Chapter 976
Truthfully, he had considered the possibility that she was only with him for the Everhart family's wealth and prestige, seeking financial stability and an endless supply of money.
But the comfort Layne drew from her presence had been enough to carry him through his darkest hours, especially after the tragic deaths of his parents. It was her steady companionship that helped him survive that brutal grief.
Because of that, he had decided to keep her by his side, regardless of her ulterior motives. Even with his lingering doubts, she had played her role perfectly for two years. She rarely went out, didn't burn through his cash recklessly, and never demanded extravagant gifts. Eventually, he simply stopped scrutinizing her.
What truly reawakened his suspicions was her erratic behavior following his parents' funerals. He caught her smoking on the balcony-a jarring contrast to the sweet, innocent girl she had pretended to be. The way she crossed her legs and blew smoke rings at the sky looked exactly like a seasoned club hostess.
An unspeakable sense of unease settled in his gut. He had also caught her smashing things in a fit of rage in her room. And now, this inexplicable explosion in the kitchen was almost certainly her doing.
He still couldn't figure out what the hell she was trying to achieve by staying with him. After what had happened to Leonie, Layne no longer believed in unconditional, fairy-tale romance.
His parents' deaths had been far too horrific, the lesson paid in blood. Two lives sacrificed for a toxic, deceitful romance-anyone would deem it a senseless tragedy. Through his agonizing grief, Layne knew better than anyone that there were no do-overs in life.
He refused to follow in Leonie's disastrous footsteps. He could not afford the devastating consequences of being manipulated by a lover.
The moment he spotted a crack in Maeve's facade, all his defensive alarms blared. The old Layne would never have been this cynical.
In the past, he would have felt grateful and overjoyed by her concern, counting himself lucky to have found such a devoted partner during his hardest times. Now, he couldn't trust a single word she said.
He wasn't ready to expose her lies just yet, but his blind faith was completely shattered.
Layne steered the car into the underground parking garage. When they reached the door, he unlocked it with his fingerprint. Maeve stepped inside, utterly shocked to find the apartment virtually untouched. It looked exactly as it had when she left.
So where exactly was the massive explosion and fire she had orchestrated?
"I had a professional cleaning crew come through, along with some contractors. They repainted the scorched wall in the kitchen and replaced the blown out appliances They work incredibly fast
Layne sounded deeply satisfied. His primary demand had been to restore the space entirely, because this was where he and Maeve had lived together for two whole years. It was and he wanted it" their love
looking exactly the way it used to.
A flash of irritation crossed Maeve's face. Those meddling firefighters ruined everything.
"Go pack your things. Clothes, toiletries—make sure you don't leave anything important behind."
Maeve froze, staring at him in complete bewilderment.
He brought her all the way back just to tell her to pack her bags? Did he figure out
what she had done? Was he kicking her out?
Her fingertips turned to ice, a chilling dread gripping her heart.
Instantly shifting gears, she pulled a deeply wounded expression. Within seconds, tears pooled in her large, innocent eyes.
"We're moving back into my parents' old estate. The apartment needs some deeper renovations, and even the best building materials ernit toxic fumes. If you end up hating the estate after a while, we can always move back here."
The tragic, weeping-victim routine she had perfectly queued up vanished in a heartbeat.
It was so close. A second later, she would have been sobbing on his chest, playing
the pitiful girlfriend and swearing she knew absolutely nothing about the flour near the stove.