The Man Who Waited vs. The Man Who Wasted novel Chapter 359

Adrian froze.

That soon?

But he didn't dare object.

At this point, he was entirely out of options.

The trap was set, and he was forced to step right into it.

Or rather, he had never truly possessed the power to defy his grandmother in the first place.

Caleb was equally stunned by Eleanor's bold proposition and took a moment to process the timeline.

"The fifteenth of next month? Isn't that rushing things a bit? A wedding of this scale requires an immense amount of preparation."

"You don't need to lift a finger," Eleanor assured him smoothly. "I will hire the most exclusive wedding planners to handle everything. I'll personally have Michelle purchase whatever is needed. All you have to do is wait for the big day, walk Audrey down the aisle, and hand her over to Adrian."

Faced with such an overwhelming display of sincerity, Caleb finally relented.

"Adrian, the only reason I'm forgiving you so easily today is out of respect for your grandmother. If something like this ever happens again, I won't be nearly as merciful."

Adrian forced a strained, perfect smile.

"I understand, Mr. Preston."

Caleb raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? What should you be calling me now?"

Adrian ground his back teeth together.

"Dad."

Caleb gave a satisfied nod.

"Go on, then. Audrey is upstairs. Go make things right with her."

Seeing Adrian heading up the stairs, Audrey quickly bolted back into her bedroom.

She had actually snuck out of her room the moment Adrian arrived and had been eavesdropping from the shadows the entire time.

The crushing despair she had felt all day instantly evaporated the second she heard they were moving up the wedding.

Still, she tightly gripped the advice her father had given her earlier.

He had warned her: "No matter how much you love him, you have to hold back. If he comes crawling to apologize, you have to play hard to get. Make him think you're furious. You cannot let him believe you're an easy pushover, or he will do this to you again."

Sure enough, when Adrian walked into her room, Audrey completely ignored him.

You couldn't just endlessly accommodate men; they would take a mile if you gave them an inch.

Audrey pouted. "Manipulate me how?"

"To tear us apart," Adrian murmured smoothly.

Audrey bit her lip, her eyes shining with tears, and threw herself into his arms.

"Adrian, I believe you. I believe you didn't betray me. It's my fault—I shouldn't have let my imagination run wild."

Adrian wrapped his arms tightly around her, a dark, complex smirk flickering across his face.

She really was far too easy to manipulate.

But that left one lingering question: who the hell actually sent that photo?

Was Jocelyn right? Had Audrey really staged this entire drama just to force the wedding?

Caught up in the emotional high of their reconciliation, Audrey boldly leaned in and pressed her lips to his.

This time, Adrian didn't pull away. Instead, he took total control, deepening the kiss with predatory intensity.

If taking her to bed was all it took to permanently resolve this crisis, he was more than happy to oblige.

Within moments, the two of them tumbled onto the bed.