Chapter 7: Packing Up

The call ended.

Adrian stared at the phone. Who had answered him?

After a moment, he dismissed the thought.

Vanessa was trying to make him jealous. That had to be it.

Back at Hawthorne House, Julian ended the call.

“Do you mind that I answered?” he asked, handing Vanessa her phone.

Vanessa shook her head. “Not at all.”

Julian smiled.

“Good. You're growing up.”

He reached out and stroked her hair gently.

Vanessa looked up at him. He'd never been this gentle with her before.

Perhaps he was trying to make up for his brother's behavior.

She shook off the thought and spoke quietly.

“Mr. Ashford, I need to ask a favor.”

She suspected Adrian had already looked for her at her apartment, and she wanted no contact with him.

Julian frowned slightly. “What did you call me?”

She was quiet for a few seconds, then tried again. “Julian?”

She sounded uncertain. He decided not to press her.

“Tell me. What do you need?”

Relieved, Vanessa exhaled. “I want to sell my apartment. Could you help with the paperwork?”

“Of course.” He paused briefly. “I'll have Daniel handle everything.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you.”

Julian stopped, caught off guard by her smile.

She left before he could say anything else.

He worked quickly. Within a few days, he'd found a buyer and closed the sale.

Vanessa needed to collect some important belongings, so Julian drove her there himself.

As she got out, Julian answered a call. He listened for a moment, frowning.

“Understood.”

He ended the call.

“Something's come up,” he told her gently. “I need to deal with it. Can you go up on your own?”

She nodded. “Yes, don't worry. Go. Packing will take me a while.”

“Are you sure you can manage?” He wasn't convinced.

“I'm not a child. I can pack a few boxes,” Vanessa said. “Go.”

His concern was still unfamiliar. He used to let her know quite bluntly when she was being a nuisance.

“You say that, but I've seen what passes for your judgment.”

Once he drove away, she entered the building she hadn't visited in two weeks. She'd just scanned her fingerprint and opened the door when the security guard approached.

“Miss Bennett.”

She stopped and turned. He came closer with a strained smile.

“Someone's been asking for you,” the guard said. “He kept banging on your door. The neighbors complained.”

Vanessa knew who he meant.

It was understandable that the guard didn't recognize him. Adrian hardly ever came here.

She'd always gone to Adrian. Even when he drank too much, she went over to make something for his hangover.

Usually, a brief apology was enough to get her to forgive him.

His friends called her desperate. She'd heard them and stayed anyway.

She didn't want to think about that now.

“All right. Thank you for letting me know.” She nodded slightly. “I've sold the apartment. If he comes again, please ask him to leave.”

Because she was so polite, the guard assured her it wouldn't be a problem. He even offered to help with the move.

Vanessa thanked him and entered her old home.

The dressing room held plenty of designer bags and clothes Adrian had given her. She packed them carefully and booked a courier to return them to his house.

She kept her own clothes, computer, keyboards, and books. The gifts could go back to Adrian.

By the time she finished sorting her belongings, two hours had passed.

She was calling Julian to let him know when the doorbell rang.

Thinking it was him, she opened the door while her phone was still ringing.

“Perfect timing. I've just finished—”

Adrian was on the doorstep.

“What are you doing here?”

She lowered the phone without checking whether the call had ended.

He looked past her into the apartment.

“You've been sulking for half a month and blocked me everywhere. You've finally decided to show up?”

Vanessa frowned. “This is my apartment. As far as I know, I didn't invite you.”

He was losing patience. “Enough! There's a limit to these scenes. Don't push it!”

* * *

At Firax Group, Julian had smiled when Vanessa's name appeared on his phone.

Then he heard Adrian through the open call.

He stood and hurried out toward the parking lot.

“Find my wife.”

* * *

At the apartment, Adrian stepped closer to Vanessa.

“Why do you have to treat Nat like this? She's my sister! Even after we get married, she'll still be your family!”

“We're not getting married. And she's not my family. If you want to marry her yourself, go ahead. You're not related by blood.”

Vanessa gave a short laugh.

“I told you we're over. What part of that don't you understand?”

He studied her, as though waiting for her to take it back.

Adrian hesitated, but his scornful expression soon returned.

“Nat comes home, and suddenly you're doing anything to get my attention.”

“Fine. I shouldn't have missed the appointment. I'm sorry. Can we stop fighting?”

He held a box in front of her and opened it. A diamond-and-sapphire bracelet glittered inside.

Three days before they were supposed to marry, she'd seen it in a magazine and mentioned that she liked it.

Adrian had looked at her contemptuously then. “How can you like that rubbish? You're so materialistic.”

“You wanted this bracelet, didn't you? I bought it. Can we stop fighting now?”

He waited for her to accept it, as though the bracelet settled everything.

She'd once wanted him to remember things like that. Now she didn't even want to touch it.

“Let me put it on.”

Adrian took her hand and tried to fasten the clasp.

“Let go!”

She jerked away, sending the bracelet to the floor.

“Listen carefully,” she repeated wearily. “We've broken up.”

“Calm down, Vanessa.” Adrian lost patience.

He shoved her so hard that she lost her balance and almost stumbled.

Someone caught her at the waist before she fell.

Julian steadied her.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

She nodded.

He turned to Adrian.

“Look at you. Feeling brave now that you can push a woman around?”

Adrian stared at him. “What are you doing here?”

He'd heard Julian was back, but this was the first time they'd seen each other in half a month.

“I might ask you the same thing. Why are you pushing her?”

He let Vanessa go. She straightened and glanced at him, surprised.

Didn't he mind Adrian finding out they were married?

Adrian noticed nothing unusual between them and hurried to explain.

“I didn't mean to hurt her. I didn't realize my own strength. I only pushed her.”

Vanessa rolled her eyes, almost amused. She couldn't believe she'd loved him so blindly for five years.

He motioned for her to come closer. She ignored him.

“Vanessa and I had an argument, but I'm already talking her around,” Adrian added dismissively. “She's always this touchy. Sorry about the scene.”

She no longer wanted to argue with him. She just wanted him out of her apartment.

Julian waited until she was standing steadily before facing his brother again.