Chapter 24 Back to Reality
The quiet house had become strangely familiar to Adeline over the past few days. At first, it had felt like a place she was hiding in, somewhere temporary where she could catch her breath before stepping back into the storm waiting for her outside, but after several days of staying there with Julian, the space had started to feel almost comfortable.
They had spent those days doing very little of importance. They cooked simple meals together, with Julian doing most of the cooking, watched random things on television, and spent long hours talking about things that had nothing to do with the chaos waiting for them outside those walls. Sometimes they did not talk at all. They simply existed in the same space, enjoying the rare quiet that neither of them usually had in their lives.
But Adeline knew that it could not last.
That morning, she stood in the bedroom, pulling on the last sleeve of her blouse while staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was neatly tied back, her makeup light but careful. She looked like the version of herself the world expected to see again soon, composed, controlled, and completely untouched by scandal.
It almost made her laugh because inside, she knew things had shifted, not in a dramatic way, but enough that she could not pretend she was exactly the same person who had walked into this house days ago.
She let out a slow breath and adjusted the collar of her blouse. Hiding here had been easy, and facing the world again would not be. There were too many things waiting for her.
First, there was Patrick. The marriage had been dead long before the scandal, but now she needed to officially file for divorce. Thankfully, the prenuptial agreement they had signed years ago would make things simpler. Patrick would not get a single dime from her, so that was one problem she did not have to worry about, but the divorce was only one piece of the situation.
The larger problem was the public scandal she had created herself, which was the declaration that she and Julian Hale were lovers. She closed her eyes briefly as she remembered the moment. At the time, it had felt like the only move she had left, a bold distraction, and a way to avoid being the humiliated wife whose husband had been caught cheating, but now the world expected answers.
She needed to address her relationship with Julian publicly, and more importantly, she needed to decide whether she was actually willing to marry him.
That thought alone made her stomach tighten.
She had spent the last few days pretending the question did not exist. It had been easy when they were alone in the house, away from reporters and business partners and her father’s expectations, but the truth was still there, waiting.
Marrying Julian could turn the entire scandal around. If the public believed their relationship had been real for a long time, something hidden because of the long-standing rivalry between their fathers, then the story would change, and what looked like a reckless affair could easily become a forbidden love story.
People loved stories like that. They would say Adeline and Julian had always wanted to be together but could not because of family expectations. They would say the kiss at the party had simply been the moment they stopped hiding.
It was a clean narrative, almost too perfect, but the thought of marrying Julian Hale still frightened her more than she wanted to admit.
A man like Julian was dangerous, especially with how very alike he and she were in terms of how they would be willing to do anything at all to get ahead. She knew for a fact that if she were in his shoes, she would have an ulterior motive, so she couldn't disregard her gut feeling that told her that he definitely had an ulterior motive.
She had spent her entire life making sure no one ever had any kind of power over her, and Julian was not about to be the first to beat her at her own game.
Just as she finished buttoning her blouse, the bedroom door opened quietly, and Julian stepped inside.
He had already changed out of his usual work clothes and was dressed more casually in dark jeans and a simple shirt. His hair looked slightly messy, like he had run his hand through it a few times already that morning. He paused when he saw her fully dressed.
“Going somewhere?” he asked.
Adeline turned away from the mirror and picked up her jacket from the chair beside the bed. “Yes.”
He leaned lightly against the doorframe, watching her. “Where?”
She slipped her arms into the jacket before answering. “I told my assistant two days ago to start looking for a decent apartment for me to rent for a while, somewhere the press won’t easily find me.”
Julian’s expression did not change, but his eyes stayed on her carefully. “And?”
“And she found one,” Adeline said simply. “So that’s where I’m going first.”
He nodded slowly, absorbing the information. “You’re leaving.”
“For now,” she replied. “I can’t stay here forever.”
The words were practical, but something about saying them out loud felt heavier than she expected.
She grabbed her bag from the chair and turned toward him again. “You can just drop me off somewhere I can get a cab,” she added casually. “I’ll handle the rest from there.”
Julian raised an eyebrow slightly. “You want me to drop you on the street?”
“I’ll be fine,” she said.
He studied her for a moment before pushing himself away from the doorframe and stepping further into the room. “I’m aware you’ll be fine,” he replied calmly. “But that doesn’t answer the question of why you’d prefer a cab when I can drive you.”
Adeline sighed quietly, already knowing this conversation was coming. “Because you have work, and because I need to start handling things myself again.”
“You’ve always handled things yourself,” he said.
“That’s exactly my point.”
She walked past him toward the hallway, expecting him to follow. “I’ve been hiding here for days,” she continued. “Ignoring the world doesn’t solve problems, it just delays them.”
Julian followed her out of the bedroom, his steps unhurried. “And you’re ready now?”
“No,” she admitted honestly. “But that doesn’t matter.”
They reached the living room, and she grabbed her phone from the table. The screen lit up with notifications she had been ignoring for days. Messages from her assistant, emails from the company, and more news alerts she had not opened yet.
Reality was waiting impatiently.
She slipped the phone into her bag and looked at Julian again. “I need to file for divorce, I need to address the press, and I need to decide what we’re doing.”
His gaze held hers for a moment longer than usual. “What we’re doing.”
“Yes.”
Julian nodded once. “Alright.”
And Adeline blinked, slightly surprised by how easily he accepted the statement. “That’s it?” she asked.
“What did you expect?” he replied calmly. “An argument?”
“Maybe,” she shrugged.
He gave a faint smile. “If you’ve decided it’s time to face the world again, I’m not going to stop you.”
She studied him carefully. “Even if that means leaving here?”
“This place was never meant to be permanent, but it was fun while it lasted,” he said simply.
Adeline felt something tighten in her chest again, though she did not show it. He was right, it had always been temporary.
Still, she straightened her shoulders and moved toward the door. “Good.”
Julian grabbed his keys from the table beside the entrance. “I’ll drive you, but I won't be leaving you in the middle of the street. You don't have to tell me where your apartment is, but at least let me drive you somewhere close enough,” he said.
She opened her mouth to protest again but stopped herself. “Fine, as you wish,” she replied instead.