She Was Never Just a Pretty Face novel Chapter 56

Luther was flipping through some documents.

Jolie pushed the door open, gracefully walking up to his desk with a bright, radiant smile on her face. "Luther, want to get dinner tonight? The new lamb chops at the Bistro are supposedly quite good. Want to go try them?"

Luther continued flipping through his files, his tone quite dismissive—

"I have plans today."

"Maybe next time."

"Luther, we haven't gone on a date alone in a long time."

...

Luther looked up at her, his expression carrying a hint of displeasure.

She immediately realized her slip of the tongue.

The man was still married; how could he possibly go on a date with her? While he did have feelings for her, Luther was someone who never gave people a reason to gossip. In her desperation, she had crossed a line, so she quickly softened her voice to save face. "Luther, you haven't had dinner with me in a long time."

Luther's tone softened as well—

"Let's wait until after the old lady's birthday banquet."

"I'm quite busy right now."

...

Jolie wanted to say more.

But she simply didn't have the courage to push it.

She could only watch helplessly as Luther closed the file and stood up from behind his desk. Seeing that she hadn't left yet, he gave a slight lift of his chin, gesturing for her to head out. Although he was mild-mannered from start to finish, the distance was palpable. It was a coldness she had never experienced from him before.

A deep sense of crisis welled up within Jolie.

She had always looked down on Hilda as completely useless, but Hilda was beautiful.

And men always paid the price for beauty.

Wasn't that secret agreement Luther had drafted proof of that?

Those assets added up to at least four hundred million.

All of that was supposed to be her property in the future, yet Luther was just giving it away without a word. It made Jolie's chest tight with rage. Hilda deserved to leave with nothing. But right now, she didn't dare question Luther about it.

Luther always seemed so refined and polite.

But he wasn't exactly easy to deal with.

How could the heir to a top-tier wealthy family ever truly have a good temper?

Once Jolie left, Luther sat on the sofa, gently loosening his tie, and dialed Hilda's number. "Where are you? Let's go pick up Annie from school together. Didn't she say she wanted fried chicken?"

On the other end of the line, Hilda was incredibly surprised.

—But she ultimately swallowed them.

To begin with, Harrell was Luther's cousin, which already made it inappropriate. Now that he had misunderstood the situation this way, it was actually for the best. It saved her the guilt. She had suffered the bitterness of love and was terrified of letting anyone down.

The two buildings weren't far apart.

Hilda ran into Harrell in the elevator.

It was just the two of them inside.

—It was very quiet.

Hilda reached out to gently press the 'close door' button, but Harrell happened to reach out at the exact same moment. Their fingertips brushed. She instinctively curled her hand back, but he caught her fingertips in his grasp. The elevator was dead silent, so quiet that only Hilda's heartbeat could be heard. She didn't struggle, knowing Harrell wouldn't try anything.

After a long time, he said softly, "I just hate seeing you suffer."

It wasn't that he didn't love her.

Whether pursuing her or letting her go.

All he wanted was for her to have a good life.

In the past, Harrell had seriously pondered what a healthy relationship looked like. Now he knew. It was stepping aside; it was knowing when to let go. Her ties with Luther weren't fully severed, and he couldn't selfishly drag her down into the abyss with him. It wasn't that he was afraid of Luther, but rather because he was Luther's cousin. He wasn't just some unrelated man.

For the first time, Harrell hated his identity.