Please Come Back, My Love novel Chapter 199

Chapter 199

That bitch.

That fucking bitch who was supposed to be dead, who was supposed to have hanged herself in that cell, was out there somewhere, probably watching me through binoculars from across the street, getting off on my terror

Another text arrived before I could process the first.

[Wear something nice. You’ll want to look good for your last day as a free woman. Maybe Julian will take pity if you cry pretty enough. -C]

I threw the phone across the room.

It hit the wall with a satisfying crack, the screen splintering but not shattering completely.

The brief satisfaction faded instantly, replaced by the crushing weight of reality.

Seven hours ago, I was still someone. Still had my company, my reputation, my future. Now I’m a criminal waiting for sentencing.

The clock read 7:23 AM.

One hour and thirty-seven minutes.

I couldn’t stay in this apartment.

The walls were closing in, every corner holding memories of the life I’d built on lies and manipulation.

The awards on my shelf-“Top Designer Under 30,” “Rising Star in Fashion”-suddenly looked like props in a play that had just been canceled.

The framed photos of me at Paris Fashion Week, at the Met Gala, at all those events where I’d smiled for cameras while plotting my next move, felt like evidence of a person who no longer existed.

I grabbed my phone from where it had fallen, checking for damage.

The screen was cracked but functional.

No new messages from Julian, but three more from unknown numbers.

I didn’t open them.

Couldn’t handle whatever fresh terror they might contain.

Instead, I opened my contacts, scrolling past hundreds of names until I found the one I needed.

୮

Margaret.

My housekeeper, my accomplice, the woman who’d helped me destroy evidence and manipulate photos and maintain the facade for years.

The call went straight to voicemail.

1/3

4:31 pm

Chapter 199

I tried again.

PPM

Same result.

A cold certainty settled over me.

Margaret was gone.

Probably disappeared the moment she heard about Catherine’s ‘suicide,” smart enough to know that a dead body meant investigations, and investigations

meant everyone connected to Victoria Astor would be under scrutiny.

She’d taken her cut of the money I’d paid her over the years and vanished, leaving me alone to face the consequences.

Everyone leaves in the end.

The thought was bitter but not surprising.

I’d never inspired loyalty-only fear, or greed, or both.

Now that I had nothing left to threaten people with, no money to offer, no power to wield, of course they’d scatter like rats from a sinking ship.

上

My phone buzzed.

Another text from Catherine.

[Tick tock, Victoria. Better start heading to Sterling Fashion HQ. Don’t want to be late for your own execution. -C]

I stared at the message, my mind racing through possibilities.

What if I just… didn’t go?

What if I stayed here, locked the door, refused to participate in this farce?

They couldn’t drag me out without a warrant, and even if Julian had connections with the FBI, surely it would take time to-

My phone rang.

Not an unknown number this time.

Julian’s name lit up the screen.

I watched it ring six times before the call dropped.

Immediately, it started again.

୮

My thumb hovered over the answer button.

Part of me wanted to hear his voice, wanted to know exactly how much he knew, wanted to gauge whether there was any chance-any shim possibility that I could talk my way out of this.

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