Called Off the Wedding, Left Him Bankrupt novel Chapter 177

The moment she hit send, Cynthia regretted it.

Who did she think she was, acting like she had any say in his schedule?

She quickly deleted the message, hoping to erase her impulsiveness. But just as the notification confirmed her message had been unsent, a single word appeared in the chat window.

Dominic: [Coming.]

He'd replied.

Cynthia stared at the system notification—her deleted message—and Dominic's one-word response. The whole thing felt both awkward and surreal.

She'd assumed that even if Dominic saw her message, he'd simply ignore it. But he'd answered instantly.

For a long moment, Cynthia typed and deleted line after line, none of it feeling quite right. Eventually, she settled on something more appropriate.

Cynthia: [Alright, I have some work matters to discuss with Mr. Holloway.]

Dominic didn't respond.

She waited, phone in hand, for a reply that never came. Only after a while did she finally set the phone aside.

In the elevator, Miranda glanced sidelong at the man standing beside her.

He'd been staring at his phone since they stepped inside, a faint, unreadable smile at the corner of his lips.

She quietly looked away, fixing her gaze straight ahead.

That afternoon, Dominic still hadn't returned by the time the workday was half over.

At first, Cynthia was able to keep her composure, calmly reviewing documents. But as the day wore on and the hour edged closer to closing time, her anxiety grew. If Dominic didn't show up to the event with her, their plan would fall apart, and they'd never sell the Tremaine Holdings property.

"It's nothing, Jules. I've got it handled," Cynthia said quickly, hanging up and hurrying over to Dominic.

"You've been drinking at noon?" she asked under her breath.

Dominic tugged at his tie, looking irritated. "Did you really think those guys would let me off the hook that easily?"

To get away, he'd had to down half a bottle of whiskey Nathan had pushed into his hand. If Miranda hadn't pleaded on his behalf, he probably would have passed out finishing the rest.

Cynthia caught the gratitude in his tired eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Holloway."

Dominic shot her a glance but said nothing, turning instead toward the elevator.

His steps were unsteady. Cynthia rushed to his side, slipping her arm through his to steady him, silently praying he wouldn't collapse before they reached The Tremaines.

He stiffened at her touch, glancing down to find Cynthia beside him, her eyes filled with concern. A small, almost imperceptible smile flickered at the corner of his lips.