My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 329

Andrew Lane’s gaze lingered on the girl’s profile, the sterile white hospital lights casting down from above, illuminating Emily’s youthful, unspoiled features. Her long, dark lashes threw faint shadows on her cheeks, but her complexion was no longer rosy as before; her lips were pale and chapped, and she looked like a flower bud shriveling before it ever truly bloomed.

Once upon a time, Emily Blair had been a firecracker—she’d argue passionately with anyone who challenged her, her every retort sharp and irrefutable. She’d laughed with a radiance that lit up the whole room, especially around those she cared for, and for the Lane family, she had been the brightest flower in their garden.

Back then, her eyes sparkled with a lively, icy light—always full of spirit, never dull or drained as they were now. Now, she seemed hollowed out, her brow perpetually knit as if weighed down by troubles she couldn’t shake.

Suddenly, Andrew realized he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a genuine smile on Emily’s face. Ever since that day in her room at the Lane Estate—when she told him she’d never love him again, when she stomped her feelings for him into the ground—she hadn’t relaxed in his presence, not for a single moment.

Even Andrew Lane, who prided himself on his composure and never regretted his decisions, found himself questioning his past actions.

What was this feeling?

He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, trying to name the unfamiliar surge in his chest. Was this…regret?

It had been a long time since Andrew Lane had felt anything like this. For him, it was almost novel.

Emily, waiting in the silence for an answer, grew impatient.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

She turned her head, instantly meeting Andrew’s gaze.

His eyes were dark and fathomless, lips pressed into a line, his face as inscrutable as ever.

Emily started to look away, but Andrew quietly said, “You’ve lost weight.”

Her brow furrowed.

It was true—she’d dropped a few pounds lately—but hearing “You’ve lost weight” from Andrew’s lips felt strangely out of place.

It sounded like concern, but everything he’d done online had been ruthless, relentless, driving her into a corner.

Now, this sudden tenderness unsettled her.

She looked away. “If you have nothing to say, just go. I need to rest.”

Andrew spoke anyway, his voice deep and smooth, like a cello’s low note. “Did you like the food Mrs. Carter made?”

Emily didn’t bother with niceties. “You can see yourself out.”

They seemed to be speaking on different wavelengths. Andrew replied, “If you didn’t like it, just say so. We’ll change it until you’re satisfied.”

“Andrew Lane.”

Isabella Austin’s voice cut in, low and urgent. “What do you really want to say?”

Andrew looked at her, his gaze steady and unreadable. “If the hospital isn’t convenient, come back to the Lane Estate. There’ll be someone to look after you around the clock.”

Return to the Lane Estate?

“It’s not just the sponsors and Arianna George,” Andrew said, voice calm but unyielding. “Your school, teachers, classmates—they’re all caught up in this. If you want this to escalate, then by all means, keep dodging me and acting like this.”

Emily’s glare hardened. She tilted her chin defiantly. “Is that a threat?”

Andrew reached out and gripped her chin, lifting her face toward his. His touch was firm, his thumb brushing over her skin in a way that seemed almost absentminded.

“No,” he said quietly, “I’m trying to reason with you.”

Emily’s eyes flashed cold. “Andrew Lane, don’t act like you’re the good guy now. The mess online was orchestrated by you and Isabella—a little pity play, a little knight in shining armor. You two working the crowd, who could stand against that? Spare me your act. It’s a little late for that.”

Andrew’s gaze grew colder, his eyes tracing every nuance of her expression.

That look—like he could see right through her—was the thing Emily hated most. She slapped his hand away and turned her head, presenting him with her profile.

“Get out,” she said icily.

Andrew didn’t react to the sting on his hand. He simply looked at her and said, “You will apologize.”

With that, he turned and strode out, leaving Emily alone on the hospital bed, her heart pounding in her chest.

She didn’t want to apologize, but she knew all too well: Andrew Lane rarely failed to get what he wanted. Things nearly always played out according to his plans.

If he truly wanted her to apologize, this was far from over.