Divorce Me Before Death Takes Me, CEO

Chapter 230

Blake's POV

Astrid’s voice carried clearly through the thin walls of this old building.

‘Do you regret marrying him?”

Hearing this question, | frowned, unconsciously tightening my grip on the keys in my hand.

In truth, | also wanted to know - during those three years of marriage, had Audrey ever regretted being with me?

But long after Astrid’s question, no response cfrom Audrey. The air in the hallway felt as stifling as it must

have been inside the apartment.

After a lengthy silence, I slid my key into the lock and stepped inside my newly rented apartment.

The place was barren. | sat on the leather sofa and listened to the conversation next door.

“Astrid, drop it,” Ethan said. “If Audrey doesn’t want to talk about it, don’t push her.”

“I think she must have liked Parker at spoint,” he added. “It’s just that he disappointed her.”

A cold laugh cut through the wall - Audrey’s laugh, but without any warmth.

“He didn’t disappoint me,” she said. “I never expected anything from him.”

‘Blake Parker and | were always from different worlds,” she continued. “When | married him, he was still a

vegetative patient.”

“If he'd never woken up, we would have lived peacefully. But he did wake up.” | heard ice clinking against glass.

“From the day he woke up, | knew we'd eventually divorce.”

She paused. “So | have no regrets. If | had another chance, I'd probably make the schoice.”

My hands clenched into fists. So that was our marriage to her a mistake she'd willingly repeat.

The conversation shifted. Soon laughter filled the air as they planned her jewelry launch to rehash old stories I'd

never been part of. | sat alone in the dark, struck by how different Audrey sounded with them - relaxed, playful,

nothing like the cold woman she was around me.

Not once did they mention my nor anyone from the Parker family. It was as if | and the entire Parker family

didn’t matter to her at all.

My mind drifted back to Pinehaven Village, to how her eyes lit up when she spoke about the man she'd once

liked. I'd never seen that look directed at me.

| grabbed a bottle of wine from the counter, not bothering with a glass. My phone buzzed with Laurel's message:

“Blake darling, I've tried these three dresses and can’t decide which is best for the engagement. Could | wear all

of them?”

| looked at the images without interest, locked the screen, and set it aside.

Audrey's POV

“It’s getting late,” | said, checking my watch. “Ethan, don’t you have classes tomorrow?”

Ethan finished his beer and nodded. “Yeah, | should head back.”

| called him a taxi and went downstairs to see him off. The night air felt good against my face as we waited.

“Textwhen you get to your dorm,” | reminded him.

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Chapter 230

Ethan smiled, cheeks flushed from the alcohol. “Audrey, you're really something.”

I wish I'd met you three years earlier,” he added, words slightly slurred.

“You're thinking too much. It wouldn't have made any difference.”

“Why not?”

| sighed. “I've been in love with Blake Parker for five years. Even if we'd met three years ago, | wouldn't have

changed my mind.”

The taxi pulled up.

“Ethan, we work best as friends. Or you can think ofas your sister.”

He gavea sad smile. “I know.”

As he climbed in, he rolled down the window. “I'll text when | get back.”

“You better,’ | warned.

“Bye,” he said, eyes lingering on my face. “Sister.”

| watched until the taxi disappeared, then headed inside. When the elevator opened on my floor, | noticed keys

hanging from the lock next door.

So our new neighbor's moved in. Careless enough to leave their keys in the door.

| considered knocking but decided against it. It was late, and | didn’t know who they were.

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

Back in my apartment, Astrid had fallen asleep on the couch. | removed the wine glass from her hand and

covered her with a blanket.

After cleaning up, | took the trash out. The keys were still in my neighbor's door.

Still there? Maybe they're not home.

As | approached the elevator, | heard a key turning. Looking back, | saw the keys in my neighbor's door moving

slightly, then stopping.

| waited, curious to meet them, but nothing happened. Eventually, | continued to the trash chute. When |

returned, the keys hadn't moved.

Weird. Seemed like they were about to open the door but changed their mind when they heard me.

| reached for my own doorknob, feeling oddly uncomfortable.

Looks like my new neighbor's avoiding me. I'm just a neighbor, not smonster.

| closed my door firmly and had barely taken two steps when | heard a door opening, followed by quick footsteps

and the elevator ping.

Blake's POV

“Blake darling, finally!”

My car had barely stopped at the mansion when Laurel rushed over, eyes red and swollen. She yanke straight

into my arms.

‘I sent people to your house,” she said. “They said you weren't hor at the office...”

or open and threw herself into the backseat,

She looked at my face, tears still wet on her cheeks. “Then you didn’t answer my messages. | thought something

happened...”

She bit her lip and pressed against my chest. “I was so worried.”

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Chapter 230

“We're getting engaged soon. Why not move in here tonight? We could take care of Rachel together.

| frowned at her clinging to me. I'm fine.”

If Michael hadn't called about Laurel planning to bring people to my grandfather's house, | wouldn't be here this

late.

“But | was worried,” she insisted. “You didn’t answer me...”

| closed my eyes. “Laurel, | need my own space.”

‘It’s ten at night. If | don’t answer, maybe I'm sleeping? Why jump to conclusions?”

Her face went pale. “But | couldn't find you.”

| rubbed my temple. “Why did you need to findso urgently at this hour?”

She just stared, no words coming out.

“Laurel,” | said quietly, “you’re becoming less and less like the girl | remember.”

“The Laurel | knew five years ago wouldn't throw a fit this late just because | missed stexts. And she'd never

drag my grandfather into it.”

She stared at me, face going white.

| pried her away from my chest. “Our engagement isn’t real, and you know it. | won't be moving in with you - not

before, noDivorceBefore Death Takes Me, CEO

Chapter 231

Laurel's POV

| sat frozen next to Blake, watching his profile in the dim car light. His words stung. My face went pale as | bit my

lip, hands balled into fists at my sider.

Just yesterday he'd agreed to our engagement. | thought everything was finally going right - that he was

accepting me, that I'd becthe most important person in his life. Now his coldness pushedright back to

where | started.

What good was his promise if he keptat arm’s length? What did it matter if he stopped seeing Audrey when

she still occupied his thoughts? In his eyes, I'd never measure up to what she was five years ago.

| studied him more carefully. The smell of alcohol was strong. Our engagement had just been announced publicly

- what could be bothering him enough to ignore my messages and drink alone?

Blake darling, whispered, “are you having regrets? About our engagement?”

Blake leaned back, eyes closed, reeking of alcohol. “If you don’t get out now, | really will regret it.”

| swallowed my words and turned to the door. The moment | closed it, his car roared to life and sped away. |

stood watching his taillights disappear, biting my lip until | tasted blood.

Back at the mansion, | broke everything | saw. After my mother’s comfort, | went to bed. But sleep was

impossible. | kept hearing Blake comparingto Audrey from five years ago. Like | could never measure up to

what she had been.

| grabbed my phone, planning to message Andrew Jensen when a social media post caught my eye. Astrid had

uploaded a photo of three hands holding drinks: her own with a distinctive manicure holding beer, Audrey's with

juice, and a man’s hand with wine.

The caption: “Drinking until we drop! Three's company!”

| stared at that male hand, everything clicking into place. Blake ctotonight smelling of alcohol. Had he

been with them? Had he broken his promise so quickly?

Liar!

| threw down my phone, mind racing. Clearly, keeping Blake from seeing Audrey wasn’t enough. As long as she

existed in his world, he would never truly be

mine.

| needed Audrey Sinclair to disappear!

Audrey's POV

“Audrey!”

Astrid’s shout jerkedawake. | groaned and pulled the pillow over my head.

“What?” | mumbled.

“Something weird about our new neighbor.”

| sat up slowly, squinting as she yanked open the curtains. “What do

you mean?”

‘I was heading out and found their key still in the door.” She dangled a set of keys in front of me. “Knocked for a

while, but nobody answered.”

| yawned. “Maybe they forgot last night when they left.”

“That's why | took them, she said. “There are all kinds of people coming through this building. What if someone

saw an empty apar there?

with keys hanging

“Taking someone's keys seems like crossing a line,” | said. “If they don’t want to interact with their neighbors,

this isn’t helping.”

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Chapter 231

Astrid rolled her eyes. | was being helpful! They could've been robbed. I'm protecting their property

She checked her watch and cursed. ‘I'm late. I'll get their number from the landlord so you can return these.

After she left, | placed the keys on my coffee table and got to work.

| spent the morning focused on designing rings for Blake and Laurel. The women’s ring was simpler - just

modifications to my existing collection. Blake was trickier, but | was determined to make it equally impressive.

For hours, | lost myself in the work. No distractions, no emotions, just pure creation.

Around noon, my phone pinged with a message from Astrid: “Neighbor's contact. Add him.”

| sent a message through the app.

“Hello. I'm your next-door neighbor. Got your number from the landlord. You left your keys in the door, and my

friend took them for safekeeping. Letknow when you'll be home.”

They accepted my request immediately and replied: “What should | call you?”

Weird last night they seemed to be avoiding me, now they wanted my name?

| hesitated, strangely reluctant to share my name. “CallSilentia.”

“Your nis Silentia?”

“It’s a nickname. An old friend used to callthat.”

| waited, but no response came. So | put my phone down and made lunch from yesterday's leftovers, taking my

medication afterward.

When | returned, there was a message from an hour ago: “Having a friend give you such an affectionate

nickname... do you like it?”

The question triggered a flood of memories from five years ago.

Back then, my throat was injured - | couldn’t speak. Blake couldn't see. Rachel once joked we were “a perfect

match: a blind man and a mute woman.” | hated that description. My injury was temporary; | believed Blake

would see again. We wouldn't always be that way.

During that time, Blake called“Silentia - referencing my silence, but with such tenderness that it became

precious to me. Growing up, nicknames had only been used to mock me. I'd told Rachel how much | disliked

them.

But when Blake softly called‘Silentia,” | realized | didn’t hate nicknames themselves, just the people who'd

given them to me. for use an affectionate nfilledwith warmth.

Hearing someone | cared

Rachel didn’t know my feelings had changed. When Blake called“Silentia” in front of her, she objected

strongly, thinking she was protecting me. After that, Blake stopped using it and addressedas “Miss Hayes,”

just like he did with Rachel.

| stared at my neighbor's message and before | could stop myself, typed: “Because the person who gavethat

nicknmeant a lot to me. He always called‘Silentia‘ so tenderly, so yes, | love that nickname.”

As soon as | sent it, | regretted revealing so much. | deleted it quickly and sent instead: “I'll be hall day.

Cget your keys whenever you return.”

| set my phone down and took a deep breath, trying to refocus my thoughts. | needed to finish the ring designs,

not get lost in memories of Blake.

Blake's POV

| leaned back in my office chair, watching the/notification on my phone screen. Audrey had deleted her message

about the nickname, but not before I'd caught it.

So she claims to like being called “Silentia.

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Chapter 231

| couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. Five years ago when Laurel was caring forduring my blindness, she

couldnt speak because of her fans condition. | called her “Silentia” for a few days until Rachel mentioned her

sister hated nicknames | stopped immediately.

It all made sense now. Audrey must have read through Rachel's diary after taking her phone. She'd discovered

the nicknbut not that Lavel actually hated it.

| set my phone down and rubbed my eyes. When Laurel accused Audrey of trying to pass herself off as the

woman from five years ago, | hada’i enpletely bought it. Now, seeing Audrey deliberately use that name...

Women understand each other better than | thought.

| still knew far too little about Audrey Sinclair.

| picked up my phone again and called Michael. “Send someone to get my keys. | left them at the apartment.”

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| took a deep breath. “You used to understand boundaries. Don’t pull this again, calling Michael, hunting down

my grandfather. This stops now.”

‘Next time, | won't care that you once saved my life or that you're sick. That won't matter. My grandfather is off-

limits. Always has been.”

| reached across her and pushed the door open. “Go home.”

“Those dresses - | saw them. None of them suit you. Pick something else.”

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