Chapter 88
Lisette didn’t give her a second to react. She whipped out her phone and dialed without hesitation. “Wanna take a wild guess? Who’ll get here first-an expert for the tests, or the cops p>
The woman’s face drained of color.
Lisette shot her a cold look and pressed call.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist.
At the same moment, a man who had been standing silently in the shadows finally spoke. “Miss Cavendish, please hold on p>
That voice p>
Lisette turned her head.
Half of Dorian’s face was lit by the overhead lamp, the other half shrouded in the dim light. The contrast carved out his sharp features even more.
Those deep blue eyes locked onto her, flickering with an unreadable complexity.
Lisette frowned. “And who gave you the right to order me around p>
“Let go p>
She was about to lose it when Tobias jumped in first.
Dorian didn’t budge, so Tobias went straight at him with a punch, no warning, no holding back.
Dorian dodged to the side, but Tobias somehow seemed to predict the move. His fist curved sharply, grazing Dorian’s cheek and landing hard.
Dorian staggered. The pain made him release Lisette’s wrist.
He lifted his hand-those elegant fingers looking very much like Philip’s-and wiped his cheek, eyes locking with Tobias.
It wasn’t just anger in his eyes-more like suppressed fire.
The woman panicked when she saw Dorian get hit. She instantly sprang to his side, grabbing his arm in a panic. “Cousin! Are you okay p>
Lisette blinked. “Wait. Cousin p>
Her brain glitched.
So they were cousins?
Which also meant… Dorian probably knew all about what Chloe pulled?
Unbelievable.
She actually thought he was trying to make amends last night while helping Philip. Turns out? Snake in the grass.
The next second, she snapped, “Wow, talk about family values-one digs around people’s past behind their back, the other slips something in their drink. You two really love dirty tricks, huh? No guts to handle anything straight-up p>
“I just don’t get it. How the hell is someone like Philip related to people like you? Makes me feel sorry for him, honestly p>
Lisette had been raised well by Daphne. Even if they weren’t blood-related, she’d picked up the woman’s blunt, take-no-BS style. Every word hit where it hurt most.
She wasn’t just going for a jab-she wanted her words to land like knives.
Chloe was flushed with embarrassment, her voice trembling as she shouted back, “Who do you think you are to talk down to me? You’re a thief! You stole the man I love. You’re nothing but a lowlife p>
Then she looked at Tobias with red-rimmed eyes full of hurt. “Tobias, you’ve changed p>
“You used to hate chatty women. And you never raised your hands like this p>
“So why now p>
She bit her lip, looking every bit the heartbroken victim of a jerk boyfriend.
Lisette scowled. Wait a minute. These two seemed kinda… close?
That look Chloe gave Tobias was straight-up heartbreak.
Curious, Lisette tilted her head toward Tobias and asked under her breath, “Your ex p>
Tobias: p>
Lisette nodded like it made perfect sense. “Got it. If you still have a thing for her and wanna cover for her, fine. For all the stuff you’ve done for me before-I’ll be generous this once and not call the police p>
She’d just come up with her own drama in her head. Tobias looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and squeezed out five words:
“I don’t know her p>
Lisette was confused. That girl basically had “I’m in love with you-do you love me?” written all over her face, and Tobias still said he didn’t know her?
Lisette raised an eyebrow. “Wait, did you hit your head or something? Memory loss, maybe p>
Tobias gently squeezed her hand, clearly not wanting her to jump to wild conclusions. He shot Dorian a cold glance. “I’m disappointed p>
Only those three words – sharp as knives – before he grabbed Lisette’s hand and walked off.
His back was as cold and firm as ever, practically slicing any ties with the two behind him. No turning back, no room left for misunderstandings.
Chloe stood there staring at him as he walked away, her eyes growing red-rimmed at how bluntly he threw out, “I don’t know her.” Her voice wavered. “Dorian, did you hear that? He actually said he didn’t know me! We ran into each other so many times back in Albion… and now he acts like I’m a stranger p>
Dorian kept his gaze fixed on Tobias and Lisette’s backs, his mind still replaying their earlier exchange.
Chloe clenched her fists, bitter frustration bubbling to the surface. “He can’t possibly have forgotten me! It’s gotta be that woman’s fault p>
Trying to pull herself together, she looked up-only to meet Dorian’s piercing blue eyes, icy and sharp like a blade.
She flinched, that frost making her chest tighten. With a trembling voice, she called out, “Cousin p>
Dorian’s expression didn’t thaw. His tone was frigid. “Chloe, who gave you the idea to drug Tobias p>
What p>
She didn’t see that coming at all-he was… blaming her?
Stung, she tried to explain: “It started after I accidentally rear-ended him that time… That was it for me, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Dorian, I’ve liked him for ages. I’d hang around near his office every day just hoping to bump into him. I did all this, hoping he’d finally look at me p>
“I mean, I’m the only one who’s truly good enough for him! I should be Mrs. Hastings p>
“And what makes you think you deserve that?” Dorian sneered, towering over her. “Don’t forget your place in the Carmen family. If she hadn’t gone missing, you’d be nothing. You wouldn’t even exist in this mess p>
That one brutal line crushed everything Chloe Carmen clung to – her pride, her fantasy, even that sliver of affection she thought still connected them.
And then, the ever-so-gentlemanly Dorian just let loose: “Get the hell out. Go back to your role as the Carmen family’s ’princess,’ and don’t let me see your face in Sion again. Or else p>
He didn’t even have to finish the sentence. Chloe shrank back in fear and slunk off, completely stripped of her earlier bravado.
All that sass and arrogance? Gone.
Cousin Dorian might’ve looked polite and refined, but after tonight, she knew-when he wanted to shut someone down, he did it cold and clean.
Tobias had been leading Lisette away for a while, but she couldn’t let go of what just happened, the whole thing leaving a weird taste in her mouth. “Weren’t you supposed to be in a meeting? How’d you show up so fast p>
“Wrapped it up early. Thought I should check on you p>
Tobias caught the edge in her tone. He paused, wanting to clear the air.
Lisette asked flatly, “So, you and that girl earlier p>
“Never met her,” he said again, firmly.
She frowned. “That’s oddly suspicious. Her behavior screamed ex-girlfriend. You seriously don’t know her at all p>
One looked hurt, the other like an ice wall-this dynamic made zero sense.
Lisette stretched up on tiptoe and touched his forehead. “You’re sure you didn’t hit your head, or maybe you’re running a fever or something? Because this whole thing seriously doesn’t add up p>
Her sweet scent lingered in the air, soft and intoxicating, like a butterfly brushing past with perfume.
Tobias didn’t move her hand away. Letting her stay close, his eyes glinted faintly. “Pretty sure I’m all there. But if you think I’ve got a fever… maybe you should lean in and check for yourself p>