All Chapters of Beyond His Orbit: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

Evelyn's POVHalf an hour had passed since I returned with the cigarettes.Other than ordering me to buy Serena a milkshake, Adrian Bennett had not looked at me once.He and Serena Blake discussed the case they had won the week before, then moved on to their plans for the firm's future.I could no longer remember how many times I had become background scenery whenever the three of us were together.Only after Serena answered a message did Adrian finally turn toward me in surprise."Why haven't you gone yet?"I had already run three errands since the reunion began.The storm outside had soaked me over and over until every inch of my clothes clung to my skin.Adrian noticed the water running down my face and fell silent for a moment.Serena, my supposed best friend, hurried to smooth things over."I only mentioned it casually. Don't go out again in weather like this."As she spoke, she expertly pulled a handkerchief from her purse.It matched Adrian's exactly.After I came

Adrian claimed the travel budget was too tight and told me to stay home until he and Serena returned from their business trip.They called it work, but Serena's social media feed was unusually lively.One moment she was posing in a picturesque coastal town; the next, she was drinking tea on a balcony after the rain.Adrian had always hated unnecessary activities, yet he spent three hours making pottery with her at a craft studio.Then one of the associates accidentally posted a message in the firm's group chat."Major update! The hotel says they're overbooked, so the boss and Serena are sharing one room!"The message vanished seconds later, and Adrian immediately called me."The hotel genuinely has no other rooms. I only agreed to share because I knew you'd accuse me of failing to take care of your best friend."Serena's complaints kept drifting through the phone."Adrian, where did you put my cleanser?"Hey, stop lying on my hair!"Then she snatched the phone and spoke to m

Third-person POV"Adrian, it's over. We're done."Adrian picked up his phone and stared at the message for a long time.He did not understand what had gotten into Evelyn lately. She seemed to threaten a breakup at every opportunity.Suppressing the unease in his chest, he typed a response."Can you stop this? I reserved your favorite French restaurant. Where are you? Call me now."When he pressed send, a red error symbol appeared.Evelyn had actually blocked him.Adrian froze, his brows drawing together.Serena approached and glanced at the screen."Adrian, Evelyn has been completely unreasonable lately. How can she treat you like this?"You went to all this trouble to reserve her favorite restaurant, and she doesn't appreciate it at all?"The more Serena spoke, the more Adrian convinced himself that Evelyn was merely throwing another tantrum.He had gone out of his way to find her a receptionist position and had even planned a romantic dinner.Yet she had coldly ended th

Evelyn's POVI left the city where I had lived for nearly ten years and began a journey with no destination.During those years, I helped Adrian build his practice and watched the firm grow day by day.Behind the scenes, I studied late into the night until I finally earned the law license I had always dreamed of.I thought I could finally stand beside Adrian as an equal and become the partner he deserved.Reality proved that I could never catch him.The brightest star beside him would always be Serena.I existed only as the dark background that made the two of them shine.Over the following weeks, I traveled through unfamiliar places and slowly let my worries fall away.Adrian occasionally found new numbers from which to message me.He told me that he and Serena had gone to the French restaurant where we used to have our dates.He told me he had fired Serena and wanted to apologize in person.He told me he was miserable and asked whether I would come back to see him.I nev