Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 263

She didn't say she wanted to go, either.

She simply laid the bait.

Eleanor would put the pieces together herself.

Sure enough, moments later, Eleanor texted back:

"Is there an event at his school coming up? I'll have someone look into it."

Willow locked her phone.

In the mirror, a genuine smile finally broke across her face.

Some doors looked desperate if you pushed them open yourself.

But having Eleanor open them for her? That was a completely different story.

At ten o'clock that night, Willow arrived at the apartment Lawrence frequented.

This time, she didn't text ahead to announce her arrival.

When the smart lock clicked open, the apartment was completely dark.

She sat on the living room sofa to wait. The city's sweeping nightscape sprawled out beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the glass reflecting her solitary silhouette.

Just past eleven, the front door opened.

Lawrence walked in, bringing the chill of the night air and the sharp scent of whiskey with him.

He paused when he saw her. "What are you doing here?"

Willow stood up.

She didn't rush over to embrace him like she usually did. She just stood there, watching him quietly.

"I saw the photos."

Lawrence froze halfway through taking off his coat.

The main lights were still off, leaving the living room bathed only in the dim glow spilling from the entryway. Half of Lawrence's face was cast in shadow, hiding his expression.

"It was a work event," he said.

Willow offered a small smile. "I know."

She said the words, but she deliberately stripped them of any understanding or grace.

Instead, they sat between them like a carefully placed thorn.

Lawrence draped his coat over the back of a chair. "If you know, then don't overthink it."

"I'm not overthinking it." Willow took two steps closer. "I'm just a little jealous of her."

Lawrence looked at her.

Willow tilted her head up to meet his eyes, letting a shimmer of moisture gather in her own.

"She gets the exact position everyone else would kill for, and she doesn't even want it."

He had been frozen out by Wren tonight, utterly shut down by a single sentence. And now, he came back to this—someone waiting for him in the dark, looking up at him and asking for her place, making herself small so he could feel like the man who still controlled everything.

The contrast was jarring.

It was so glaringly obvious that even though he knew he shouldn't, he didn't push her away.

"What do you want to be?" he countered.

Willow's hands paused.

It was an incredibly cruel question.

But she didn't let the hurt show on her face.

She simply let out a soft, self-deprecating laugh. "Does it even matter what I want?"

Lawrence stared at her.

Willow went back to slowly loosening his tie.

"Wren goes back to the estate, and you shut me out. Wren goes on stage, and you make sure the whole world sees her. She can reject you, she can sleep in a separate room, she can push you right out the door. But the moment she shows up, she's still Mrs. Langford."

Lawrence's eyes instantly turned cold. "Who told you she pushed me out the door?"

Willow's chest tightened.

She knew she had slipped up.