My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 331

The first thing that struck her was how impossibly handsome Andrew Lane was. For a moment, Emily Blair could think of nothing else—her mind went utterly blank, caught in a silent loop: handsome, he’s really so handsome.

Andrew’s dark eyes never left her, so intently focused that she felt, just for a second, as if she were the only person reflected in them—the only one he could see.

He tipped his chin up, voice colder than before. “Are you afraid of me?”

Emily blinked, startled, then shook her head quickly. “No,” she managed, her voice tight with nerves.

Kevin Lane cleared his throat. “Alright, if you’ve got things to do, go do them. Don’t stand here scaring your sister.”

Andrew looked even more displeased. “Did I scare you?”

Emily shook her head again. “No, not at all.”

He glanced over at Kevin, raising one eyebrow as if to say, See? She said I didn’t scare her.

Kevin just gave him a weary look and turned away, waving him off as if the whole thing was too much to deal with.

Emily dropped her gaze, watching as Andrew strode past her without another word.

Suddenly, something small and white flashed through the air in front of her. She automatically reached out and caught it, surprised.

Andrew’s voice came from behind her. “A welcome gift.”

The next time she saw Andrew Lane, his assistant arrived carrying a set of clothes. They were meant for Amelia Lane, but because Emily happened to be there, she politely accepted them and passed them along to Amelia.

In the end, she didn’t wear the clothes. Maybe it was because of how expensive they were, or maybe because they’d only come to her as someone else’s castoff.

Over time, as she grew closer to Andrew, his assistant would bring more clothes for her. She grew pickier, too, gradually developing a taste for little luxuries—though she tried not to show it too much.

It was only later she realized that the Lane family’s so-called warmth was mostly for appearances, a performance Kevin Lane put on to keep up their image. Since Emily posed no threat to their status, they were content to treat her kindly—at least, when Kevin was around.

When they looked at her, it was always with the detached interest reserved for something insignificant, like a stray cat. Without Kevin present, their friendliness faded, and they barely acknowledged her at all.

Back then, she was too young to see it, but later she understood: out of everyone, the only one who’d ever shown her any real acceptance—the only one who’d bothered to treat her as more than an afterthought—was the perpetually gruff Andrew Lane.

And eventually, she realized something else: Kevin Lane’s harsh words to Amelia had always been more exasperated affection than real anger—the sort of indulgent scolding any adult might give a younger sibling, not true outrage.