The Genius Ex-Wife’s Revenge Portfolio novel Chapter 218

He didn’t move. No response, nothing.

Ella’s phone lit up on the nightstand. Monica’s name flashed across the screen.

She answered and Monica’s voice rushed out, breathless and frantic. “Ella, where are you? You need to get back to the dorm, right now. Something happened to Lilly!”

Lilly? Something happened to Lilly?

Ella didn’t waste a second. She ended the call, gently slipped out of David’s arms, scooped her clothes from the carpet, and pulled them on as quietly as she could. Then she slipped out the door, heart racing.

Minutes after Ella left, the front door of Bellemont Manor clicked open again. Someone else slipped inside, moving silently through the dim light.

It was Monica.

She took in the scene: David asleep on the sofa, his clothes and Ella’s scattered on the floor. Anyone could piece together what had happened last night. David and Ella had slept together.

Monica unfastened her blouse, letting it fall to the floor, then slid onto the sofa beside David. She lay there, so close she could feel the warmth radiating from him, her heart pounding in her chest. This was the first time she’d ever been this close to him. David Harmon, the richest man in Rockford Bay, right here, just an arm’s reach away.

She reached out, just about to slide under the blanket and into his arms.

But right then, David’s eyes fluttered open. He looked straight at her, confusion turning quickly to icy clarity.

Monica managed a soft, careful greeting. “Mr. Harmon, you’re awake?”

He stared at her, his gaze cold, his face hardening. He sat up fast. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

She tried for a shy smile. “Mr. Harmon, I’m Monica. We’ve met before. I’m Ella’s friend.”

Later, in the study, Aiden pushed in, looking anxious. “Sir.”

David hadn’t changed out of last night’s clothes. His expression was dark. “Did you go to the hospital and see Ella last night?”

“I did. I showed her the villa’s security footage, told her you hurt your hand because of her. I wanted her to come here to see you, but she refused. She just went back into the hospital room.”

Aiden thought he’d watched Ella stay behind. He had no idea that after he left, Ella had slipped out again and come here.

David let out a quiet, bitter laugh. Of course she hadn’t come. Last night, it had just been her friend. Not her.

When he saw that stain on the sofa, he knew. It wasn’t Ella. She wasn’t a virgin.

He didn’t even know what he’d been hoping for, or why he’d let himself believe, even for a second, that she would actually come.