room, her heart still unsettled from Julian’s final, burning embrace. Pink bubbles seemed to rise through the air. She felt shy, but his forceful yet gentle attitude left her nowhere to hide, and she didn’t want to.

She took off her coat and was about to shower when a thought suddenly struck her.

Wait.

She had never told Julian that she had received the court’s final divorce decree.

How did he know?

In the past, such a suspicion would have taken root in her heart and grown into a forest of doubt, causing her unbearable pain. But now, after a marriage built on lies, the thing she hated most was suspicion.

She picked up her phone and, without hesitation, dialed Julian’s number.

“Amelia?” His voice on the other end was full of delight. “What’s wrong?”

“I never told you I received the divorce decree,” she said directly, her tone calm. “How did you know?”

The instant silence on the other end made her heart tighten.

“Amelia, wait for me,” Julian’s voice came back, laced with a nearly imperceptible panic. “I’m coming to you right now.”

The wait wasn’t long. She hadn’t even had time to tidy the room before she heard a knock.

She opened the door to find Julian standing there, looking a little awkward, waiting for his judgment.

“I’m sorry, Amelia.” The moment he entered, he spoke, like a child who had done something wrong. “When I first saw you in Maine and realized you were alone, I was worried… so I had my assistant check public legal records. That’s when I saw your marital status had changed to ‘divorced.’”

He carefully watched her eyes, his tone almost pitiful. “Don’t be angry, okay? I was just… too afraid of missing my chance.”

Seeing his tall frame now exuding the innocent quality of a large, guilty dog, Amelia’s small suspicion scattered. She hadn’t intended to be angry. It was just…

“I’m not blaming you.” She was amused by his deliberately pitiful expression. “I just suddenly thought of it. You know I just got out of a terrible relationship. You…”

“I know you just got divorced. I know I’m taking advantage of the situation,” Julian cut in abruptly. He understood exactly what she was about to say, and he was afraid of hearing any words of retreat. “But I like you too much, Amelia.”

He took a step forward, his gaze burning, as if he wanted to lay his entire soul bare for her to see.

“Amelia, I know it sounds terrible, but you are the only person I care about. You always have been.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but each word landed in her heart like a scorching ember.

“You are the most important person in my life. No matter what life you chose before, I will stay with you. No matter where you want to go, I will be by your side.”

“Even if one day you tell me, ‘I don’t love you anymore. I don’t want you,’ that still won’t separate us.”

Amelia was completely shaken. Once again, this man’s direct, passionate, almost unreasonable confession struck her. The feeling of being so firmly chosen and treasured was something she had never experienced in her previous marriage.

It was difficult for anyone to remain so-called “rational” in the face of such sincere, unreserved feeling.

She no longer cared about the background check.

She only reached out, slowly and gently, and hugged him.

With that one embrace, she gave him her answer.