hapter 172 Just Friends, Just Goodbye


    Chapter 172 Just Friends, Just Goodbye


    She knew that once this steel–hearted straight man cut off his feelings for her, that would be the end of it.


    He would never reach out to her again.


    He’d never be her friend again.


    He had probably already deleted her from his contacts.


    Thinking about waking up tomorrow with no one to say good morning, no one to say goodnight before bed, left a hollow ache in her chest.


    She really didn’t want to let him go.


    Really couldn’t.


    But maybe this was for the best.


    She and James were about to finalize their divorce anyway.


    He despised her that much. Once the divorce went through, they’d have nothing to do with each other anymore. That was probably what was best for him…


    James was still at the café.


    He’d actually arrived a little before five thirty.


    But even as the neon lights flickered on outside, he still hadn’t seen his Le.


    After he messaged to ask what airport she was at, he waited anxiously for her reply.


    He hoped she’d tell him which airport it was so he could go find her.


    He’d also prepared himself to be turned down again.


    But he never expected what came next: she said she’d lied to him.


    She wasn’t a girl.


    She was a man.


    Right after that, he received a photo.


    Short hair, peach blossom eyes glowing with light, bright and handsome beyond belief.


    Clean–cut, fresh–a graceful young man.


    The moment his eyes met those vibrant, beautiful ones in the photo, James felt like he was sick. His heart skipped and surged wildly, almost bursting from his chest.


    16:53 Tue, 22 Jul 88.


    Chapter 172 Just Friends, Just Goodbye


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    But Le was a man.


    Everything he’d been taught, everything he believed, made it impossible for him to ept that he might have fallen for a man.


    And Le… she couldn’t possibly like men either..


    He’d confessed to her–she probably found it disgusting.


    His cold, pale fingers trembled.


    He still wanted to message her.


    Still wanted to see her.


    But he remembered that when they first started chatting, she’d never actually mentioned her gender. He was the one who saw her cute avatar and asked if she was a girl.


    She’d replied, yfully, “Yep.”


    She hadn’t meant to deceive him. He couldn’t me her for that.


    He just didn’t want to gross her out, didn’t want her to feel ufortable because of him.


    Slowly, James curled his fingers into a fist.


    In the end, he didn’t send another message.


    He sat there, staring at his now–dark screen like a soulless shell, remaining in the café long after the night deepened–until finally, he rose and left with nothing but loneliness clinging to him.


    Lily wandered the streets like a ghost for a long time.


    After getting a call from Grace, she didn’t want to worry anyone and headed back toward the café to pick up her car and drive back to the Luke family estate.


    She’d already done the mental prep.


    She’d pretend none of tonight ever happened.


    James wasn’t going to talk to her anymore. She would just wait quietly for the divorce to go through.


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    She had originally nned that if her meeting with Elias went well–if they liked each other–she could take him to see Grace and let her help convince Henry to approve the divorce.


    But now that she and Elias were no longer possible, she could only hire a good–looking college student before the divorce and stage a scene to give James his freedom.


    Her chest felt heavy and bitter. She didn’t want to move at all.


    After taking a shower, she justy on the big bed, staring nkly at the ceiling.


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    Guapici 172 just rrienas, Just Goodbye


    She spaced out for a long time, still unable to sleep.


    She forced her eyes shut, nning to try counting to a thousand to see if that would help.


    Then the bedroom door opened–and James walked in, reeking of alcohol.


    She knew she should stick to his warning and stay invisible, not get in his way.


    But just hearing the door, her attention snapped to him before she could stop herself.


    He’d clearly drunk a lot.


    That cold, elegant face of his was flushed for once.


    As he shut the door and stepped inside, his tall figure suddenly staggered, almost copsing to the floor. “James!”


    Lily jumped in fright.


    Afraid he might actually fall, she leapt out of bed, trying to catch him.


    But just before touching him, she remembered his warning and quickly stepped back.


    She’d been forced to drink a lot when helping John secure clients in the past.


    She knew exactly how awful it felt to be drunk.


    Later on, she’d overheard someone mention a kind of candy that helped with sobering up. At the time, John had already reimed the Jones family empire and she no longer had to go to those kinds of business dinners, so she hadn’t bought any.


    But after being forced to drink by Calvin, Kendrick, and Patrick not long ago, she’d bought a small tin- just in case.


    Now, seeing James like this, she rushed back to the bed, grabbed the tin, and took out two of the candies.


    “James, I’ve got some detox candy here. Take two, you won’t feel as sick.”


    He stood there like a statue, stiff and lifeless<b>, </b>showing no intention of taking them from her.


    Lily knew how much he hated any physical contact with her.


    And she didn’t want to gross him out by touching him either.


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