Chapter 738:

🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙

Rolling her eyes, Eloise darted to the rooftop, scanning for the couple—but they’d already slipped out of sight. Her voice was sharp as she retorted, “They weren’t even kissing! You’re just imagining things.”

Eleanor eyed her closely, brow furrowing. “Why are you so on edge?”

Something seemed to click for her—she cursed under her breath, then hurried after Julian, a sudden realization flashing across her face. Katherine was his ex-wife!

Julian slid behind the wheel and wordlessly sparked a cigarette, his movements unhurried and deceptively relaxed.

Meanwhile, Eleanor fidgeted with her sleeve, tension prickling under her skin.

“Sorry. I forgot Katherine’s your ex-wife.”

Julian exhaled a thin stream of smoke, his expression unreadable. “It’s fine.”

𝘞𝗁at 𝘦𝘃𝖾r𝘆𝘰n𝖾 i𝗌 𝗋𝗲а𝖽𝘪ոg 𝘰n 𝘨𝗮𝘭𝗻𝘰𝘃𝖾𝘭𝘴.𝘤o𝗆

Eleanor’s curiosity refused to die. “Does it bother you, seeing her with someone else now?”

Before she could get another word out, Eloise, blazing with irritation, delivered a swift kick to Eleanor’s backside.

Thrown off balance, Eleanor staggered and almost went sprawling, her hand flying back to protect her aching tailbone as she spun around to glare at Eloise. Julian’s gaze never left the rooftop restaurant.

He let his cigarette smolder between two fingers, the rising smoke catching in his reddened eyes.

Colten swept Katherine into a sudden embrace, catching her completely off guard.

She recoiled instantly, pushing him away with a frown before slipping back into her seat to focus on her meal.

Colten flashed an awkward smile, trying to explain himself. “I guess I just got swept up in the moment. It felt romantic, thinking about us back then. Please forgive me for my rudeness.”

Katherine’s mind was a jumble.

The table gleamed with exquisite dishes, but her appetite had vanished—she barely had the strength to lift her fork.

For reasons she couldn’t name, her chest ached as if all the energy had been sucked out of her, leaving her too hollow to speak.

In just a short time, Katherine’s jewelry line shot to stardom, and plans for a public listing were already underway.

Despite how monumental the milestone was, she wanted to keep everything low-key, but her staff insisted on putting together a series of celebrations. She simply picked one of their suggested plans and let them handle the details.

To her surprise, Colten insisted on attending.

He had always shunned public occasions, so his sudden eagerness left Katherine more than a little wary. Still, since he’d asked outright, she couldn’t exactly turn him down—she went ahead and sent him a formal invitation.

Katherine stepped into Colten’s office, finding him sifting through a scattered pile of letters on his desk.

Her gaze drifted across the envelopes—and then froze. She reached for one, tore it open, and scanned the contents. The handwriting was unmistakable. They were Julian’s letters.

She turned to Colten, voice edged with disbelief. “You’ve been answering the letters Julian sent his mother all these years, haven’t you?”

Colten arched a brow, his tone casual but tinged with regret. “I didn’t set out to deceive him. After his mother walked out, the kid was devastated. I just… wanted to ease that pain a little.”

A cold shiver crawled up Katherine’s spine.

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