Chapter 53

**Audrey's POV**

I nodded slightly. "Go ahead, ask."

"That call the other night," he began, his voice carrying a hint of dangerous edge. "What was that about? Why didn't you answer when I called back?"

My fingers twisted in my lap. "I... dialed wrong." The lie felt clumsy on my tongue. "When I saw you calling back, I didn't know how to explain,so I just... didn't answer."

"Really?" His eyes narrowed slightly. "Who were you trying to call then?James Collins?"

The way he said James's name made my stomach clench. I shook my head quickly, perhaps too quickly. "No, of course not."

Blake leaned back in his chair, but there was nothing relaxed in his posture. "Interesting. After you ignored my call, I met him in that Southern restaurant, and he looked a bit hurried. Later, when I went to your apartment. I ran into him again at your doorstep."

My eyes widened in shock. "Wait, you came to my apartment that night?"

"You called without speaking, then wouldn't answer." His voice carried something I couldn't quite identify. "I thought you might be dead in there."

Blake let out a cold laugh, "So I went to check on you. What's the most interesting part? He said you were already asleep. Do you know how I felt

at that moment?"

I didn't respond as my mind was spinning.

I had just learned that after taking me to the hospital. James had gone back to my apartment to look for my medication logs.

But he never mentioned anything about seeing Blake that night...

"Audrey Sinclair." Blake's eyes narrowed as he studied my face. "Were you really asleep then?"

I snapped back to reality, quickly shaking my head. "No, no I wasn't."

I couldn't understand why James would claim I was asleep. At that hour,for a man to leave a woman's apartment saying she was already asleep -wasn't he just inviting misunderstandings?

Blake continued. "So when James said you wanted to cut ties with the past,that you didn't want the cat we raised together anymore... was that really your decision?"

"What?" My mind exploded with sudden understanding. "No! I never said I didn't want Snow! I wasn't even home that night!"

Tears pricked at my eyes as understanding dawned. "Astrid searched all day yesterday, and I looked all night."

*So Snow wasn't lost - James gave her to Blake that night?* The thought made my chest ache. *No wonder James sounded so strange when I called about Snow yesterday.*

I bit my lip. "Last night I was desperate, that's why I tried asking for your help..."

Something shifted in Blake's expression as he watched the tears gather in my eyes. The arctic chill in his gaze thawed slightly, replaced by a hint of satisfaction.

"I see." He stood with fluid grace. "I almost thought you really didn't want

Snow anymore."

I quickly shook my head, grabbing a tissue to wipe my face. "That's not possible."

Snow was my last attachment and support in this world. Even if I had given up on myself. I could never give up on her.

Blake's lips curved into a slight smile as he walked to my side.He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, guiding me toward the door."Come on. Let's go."

It wasn't until we were in the elevator that my emotions finally settled enough for me to notice our position - Blake's arm still wrapped firmly around my shoulders.

*This intimacy feels inappropriate for a divorcing couple*, I thought hazily.

I bit my lip, instinctively trying to pull away from his arm, but Blake only tightened his hold. "Don't want to see Snow anymore?"

Snow was my weakness, and Blake knew it too well. Though I couldn't understand why he'd maintain such intimacy when he'd,already decided on divorce, I found myself yielding.

After three years of marriage, he'd taken whatever he wanted from me.What difference would this moment make?

And so, I let Blake guide me to his car.

Blake's car glided to a stop outside Lunar Mansion.

The familiar gates stood tall, guarding the place full of memories I'd tried to forget. The manicured gardens, the marble fountain,the sweeping driveway-everything exactly as I'd left it two weeks ago.

I never thought I'd see this place again. The day I walked away,clutching Snow to my chest like a lifeline after losing our baby, I'd been so certain.So final. Yet here I was, unable to break free completely.

"Out." Blake's command cut through my reminiscing, his voice carrying that familiar mix of authority and impatience.

I pulled myself from the car,steadying my nerves with a deep breath. But before I could take a single step toward the entrance, his hand caught my arm. The touch was different from his earlier possessive grip - lighter,almost hesitant. When his fingers slid down to intertwine with mine,the gesture felt so foreign it nearly stopped my heart.

His palm burned against mine as he led me toward the mansion, his steps steady. I couldn't help stealing glances at his profile,trying to read something- anything - in that controlled expression.

This gentle contact was so unlike him. The Blake I knew had always maintained careful distance, treating physical touch like a weapon to be wielded rather than a comfort to be shared. Now, his fingers wrapped arounad mine with a warmth that felt almost... protective.

"Blake darling, you're home!"

Laurel's voice cut through my thoughts like a knife. She stood in the doorway wearing a soft pink loungewear set, a matching pink apron tied around her waist. She held a spatula in her right hand, completing her

carefully crafted picture of domestic bliss.

The moment her eyes landed on our joined hands, that carefully crafted warmth shattered. Her lips trembled as she turned to Blake. "Why didyou...bring Miss Sinclair here?"

The irony of her words almost made me laugh. This was our marital home-mine and Blake's - where we'd created the few precious moments of happiness I'd been allowed to keep.I never imagined he'd bring her here,let her play house in the spaces where my dreams had lived and died.

Before Blake could respond, I slipped my hand from his grasp. "Don't worry. I'm just here for Snow."

Without bothering to respond, I moved past her into the house. The brief contact of our shoulders was barely enough to disturb air, but Laurel's reaction was just too dramatic. She staggered backward, one hand flying to her shoulder while the other pressed against her heart.

I didn't slow my stride, didn't turn back. Let her play her games. The moment I stepped into the living room, reality landed a far harder blow than any theatrical shoulder bump.

Three years of marriage, distilled into what remained: nothing. Our wedding portrait had been replaced by a towering glamour shot of Laurel.The warm, earthy tones I'd chosen to make this house feel like home had been stripped away, repainted in shades of pink that felt like a deliberate erasure of my existence.

Half a month. That's all it had taken to transform three years of memories into a shrine to Laurel Rose.

I drew in a deep breath, forcing down the emotions threatening to

overwhelm me. *Even though I knew this day would come, it still hurts.*

But I couldn't afford to dwell on it. Somewhere in this mansion, Snow was waiting. And right now, that was all that mattered.