THE LOST HEIRESS RETURNS AFTER DIVORCE
Chapter 61: Tough luck, brother

Chapter 61: Tough luck, brother

"You really think I’d fall for your words again?"

"No," he said. "I think you already have. You’re just scared to admit it."

She scoffed. "You’re unbelievable."

He stepped closer. The air between them felt warmer. He tilted his head, his voice dipping with that maddening softness that always made her spine tingle.

"Tell me something, Heather... If I kissed you right now, would you still hate me after?"

Heather’s heart skipped. Her face flushed, but she quickly masked it with a glare. "You’re disgusting."

"Yet your pulse is racing," he murmured, daring to brush the back of his knuckle along her cheek. "Even now."

She slapped his hand away, but didn’t step back. "Don’t do that."

"I miss touching you."

"I don’t care."

"I miss kissing you."

"Stop it."

"I miss you."

Heather swallowed hard. His words stirred things she didn’t want to feel—ever again. She hated that he could still get under her skin. That some stupid part of her still cared.

Before she could form a response, the heavy door to the council room swung open behind them.

Voices spilled out first—low murmurs, the kind that carried disappointment and decision.

Then the footsteps came.

Heather turned her head just in time to see the council members stepping out. Her breath caught. They weren’t just leaving the room—they were done.

Her heart sank.

She tried to read their faces as they walked past, one by one. Some of them didn’t even look at her.

Others gave a pointed glance in Caius’s direction—one full of judgment, another edged with something close to pity. But none of them stopped.

She could feel the shift, even without anyone saying it: they had made up their minds. And whatever Caius had planned, he had just lost it.

For a second, she wondered if this was all part of Howard’s plan. Maybe he’d known all along that Caius would get caught between logic and emotion, and that Heather would be the tipping point. Her, the weak link.

Franklin, one of his uncle, passed by, shaking his head slightly. She heard him mutter something under his breath, but she couldn’t make it out.

Caius turned instantly, stepping in front of Heather like instinct.

"What’s going on?" he asked, his voice more formal now. "Why are you all leaving?"

His voice sounded calm, but Heather could feel the tension in his body. His jaw was tight.

His fists clenched. She saw the twitch in his neck, the kind he got when he was forcing himself not to explode.

Franklin, glanced at him over his glasses. "You wasted our time, Mr. Caius. You asked us here to witness a legal confirmation. Instead, we sat for nearly an hour watching you whisper in corners."

Howard’s lips curled into that arrogant smirk Caius had come to hate. "When you’re ready to sign something real, you can contact the council again."

Howard didn’t try to hide it. In fact, he looked her dead in the eye, like he knew something she didn’t. Like he’d already won. That look made Heather’s stomach twist.

She hated that look.

Adonis walked behind him, slow and smug, as if the whole thing had unfolded exactly how he hoped. "Tough luck, brother. Hope it was worth it."

Caius’s fists clenched at his sides. He congratulated himself quietly for not punching Adonis right there in the hallway.

Lauren was right next to him, too close—and when Heather saw their arms linked together, her mind went places she didn’t want it to go.

Were they together now?

Was that why Lauren had turned on Caius so easily?

Had they planned this?

The thought made her skin crawl. Wasn’t she the reason Caius divorced her? Now he was falling apart, she found her way.

They walked side by side like they belonged together. She didn’t know what they had, but she didn’t like it. And even worse, it felt personal.

Like betrayal on top of betrayal.

She was looking at Caius. He hadn’t looked at her once since the door opened. He didn’t turn toward her, didn’t reach for her, didn’t even glance.

And that—that—hurt more than she expected.

She didn’t blame him, not really. She’d pushed him and said too much. Her words were meant to hurt, and they had.

And now the damage was done.

His family came out of the room. His mother looked as though she wanted to scream. Heather recognized that expression—it was disappointment masked in composure.

It reminded her of press events where smiles hid disapproval. His sisters followed, quiet, uneasy. His father barely said a word, just gave Caius a long stare.

They all seemed to be asking the same thing without saying it out loud: What happened? What did you do?

"Is this how you handle serious matters?" she asked sharply. "You dragged us into this for what? To embarrass us? Your sisters had to take off work, your father delayed a flight—"

"I don’t want to talk about it," Caius cut her off without meeting her eyes.

His father gave him a long, assessing look but said nothing.

Lily looked from Caius to Heather and back again, her eyebrows were furrowed.

"Caius," his mother tried again.

"I said I don’t want to talk about it." His voice was tighter now, jaw locked.

And still, he never looked at Heather.

Then he walked away, just like that.

Heather watched his back as he disappeared down the corridor. Something pulled in her chest, but she stayed where she was.

He didn’t owe her anything. But part of her still expected him to turn. To glance back, just once. And when he didn’t, she felt the emptiness of that choice echo through her.

She should’ve felt satisfied. She should’ve felt like she’d gotten her point across.

Instead, she felt... hollow.

Everyone else was leaving, moving past her like she wasn’t even there. But she followed behind them quietly—not because she didn’t have pride, not because she had nowhere else to go—but because she obviously couldn’t stand here alone.

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