Better Late, But Never His Again novel Chapter 87

"Talk."

Evelyn crawled out from under the table. She wiped the corner of her mouth, her voice still shaking, but a venomous light flickered in her eyes. "Hazel is currently working at the Apex Research Institute as Marcus Thornton's specially appointed expert. She has a lot of resources at her disposal. If we completely ruin her reputation, it benefits both of us. You hate her, and I hate her. We share the same enemy."

Sean took a vicious drag of his cigarette, blowing the smoke out through his nose. It drifted heavily through the dim lighting of the booth.

He narrowed his eyes at her, sizing up whether a single word out of her mouth was actually worth believing.

"What's the plan?"

Evelyn's eyes lit up. A cruel smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth, though the movement pulled at her bruised cheek, making her wince in pain. "I'll handle the details. You just need to follow my lead."

Sean didn't reply. He crushed his cigarette out on the table and let out a cold sneer.

...

Across town, Julian had just walked out of his law firm. He pulled out his phone and stared at his chat with Hazel. The last message was from yesterday.

Hazel had just replied "Okay" and accepted the money. Absolute silence since then.

He stared at that single word for a long time, an uncomfortable knot forming in his chest. What happened with Evelyn last night felt like a splinter lodged deep beneath his skin.

Hazel might never find out, but the guilt was eating at him anyway.

He took a deep breath, deciding to bite the bullet and text her first to break the ice. It was perfect timing, actually. The paperwork for his new penthouse apartment had just cleared, and he was planning to have Evelyn move there.

The only thing Hazel really cared about was Evelyn living under their roof. Once Evelyn moved out, Hazel would drop the attitude. He knew her too well. She wasn't an unreasonable woman; she just wanted to feel respected.

No wonder Hazel hadn't texted him. No wonder her only reply was a cold, detached "Okay."

She wasn't busy. She was guilty!

He never would have imagined that Hazel would willingly feed Evelyn's location to a monster like Sean Sutton. Evelyn had just survived extreme domestic violence. She was fighting a brutal divorce battle. He had literally just pulled her out of hell.

Hazel knew exactly what kind of man Sean was. She knew exactly what would happen to Evelyn if he got his hands on her, but she did it anyway.

They were both women. How could Hazel be so profoundly evil? For the very first time, he felt entirely disgusted by her.

Julian stormed to his car, threw himself into the driver's seat, and slammed his foot on the gas, peeling out in the direction of the Research Institute.