Chapter 26 Henry, I don't love you anymore. Please let me go
The Bentley stopped at the entrance of the rundown neighborhood.
Henry got up and opened the passenger door, intending to hold Grace's hand, but she avoided it.
Henry didn't say much and just entered the building. The dim lighting inside made it hard to believe that Grace, who used to crawl into his arms out of fear of the dark at midnight, could now walk through the dark corridors alone in the evening.
When they entered the apartment, Grace ignored him, changed her clothes after returning to her room, and went straight to the kitchen to start cooking.
Henry, as she imagined, naturally sat on the sofa, observing the surroundings.
There was only one word to describe it, which was shabby.
The entire apartment wasn't even as big as one bathroom in the Montague Mansion.
Gradually, a wonderful aroma wafted from the kitchen. He couldn't help but swallow. It was her pasta—simple, yet incredibly delicious.
Compared to the daily delicacies, he preferred a serving of Grace's pasta.
This was something he had never realized before.
Henry took off his coat, and his gaze suddenly fell on the cup on the table.
It was the cup Grace had brought back a few days ago, and he found it meticulously cleaned.
A strange feeling of discomfort rose in his heart.
He put the cup back, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, shook out a cigarette, and lit it.
His deep black eyes gazed at Grace, who was busy making pasta in the kitchen. Her movements were very skillful, likely perfected over their three years of marriage.
He thought about it and suddenly craved the pastries Grace used to make.
In recent days, Celeste had bought many pastries, but the smell alone made him lose his appetite.
In the past, whenever he wanted to eat, Grace would make pastries for him.
He had seen Grace busy in the kitchen, but he had never paid attention.
He had never even looked at her closely.
His only interactions with her occurred at night during lovemaking, when he would glance at her a few times. He only knew that Grace had a slender waist, long, thin legs, and moaned very well in bed.
He knew nothing else about Grace.
Even after three years, he didn't even know when Grace's birthday was.
He vaguely remembered that a few days ago, when Elodie had a birthday, and he went to Harmony City, Grace seemed to have mentioned her birthday.
Anything related to Grace, he would subconsciously ignore, thinking it was unimportant.
But now, he just quietly watched the thin figure in the kitchen.
He extinguished the cigarette butt, surrounded by the smell of smoke.
He got up and walked to the kitchen, opened the sliding door, and went in.
Under the light, Henry's eyes were deep, reflecting Grace's figure, very focused.
Henry wanted to hug her. He thought about it and did so.
In the narrow kitchen, Henry hugged her from behind, holding her lightly, his chin resting on Grace's shoulder, his gaze fixed on her profile.
He gently kissed her neck.
Grace was startled by the sudden hug, her body trembling, her face turning slightly red.
This kind of intimacy made her nervous.
Why did he come to the kitchen?
In the past, whenever she wanted Henry to cook with her, he would always refuse.
Grace wanted to break free, but Henry felt her movement and tightened his grip.
"Let me hold you for a while." His voice was very gentle,, at least something Grace had never felt before.
His warm breath brushed against her ear, making her body even softer.
Grace lowered her eyes, not daring to look at him, just clenching her small hands, "Henry, let go, I don't love you anymore, don't do this."
Henry's grip tightened, as if afraid Grace would leave.
He lightly bit her earlobe and whispered in her ear, "Come back with me, please!"
His voice was very gentle, and this was the first time Grace had heard him speak so gently, with a hint of pleading.
Even his slightest change made Grace's eyes redden.
She didn't say anything, just lowered her head in silence.
At this moment, the sound of boiling water came from the pot, and Grace snapped back to reality, "Henry, the pasta is ready."
She broke free from Henry's embrace, and in her haste, her hand touched the pot, the intense pain making her quickly withdraw her hand.
Burned, she hurried to the sink to run cold water over it, trying to alleviate the pain.
Henry saw her pained expression and came to the sink, holding her small hand, his voice gentle, "Let's go to the hospital, this place probably doesn't have burn ointment."
Grace shook her head, lightly biting her fingertip, "It's okay, it's just a burn, I've been burned many times before."
Before getting married, she had never done housework, and when she first started learning to cook for Henry, her hands suffered a lot, once almost cutting off a finger.
She had thought about giving up, but for Henry, she endured.
But now, none of that mattered anymore.
Seeing this, Henry didn't say anything more and went to the pot to get two serving of pasta.
He brought the pasta to the table, but the narrow table made it difficult for him to stretch out, and it took him a while to get used to it.
But a simple pasta made him incredibly satisfied.
Henry looked up at Grace, who was eating the pasta elegantly.
He was a bit mesmerized.
He didn't know why, but in the past, even if Grace lay naked in front of him, he wouldn't care.
But now, every move Grace made tugged at his heartstrings.
After finishing the pasta, Grace got up to clean the dishes, putting them in the sink.
She walked to the door, looking at Henry, who was watching her, and opened the door, "Mr. Montague, it's late, you should leave."
Henry wanted to say something, but footsteps came from the hallway.
"Grace, I'm here, aren't you going to welcome me?" Juniper's voice came from the hallway.
Hearing this, Grace looked at Henry again, her tone returning to its usual coldness, "Mr. Montague, do I need to ask you to leave again?"
Henry narrowed his eyes, picked up his coat, and walked to Grace, first glancing at Juniper, who had arrived at the door, then looking at Grace, his voice soft, "Grace, do you really not want to come back with me?"
Grace just stepped aside to let Henry leave.
Her actions made her thoughts clear.
Henry sneered, took out his phone, and transferred five hundred thousand dollars in front of her, then left.
Juniper stepped aside, watching Henry leave, finding it amusing, "Has Henry changed his personality? He didn't take advantage of you at all and even transferred five hundred thousand dollars to you before leaving?"
She turned to Grace, excited, "Come on, tell me what happened between you two."
Grace closed the door, went to the kitchen to serve Juniper a serving of pasta, then sat on the sofa and recounted what had happened.
Juniper was amazed, "Grace, did you enchant him? He actually gently begged you to come back, that's really rare."
Grace didn't say anything, just looked at the five hundred thousand dollars Henry had transferred, trying to act indifferent, but she wasn't made of stone.
She had feelings, and her eyes reddened. She knew Henry's gentleness today was because of her value.
If she hadn't helped Henry secure Caleb's project, he wouldn't have looked at her.
The Montague Group's shares were also related to her, and to keep the shares stable, he had humbled himself to eat pasta.
Grace tried not to think about Henry.
Juniper saw her struggle and sat beside her, comforting her, "It's okay, I'm here. It's just a man. With your qualities, I can have Frank find you someone richer and more handsome than Henry."
Grace looked up and gave a bitter smile, staring at the cup on the table that had been moved, lost in thought.
Maybe it was her words that had an effect.
In the following days, Henry didn't appear in her life, and they peacefully spent a few days.
Except for Felix harassing her a few times daily at the Azure Palace Hotel, nothing else happened.
Just when she thought life was getting back on track, a phone call disrupted her life again. "Grace, your father was beaten and is now in ICU."