Everything was a deal until divorce novel Chapter 72

“A girl who was… genuinely kind,” Dorian said quietly. Every time he thought about that girl, Arden’s face would appear in his mind. They were too similar.

“Vivienne managed to trap you back then,” Cassian said, “so she must know who that girl was. You didn’t ask her?”

“I did. She wouldn’t tell me.”

“Of course,” Cassian said. “A woman like her? No way she’d admit it.”

He handed over a USB stick. “I had some people dig around and called in a few favors, including a top–tier hacker. This has the surveillance footage from the hotel where you stayed in Northmere.”

Dorian didn’t expect him to actually find it. But clearly, he did.

He took the USB. Cassian leaned in, lowering his voice a little. “The footage doesn’t show her face, but you can see her from behind. High ponytail. Full of energy. Looked like a student. Honestly? She looked a lot like Arden. Same kind of energy–fresh, bright, young.”

Dorian narrowed his eyes, staring at the USB. “Thanks.”

Cassian patted him on the shoulder. “Just remember you owe me for this.”

Dorian stayed with them until ten, then decided to leave. As soon as he got in the car, he opened his laptop and plugged in the USB.

The image quality wasn’t great. The figure was blurry.

But it was a girl. He zoomed in. She really did look a little like Arden.

Just then, Arden texted him, “Babe, when are you coming home? I’m going to sleep now.”

Dorian’s face softened. “Okay. Sleep.”

He watched the video a few more times before finally closing the laptop. The car had just arrived at the villa.

When Dorian stepped inside, Martha asked, “Want something to help with the hangover? Mrs. Vale had me make some soup–figured you might’ve been drinking tonight.”

Dorian looked around the living room. Arden’s presence was everywhere. “Yes. I’ll have a bowl.”

He sat on the couch. A pale yellow blanket was folded on the armrest, clearly something a

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Chapter 22 The Girl Who Looked Like Arden

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young woman would use. The coffee table had fresh fruit arranged neatly. He thought of Arden sitting here the night before, picking up pieces of fruit and feeding them to herself one by one.

Now that she was here, the villa didn’t feel so empty anymore. After finishing the soup, he went upstairs. Arden was already asleep.

Dorian moved quietly, took a shower, then got into bed. He gently pulled her into his arms and asked softly, “Arden, have you ever been to Northmere?”

She murmured, barely awake, “Mm.”

Dorian lightly pinched her cheek and asked again, “Did you go to Northmere?”

“Mm.”

He stopped moving, holding her closer. “When?”

“…I didn’t go.”

Arden still remembered everything that had happened in Northmere. She had nearly been killed.

She’d been threatened, told never to admit she had been there, or they would hurt her grandparents. Those people were terrifying. They didn’t seem like they were from Ardellia.

They had told her never to tell Dorian she had saved him.

She had only been in high school at the time, scared out of her mind. She nodded and promised she would never say a word.

She had gone to Northmere to meet her grandparents, who wanted to help her relax after all the academic pressure. But she arrived a day early and stayed at a hotel her brother had booked.

She never expected to get caught up in something so dangerous. Luckily, her grandparents were fine. Ever since then, she had done everything she could to bury the memory of Northmere.

Hearing her say she hadn’t been there, Dorian felt disappointed. He still asked again, “You really didn’t?”

“Mm. I didn’t.”

He held her tighter and pulled the blanket over her. “Okay. Sleep.”

Arden fell into deep sleep. That night, for once, Dorian didn’t have sex with her. The next morning, he was already gone when Arden woke up.

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Chapter 72 The Girl Who Looked Like Arden

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Finished

Downstairs, Martha told her that Dorian had left early and arranged a driver for her.

Arden was glad not to ride with him and left for the office after breakfast. Shortly after she arrived, Isla messaged her.

“Arden, there’s a jewelry auction tomorrow night at Haflin Global. Wanna come?”

“No, I just started working. I can’t afford anything there.”

“Seriously? Dorian’s on the global billionaire list. Don’t tell me he’s that cheap and won’t give you anything.”

“He gave me a black card with no limit. But I don’t want to use it. If we ever get divorced, I’ll owe him, and I can’t afford to pay it back.”

“He gave you a black card? Damn. That’s actually generous.”

“Yeah.”

“You free? Just come with me.”

“Sure.”

At the Ash residence, Vivienne had already been punished by Dorian’s men. They warned her never to appear in front of Arden again.

If she did, both she and the Ash family would be erased from Avalen. Seeing how ruthless Dorian could be almost drove her insane.

She looked at the men who had threatened her and asked, “So all these years, Dorian was just pretending? He’s only been keeping me around to find that girl from Northmere, hasn’t he?”

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