The CEO's Midnight Remedy novel Chapter 360

Chapter 360

Aria’s POV

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Understanding flickered across Anna’s face. “Of course.”

After she left, I sat alone in my office, staring at my phone. No messages from Devon. No calls. He

was probably still with Evelyn, probably still wearing that smile that had never been for me.

My hand drifted to my stomach again. Six weeks. A tiny cluster of cells that would become a person.

Devon’s child.

But Devon had Evelyn–beautiful, understanding Evelyn who knew him before I existed, who would

still be in his life long after I was gone.

This baby can’t be a chain, I thought. Can’t be leverage or a trap. If Devon doesn’t want me, doesn’t

want us…

I closed my laptop before I could finish that thought. Anna returned twenty minutes later with

confirmation–flight booked, hotel reserved, all under Harper Group’s corporate account.

“Thank you,” I managed. “I’ll head home to pack.”

But I didn’t go to the Harper mansion. I went to my Brooklyn apartment, the one I’d barely used

since Devon had pulled me into his orbit. It felt like visiting a museum of my former life–the photo

of my mother on the mantle, the half–finished business proposals, the ghost of who I’d been before

him.

I threw clothes into a suitcase without really looking at them. My phone buzzed–Sophia, asking if I

wanted to grab dinner.

‘Can’t tonight,” I typed back. “Work emergency. Catch up soon?”

I didn’t text Devon. What would I say? Your mother showed me exactly where I stand. Thanks for the

memories. Don’t worry about finding me–I’ll find my own way out.

At 6:45 PM, 1 locked the apartment and headed for JFK. The car service was blessedly silent, the

driver respecting my obvious desire not to talk.

Chapter 360

Chicago would give me space to think. Space to decide if this secret I carried was my greatest vulnerability or my only real connection to Devon Kane.

Space to figure out if I could walk away from a man who’d never really been mine at all.

My phone buzzed as 1 sat in JFK’s departure lounge, the screen illuminating Devon’s name. You

coming back when?”

I stared at the message, my thumb hovering over the keyboard. The fluorescent lights overhead felt too bright, the gate announcements too loud. Everything seemed amplified, raw.

“Temporary business trip. Chicago project.”

His reply came instantly. “How long?”

I powered off my phone without answering. I couldn’t tell him I didn’t know when I’d be ready to face him–or if I ever would be. The image of him with Evelyn, that unguarded smile I’d never seen directed at me, played on loop in my mind.

The plane touched down at O’Hare just before midnight. Late autumn wind cut through my coat as I dragged my suitcase through the terminal. I should have gone straight to the hotel, but pregnancy had given me strange cravings. I found myself in a 24–hour diner, ordering Chicago–style deep dish

and hot chocolate.

Sitting by the window, watching sparse pedestrians Hurry past, I felt the freedom of escape suffocate me. My hand drifted to my stomach–a habit I was developing–and quickly pulled away.

That night, lying in the hotel bed, I thought of Devon’s smile for Evelyn. The tears I’d held back all day finally came, silent and relentless. I didn’t sleep.

The next morning, I overslept. I rushed to the Reid Group project site, where the client greeted my tardiness with understanding–and additional demands.

The following days blurred together. I threw myself into work coordination during daylight hours, then wandered Chicago’s streets at night. Deep dish pizza. Italian beef sandwiches. Garrett popcorn that I bought and forgot to eat. I jogged through Lincoln Park, stood in front of the Crown Fountain at Millennium Park until my feet went numb, spent entire afternoons at the Art Institute without

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09 11 Thu, Jan 10 hồ n

Chapter 360

really seeing anything.

The five–day trip stretched to ten. Anna called, her

other matters in New York that require your attention

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09:11 Thu, Jan15 sg

Chapter 360

really seeing anything.

The five–day trip stretched to ten. Anna called, her voice carefully neutral: Miss Harper, there are other matters in New York that require your attention.”

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