The Ex and Her Riches novel (Gwendolyn and Maverick)

The Newton siblings had been waiting in the dining room at the Newton residence for Whitney for a long while.

Yet, she still hadn’t returned for dinner.

Jasmine lightly furrowed her eyebrows. “Did you not pick up Whitney today, Charles? Why hasn’t she come back?”

Charles’ countenance turned grim. “I had something to take care of today, so I returned home ahead of time.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. What could be more important than picking up your wife from work?” Lucas was

dissatisfied with Charles’ answer.

Jasmine added, “It hasn’t been long since Whitney joined the Newton family, Charles. She isn’t familiar with this

area. Maybe she got lost while trying to come back?”

Charles stared at his watch with a grave expression and said nothing.

The siblings waited for another twenty minutes.

Seeing that Whitney still hadn’t returned and the sky was turning dark, Jasmine panicked. “You have crossed the line

this time, Charles. You didn’t pick up your wife from work, and she still isn’t back home yet. The food is getting cold,

yet you don’t seem to be worried at all.”

Once again, Charles looked at his watch quietly.

Jasmine took out her phone and called Whitney. “Charles, her phone is off. I can’t reach her. Did something happen

to her?”

After glancing at the sky outside, Lucas said, “It’s getting dark pretty fast today. Looks like it’s about to rain. If it

does, Whitney will have an even harder time returning home.”

Unable to sit still any longer, Charles rose to his feet and strode out of the dining room.

Immediately, Jasmine followed him, wanting to search for Whitney with him.

However, Lucas stopped her. “Don’t go and make things worse. It looks like they’ve had an argument. Let them

deal with it themselves.”

True. Jasmine sat back down and stared at the rain outside the window worriedly.

The rain was getting heavier by the minute, and the sky was dark.

Holding an umbrella, Charles set off from the Newton residence to search for Whitney.

He didn’t drive his car or bring his bodyguards with him. He only had his phone.

During his journey, he hoped Whitney’s familiar figure would appear in his sight, but it didn’t.

If I can’t find Whitney today, I’ll have to call the cops.

He looked at his watch, unknowingly walking faster.

He strode along the path away from the Newton residence for ten minutes. Unfortunately, he still didn’t see anyone

with the help of the streetlights.

This isn’t going to work.

He pulled out his phone and called Isaac.

Isaac was stunned. “Mrs. Newton hasn’t returned? How can that be? She left the office not long after work.”

“Tell me everything that happened before she left,” Charles demanded.

“I saw Mrs. Newton waiting for you in the underground parking lot, so I approached her and told her you wouldn’t

be picking her up. Then, I offered her a ride home, but she refused. The last time I saw her was when she left the

building on the ground floor.”

If she left from the ground floor, she either took a taxi or bus home. Given her financial situation, she would most

likely take the bus. How stupid! Charles was irritated. Why did she have to take the bus when she could’ve arrived

home in a comfortable car? Does she not have a brain?

“Check which bus she took immediately! I want to know the routes she’ll most likely take to return to the Newton

residence!”

“Understood,” said Isaac before he went to carry out his task.

Minutes later, Charles received Isaac’s reply.

Isaac clearly listed the three bus routes connected to the subway Whitney had most likely taken to return home.

After scanning through that information, Charles realized something. Whitney will end up at the subway station

around three kilometers away from the Newton residence regardless of which bus she took. In that case…

He ran back to the garage and slowly drove along the street to the subway station.

The squeaking of the wipers annoyed him as he searched for Whitney.

After driving for two kilometers, he caught the sight of a thin figure sitting on the side of the road.

It was too dark, so he couldn’t see who it was. He could only approach the figure on foot with an umbrella.

Whitney’s phone was out of battery, and she was unfamiliar with the streets as she had always been driven back to

the Newton residence. She had never been down these winding streets before and accidentally got lost.

The road was slippery, and the sky was dark.

She was completely lost and hungry after walking too much. Feeling tired, she opted to rest on the side of the road

for a while.

When a car headlight shone on her countenance, she hopelessly buried her head between her knees.

Half an hour ago, she had still hoped to see Charles picking her up with his car. However, he wasn’t in any of the

cars that passed her by.

Her disappointment accumulated over time until she eventually stopped expecting anything.

As she rested on the side of the road, she was drenched by the rain. Her wet hair was stuck to her cheeks. Even her

eyelashes were covered with water droplets.

She looked like an abandoned puppy.

Whitney was so hungry that she was getting a little fuzzy. It was then she heard the approaching car parked not too

far from her. Then, the sound of hurried footsteps traveled into her ears and grew louder as the seconds passed.

“Whitney!”

In the rain, she heard a familiar voice shouting at her with fury.

Immediately, she lifted her head and saw a man in a deep blue suit holding a black umbrella. He was running

toward her with a grim expression.

The rain blurred her vision, so she could only make out his perfect, familiar figure.

“Whitney!” the man shouted again, rain dancing on his umbrella.

With the headlight shining on him from the back, he looked like an angel who had descended from heaven to save

her.

It wasn’t until he had gotten closer to her that she wiped the raindrops from her eyes away and saw who it was.

“Mr. Newton…” When Whitney spoke, she realized her voice had become hoarse and weak.

Charles stared at her solemnly and lifted his right hand that was not holding the umbrella. He looked as though he

was going to hit her.

Whitney trembled and shut her eyes, thinking he was going to slap her.

To her surprise, when his hand landed on her body, it brought warmth and not pain.

Charles was wiping the raindrops on her face away and swiping her wet hair to the side to reveal her clean but pale

face.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Newton.” Whitney opened her eyes but lowered her head, too afraid to look at him.

Charles was livid as he pinched her cheek hard as though he was punishing her.

“Are you stupid? You had a free ride home but you chose not to take it! You insisted on taking the bus and ended up

getting lost! Everyone at home was worried about you for hours! Do you know that?”

Whitney’s cheek hurt, but she was too powerless to stop him. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m your husband, Whitney. If you need me to pick you up, you can call me. Do you know how dangerous it is for a

woman like you to sit on the side of the road on a rainy night?” Charles let go of his hand and pulled her toward

him, his hand now on the back of her neck.

Whitney stumbled forward and crashed into his chest.

“Say something!” He wasn’t about to let her go. He tugged her hair with one hand, forcing her to look up, and

glared at her with bloodshot eyes.