Chapter 156:
By the time he came out, the apartment was empty again. Eugene and the staff had already left.
Standing alone in the living room, Brandon suddenly noticed just how still everything felt. There was no one waiting on the couch, flipping through a book. No voice calling his name.
No warmth in the quiet. The space felt hollow.
He reached for his phone and tapped back into Millie’s chat. Still nothing.
For a second, he wondered if something was wrong with the phone.
Brandon walked across the room to the safe where he had secured the tanzanite. His fingers worked the combination with practiced ease, and he retrieved the gem from its velvet-lined interior.
Under the ambient lighting, the precious stone burst into dazzling brilliance, casting violet-blue light across his palm.
He stopped mid-motion, a surge of uncertainty creeping over him. His mind churned, and with a sigh, he captured a photograph of the gem and pulled up his chat thread with Millie.
“The tanzanite that caught your eye,” he typed carefully, his thumb hovering over the send button. But something held him back, a nagging doubt in his chest. In the end, he deleted every word.
The memory hit him with painful clarity—Millie had desired this particular tanzanite because, if she conceived in March, the baby would be due in late December, making the stone the perfect birthstone. But the harsh reality crashed over him like a cold wave—they had never conceived a child.
Fragments of that pivotal night flooded his mind: her radiant smile, the softness of her lips against his, the tiny mole on her chest, the intoxicating warmth of her skin against his, and the heart-wrenching moment when tears of ecstasy streamed down her face as she pushed him away, whispering that she couldn’t continue.
Brandon set his phone aside and collapsed onto the plush cushions of the sofa, his gaze fixed on the stark whiteness of the ceiling above.
Your next chapter is here gαℓησνℯ𝓁s․com
What was on her mind now? With the internet ablaze with controversy, she must have seen the chaos. Why hadn’t she reached out to him?
Had she truly grown wiser, mastering the art of patience, choosing to endure these next six months in quiet dignity? Or was this just another manifestation of her stubborn displeasure?
Brandon’s eyes drifted back to his phone, his mouth forming a rigid line of frustration. Time seemed to dissolve around him, minutes blending into an indistinguishable haze.
Eventually, he retrieved his phone again and permanently erased the photograph of the tanzanite he had taken just minutes earlier.
Meanwhile, across the city at the private medical facility, Millie had made her way back to the sanctuary of her designated room. After enduring a grueling and emotionally draining night, she finally felt a measure of tranquility settle over her weary spirit.
Charles had left to address pressing corporate matters, but before his departure, he had offered Millie a reassuring promise. “I’m going to force Oakley out of the picture. At the earliest, he’ll be eliminated by the second Heavenly Melody live broadcast—at the very latest, before the third one. His reign of chaos at Evans Entertainment is rapidly coming to an end!”
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