The Bride He Took For Granted novel Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Harold glanced at Elise, trying to tell whether she meant it.

It was the first time he had seen her smile so openly.

Her whole face softened, and for a moment, she looked almost

carefree.

Something in Harold’s chest shifted. He looked back at the road.

“Stop flattering me.”

“I’m serious,” Elise said.

Harold let out a quiet scoff, but the corner of his mouth lifted

anyway.

When Elise got home, she placed the quilt in the cabinet above her closet and closed the door.

It was no longer a wedding quilt.

It was simply something her mother had made for her, and she would keep it safe.

On Monday, Elise returned to Firefly Glow.

There was only one business day left before she was supposed t

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hear whether Harold would meet with her. But he had already left town for a conference.

At this point, Elise wasn’t holding out much hope for the partnership. She needed to find another way to come up with the money.

Leonard and Sharon believed her grandmother had left her only one set of jewelry.

In reality, there were five sets, along with pearls, watches, and enough other pieces to fill a small case.

Elise had had a replica made of the one set Sharon knew about and kept the copy for herself. She had rented out the genuine set along with the rest of the jewelry.

After buying her apartment, she had taken everything back and locked it in the safe inside her closet.

Now she might have to rent it all out again.

The money wouldn’t come close to the hundred million dollars she needed to break off the engagement, but it would still be something.

Or she could pawn the jewelry instead.

Elise was still weighing her options as she headed toward he19:56

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office.

Just then, Landon and Jason walked out of the conference room.

Landon stopped and watched her, clearly expecting her to come

over.

He hadn’t meant to make her drop the quilt outside the dry cleaner’s. Besides, two days had already passed.

She should be over it by now.

But Elise walked straight past them without slowing down.

“Good morning, Mr. Clark.”

Jason nodded. “Good morning.”

Then she kept walking without so much as glancing at Landon.

It took Landon a second to realize she had completely ignored him. Anger flared in his chest.

“What, are you giving me the silent treatment?”

Jason seemed unusually amused. He gave Landon a pat on the shoulder.

Maybe you should ask yourself why.”

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Elise ignored Landon for the rest of the day.

Even when they ended up in the same elevator, she acted as though he wasn’t there.

Noticing how irritated Landon looked-and how often he glanced in Elise’s direction-his executive assistant hurried over

to her.

“Ms. White, Mr. Carter would like to speak with you.”

Elise checked the time on her phone.

“Sorry, I’m already off the clock. I don’t discuss personal matters at work. If it’s business, we can talk tomorrow during office

hours.”

The assistant hadn’t expected her to shut him down so directly.

He glanced nervously at Landon. Sure enough, Landon’s expression had darkened.

The assistant hurried after him into the private elevator.

“Mr. Carter,” he ventured, “Ms. White is probably just trying to get your attention. Everyone knows how much she loves you.”

Landon said nothing.

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He arrived at his dinner meeting in a foul mood.

He couldn’t rely on Elise alone to secure a partnership between Echoes of Will and Firefly Glow, so he had been speaking with other platforms as well.

But most of them were small and shady. They flattered him nonstop, then demanded a huge cut without taking on any of the

risk.

Firefly Glow was in a different league.

No one was pushing drinks on Landon that night, but he kept refilling his glass anyway.

Once the alcohol kicked in, he found out where Elise lived and went to her apartment.

Elise had never had much of a nightlife.

She used to attend business dinners with Landon or go out to eat and shop with Chloe. But Chloe was overseas on business that

week.

After dinner, Elise curled up on the couch and researched

renting out her jewelry versus pawning it.

Before she knew it, it was nine-thirty.

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She was about to take a shower when a message from Landon appeared on her phone.

[Open the door. I’m outside.]

Elise’s heart jumped.

She crept toward the entryway and listened.

Nothing.

Just as she started to relax, another message came through.

[Do you want me to knock? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.]

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