The Billion-Dollar Divorce (Ian and Chloe) novel Chapter 128

Chapter 128

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Before anyone could react, lan slipped the thing into his pocket.

Chloe was completely dumbfounded.

All that work for this?‘ Chloe thought, unable to believe it.

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Andrea was scared out of her wits; her face went pale, and she was shaking, totally clueless about what to do

next.

Mia pointed at Andrea and started yelling, “You bitch, what were you trying to put in my brother’s drink?”

Andrea, humiliated and exposed in front of everyone, shot Chloe a desperate look for help.

Chloe quickly jumped in and tried to defuse the situation. “Mia, wait, you got it wrong. That was mine–I dropped it by accident,” she insisted.

Ian’s friends were all there.

No matter what, Chloe had to keep up Andrea’s good–girl act.

She couldn’t let Ian’s perfect image of Andrea get ruined.

Mia shot Chloe a look and demanded, “Chloe, why are you defending her?”

Mia pressed on, her tone unwavering, “I saw her with my own eyes trying to spike Ian’s drink. Just have Ian empty his pockets and we’ll know for sure.”

Patrick was the first to react. He pulled Mia to the side and said quietly, “You know Andrea’s the mother of Ian’s kid. Just let Ian save a little face, okay?”

Seeing Mia finally calm down thanks to Patrick, Chloe let out a quiet sigh of relief.

But when Chloe turned and saw Andrea just frozen there, not moving an inch, she couldn’t help but feel exhausted all over again. ‘Does she have to make things more awkward?‘ Chloe thought to herself.

Chloe quietly reminded Andrea, “Hey, didn’t you say you weren’t feeling well just now?”

Andrea, jolted by Chloe’s prompt, instantly nodded, trying to go along with her.

Andrea glanced nervously at Jan and spoke, voice barely above a whisper, “lan, I’m feeling a bit under the weather… Could you maybe drive me home?” Her tone was hesitant, clearly testing the waters.

Everyone could tell what she was getting at–asking someone else’s husband to take her home right in front of his wife was as obvious as it gets.

But lan just nodded, like it was no big deal.

He shot Chloe a quick look, then turned to Andrea and said, “Let’s go. I’ll drive you home.”

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Chapter 128

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Mia was about to blow up, but Patrick grabbed her and dragged her back, stopping her before she could make

a scene.

Chloe watched Ian and Andrea walk out of the private room, her face blank, not a hint of emotion in her eyes.

Just a little while ago, Ian had promised her he’d send Andrea and her kid away, that he wanted to be with her for real.

But now, with everyone watching, he dropped the act completely.

Chloe just wished they’d keep pushing forward and finally get together for real, so all her efforts wouldn’t end up meaningless.

Arthur gave Chloe a comforting pat on the shoulder. “Let me take you home later, alright?”

Chloe grinned and nodded. “You finished four bottles of Andrea’s favorite yoghurt today–so from now on, no calling her ugly!”

Arthur scrunched up his face in disgust. “I got that yoghurt from you, not her. What does she have to do with it, anyway?”

Chloe just stared, speechless.

‘Whatever,‘ Chloe thought.

Arthur was the type who’d never let a free meal or a favor make him soft–he’d still trash–talk you no matter what.

Patrick, worried Chloe might be feeling down, decided to call it a night early.

He rounded up Mia, Chloe, and Arthur, and the four of them headed out for some late–night snacks together.

Just around the same time, on a street near the Royal Court Club, a sleek black Bentley eased into a temporary spot by the curb.

Andrea sat stiff in the plush back seat, drenched in cold sweat from sheer nerves.

Not waiting for lan to say anything, she spoke up first, voice trembling, “Ian, I’m sorry. I really should’ve told you about this a long time ago.”

Feeling the tense silence pressing down on her, Andrea nervously grabbed her phone and opened her chat with Chloe.

Andrea pressed, her voice trembling, “Look, these are the texts Chloe sent me. That packet of pills? Chloe gave it to me, too. She threatened me–said if I didn’t spike your drink, Edward would dump me on some island and leave me stranded!”

Jan rolled down the window a bit and lit up a cigarette.

He leaned his head back against the headrest, eyes half–closed, smoking in silence.

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Chapter 128

The quieter lan was, the more Andrea’s nerves frayed.

Just like they’d agreed, Andrea was going to pin everything on her.

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Dressed in a dark bathrobe and holding a glass of water, he was just standing there, silently staring at her.

Chloe couldn’t help but knit her brows.

‘Four or five hours since they left the club… Did they wrap things up, or were they still tangled up in whatever mess?‘ Chloe wondered.

They locked eyes for a moment, neither one saying a word.

Chloe quietly made her way over to the counter, her face unreadable.

She was just about to pour herself some water when Ian, moving first, picked up the glass and filled it halfway for her.

As Chloe took the glass, she noticed the way Ian’s lips pressed down in a faint, tense line.

She hesitated, then set the glass back down, suddenly unsure if she should drink it.

The batch of pills she’d snuck in was straight–up the hottest new stuff out there.

Packed a punch, too—and worst of all, there was no antidote, no way to reverse it.

Leave it to Andrea to screw things up–of all places, she had to drop it right at Ian’s feet, and of course, he picked it up.

Ian might look all polite and classy, but honestly? Underneath that gentleman facade, he was nothing but a shark in a suit.

He always had a scheme cooking, zero mercy, and played every game dirtier than anyone else.

‘If he really wanted to use this chance to get even with me, I wouldn’t put it past him,’ Chloe thought, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy.

Keeping a wary eye on Ian the whole time, Chloe went and grabbed a new glass from the cabinet–no way was she trusting the old one.

She rinsed the glass out with hot water three times, just to be extra sure, before finally pouring herself some

water.

Chloe had barely raised the cup to her lips when lan shot her a dark, unreadable look and slowly put his own glass down, deliberate as ever.

Seeing Jan’s odd reaction, Chloe couldn’t help but wonder if he was up to something–her suspicions only

grew.

By now, Andrea should’ve pinned everything on her just like they planned.

But since Chloe stepped through the door, lan hadn’t said a word to her–he’d even gone out of his way to

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Chapter 128

pour her some water.

‘Something’s not right here,‘ Chloe thought, uneasy.

She held back her thirst and set the glass down again, too wary to take a sip.