All Chapters of The Devil Who Owes Me A Kiss : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

She walked with purpose through the financial district, her heels clicking against the pavement in a rhythm that was distinctly hers. When she turned onto a quieter residential street, Henry had to duck behind a parked car to avoid being seen, his heart hammering with the absurdity of it all. What was he doing? This was madness. Lavinia Hartwell was a grown woman perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She’d made that abundantly clear. But he couldn’t seem to stop. She stopped at a small convenience store wedged between a dry cleaner and a flower shop, the kind of place that stayed open late for the neighborhood’s working population. Through the large windows, Henry watched her move through the narrow aisles, her selections sparse: instant noodles, canned soup, a bottle of headache medicine. The fluorescent lights overhead cast harsh shadows under her eyes, making her look younger and older simultaneously. When she

The question hung between them like an accusation, and Henry felt heat rise in his cheeks. How could he explain that he’d been following her? That he’d become the kind of man who lurked in shadows, driven by impulses he couldn’t name or control?“I was nearby,” he said, the lie sitting poorly on his tongue. “Client meeting.”Lavinia’s eyes searched his face, and Henry had the uncomfortable sensation that she could see through him as easily as window glass. Her gaze moved past him to his car, parked haphazardly across the street with the driver’s door still hanging open.“In a residential neighborhood? At eight o’clock at night?”“Lavinia—”“How long have you been following me, Henry?”The directness of the question stole his prepared excuses. She stood there in the harsh glow of the store’s fluorescent lights, her grocery bag still clutched against her chest, waiting for an answer he couldn’t give without revealing more about him

“NOTHING I DO IS EVER GOOD ENOUGH!” The words tore from her throat in a sound that was half-scream, half-sob. “Nothing! And now you stand there and tell me I’m throwing my life away because I finally, FINALLY had the courage to remove myself from a situation that was killing me by degrees!”Tears were streaming down her face now, hot and angry and long overdue. “What have I done to deserve such criticism from everyone? What terrible crime have I committed by loving someone who doesn’t love me back? By trying to preserve what little dignity I have left?”Diana stared at her daughter as if seeing her for the first time. The girl who had never raised her voice, never talked back, never caused trouble, stood before her shaking with rage and grief and desperate, bone-deep exhaustion.But understanding and shame were luxuries Diana Hartwell had never learned to indulge in. After a long moment, she simply turned and walked from the room, leaving her daughter standing among the wreckage of wo

“I was walking past the animal shelter on my lunch break, and she was in the window. The volunteer said she’d been returned twice by families who couldn’t handle a puppy’s energy.” Henry’s expression was almost sheepish. “Before I knew it, I was filling out adoption papers.”Despite everything, Lavinia felt a smile tug at her lips. “Henry Wynthorne, the impulsive dog owner. I never would have predicted that.”“Neither would I, to be honest. Which brings me to my problem.” He scrolled to another photo—the puppy apparently having destroyed a throw pillow, stuffing scattered across an expensive-looking rug. “I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve scheduled a vet appointment for tomorrow evening, but I’m terrified I’m going to do something wrong before then.”Lavinia found herself leaning closer to see the photos, her professional composure finally cracking completely. “She’s beautiful. What did you name her?”“That’s… actually another problem. I keep calling her ‘puppy,’ which hardly seems

For a moment, she thought he might actually answer honestly. Something vulnerable flickered in his expression, a flash of the younger man she’d once known who hadn’t yet learned to hide his emotions behind layers of professional composure.But the moment passed. Henry straightened in his chair, his features settling back into their familiar lines of polite authority.“Nothing’s bothering me,” he said with a casualness that didn’t quite ring true. “I simply want to ensure that our working environment remains… professional.”The word ‘professional’ seemed to echo between them, carrying all the weight of their shared history and the careful boundaries they’d constructed around their impossible situation.“Of course,” Lavinia said, her voice matching his tone of studied neutrality. “Completely professional.”* * *The afternoon brought an unexpected visitor, and with her, a complication Lavinia hadn’t anticipated.Verity Langford arrived like a burst of sunlight, all golden hair and nervo