The Plane Tickets He Hoarded The Wife He Hid novel Chapter 193

193 Chapter 193 A Heart Turns To

Ice

Blanche’s POV

I couldn’t be bothered to set Vincent straight.

I simply said, “Go on, then.”

Just before he left, Vincent planted a quick kiss on my forehead when I wasn’t expecting it.

“Get some rest. I’ll be right back,” he whispered.

Then he was gone.

After Vincent walked out, I lay there completely awake, sleep nowhere to be found.

My mind kept replaying everything Vincent had done for me recently, every sweet thing he’d said.

I’d always figured Vincent had some hidden agenda with me, but even now, I had no idea what that could

1. be.

Yet here was this man, willing to humble himself, even

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1/10

getting on his knees to wash my feet.

Such a small gesture, but coming from Vincent, it felt monumental.

I couldn’t deny the way my heart responded, warmth creeping in despite my better judgment.

‘But… what if Vincent actually means it when he’s being good to me?‘ I kept second–guessing myself.

With all these thoughts racing through my head, sleep was impossible.

I felt suffocated in that room, so I slipped out for some

air.

Before I knew it, I’d wandered to the end of the hallway.

There was a door leading to the stairwell.

I pushed through the small door and positioned myself by the half–open window, letting the cool night breeze hit my face.

Stars scattered across the sky–the night was

gorgeous.

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2/10

The hospital garden stretched out below, right in my

view.

With decent eyesight and being on a lower floor, I immediately caught sight of Vincent and Joanna down

there.

When Vincent received Joanna’s text, his gut reaction was to ignore it. But something stopped him, and he found himself typing back, “Fine, send me the location. I’ll meet you.”

Joanna shot back the address quickly—the hospital garden.

Vincent arrived to find Joanna alone on a bench, shivering and hugging herself against the cold.

She turned at the sound of footsteps.

The moment she saw Vincent, her face lit up with a soft smile. “Mr. Aarav, you came.”

Despite early winter settling in, Joanna wore only a long–sleeved dress with no jacket in sight.

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3/10

Vincent felt nothing watching her shiver. Instead, he bit back with sarcasm, “What’s wrong? Zain not

keeping you warm tonight?”

That question had been eating at Vincent for a while.

But Joanna heard it as jealousy over her relationship

with Zain.

Joanna didn’t seem fazed. Trembling, she looked up at Vincent with pleading eyes. “I’m freezing… Mr. Aarav, could I borrow your jacket?”

Vincent’s jaw tightened briefly before he relaxed, responding with mock generosity, “Sure thing.”

He shrugged off his coat and dropped it in Joanna’s lap.

Not exactly tender, but to Joanna, it was confirmation -Vincent cared about her.

‘See? He does care, she thought smugly.

‘If he didn’t, he’d never give me his jacket, Joanna reasoned.

The second Joanna pulled Vincent’s coat around herself, the chill disappeared entirely.

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4/10

Noticing Vincent still standing, Joanna scooted over and asked sweetly, “Mr. Aarav, want to sit with me?”

Vincent eyed the tiny space Joanna had made. Sitting there would mean pressing up against each other.

Vincent considered for a beat, then ducked his head with a raised eyebrow and drawled, “Sit? Or… were you thinking something else?”

He dragged out the innuendo deliberately, voice dripping with suggestion.

That roguish grin paired with his teasing tone- honestly, it would make anyone’s mind wander.

Even Joanna felt heat flood her cheeks, completely thrown by his flirtatious comment.

For a second, Joanna froze completely, brain scrambled and unable to form words.

Vincent didn’t wait for her response–he dropped

down beside her without hesitation.

They sat so close now that one small movement would have them touching.

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500

Joanna’s pulse hammered, her face blazing red.

Catching her reaction, Vincent angled his head, locked eyes with her, and asked bluntly with that teasing edge, “So you really are as innocent as you act?”

He smiled playfully, but his eyes burned with dark intensity.

Joanna held Vincent’s stare, cheeks burning, and nodded slightly. “Yes.”

Vincent burst into arrogant laughter at her response.

Seeing him laugh made Joanna squirm with nerves.

But moments later, Vincent’s smile vanished without warning. He stared directly at Joanna and said, “So you really are innocent? Maybe we should arrange some time for you to gain experience—with me?”

His words were so blunt that Joanna’s face turned scarlet. She played dumb and asked, “Arrange time? What kind of arrangement did you have in mind, Mr. Aarav?”

Watching Joanna pretend ignorance, Vincent felt irritation spike inside him.

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6/10

But he buried it, keeping those feelings hidden behind a polite facade.

Smiling, Vincent leaned in until their faces nearly touched—then, just before his lips could meet hers, he pulled back at the last second.

At the same time, Vincent stretched out his words, eyes dancing with mischief. “When you show up, Ms. Vins, you’ll understand exactly what I mean.”

He left it hanging deliberately, playing mysterious and never giving her a straight answer.

But honestly, with Vincent being that obvious, Joanna couldn’t possibly miss his meaning.

I leaned over the railing to get a better look below.

From my angle, it looked exactly like Vincent was kissing Joanna.

I couldn’t hear their conversation, but seeing them sitting that close–intimate enough to be kissing–their relationship was clearly more than casual.

Just a short while ago, I’d actually been touched by how well Vincent treated me–my heart had nearly

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softened because of him.

I’d even caught myself thinking, ‘What if Vincent genuinely cares about me? What if I’m too scared to accept it and end up pushing away the only person who’s ever wanted to treat me right?‘

But seeing this now, I realized–it was all the same

story.

Zain or Vincent, they were identical. I should never have let myself get attached.

Even knowing this, I couldn’t stop myself–tears fell before I realized it.

I stood by that window, letting the cold night air dry the tears on my cheeks.

My heart turned to ice in an instant.

‘Thank God I never fell too deep,‘ I told myself bitterly.

‘It’s not too late to pull back.

I didn’t keep watching; I slowly made my way back to my hospital room.

I’d barely gotten back into bed when Vincent

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appeared.

He crept into the room quietly, trying not to wake me in case I was sleeping.

To his surprise, when he reached my bedside, I wasn’t asleep at all–my wide, dark eyes were fixed on him.

Seeing this, Vincent asked with mild confusion, “Still

awake?”

I glanced at him and replied evenly, “Yeah.”

Vincent could sense something was different about me –I seemed withdrawn, so he teased with that low, playful voice, “What’s wrong? Want me to stay and hold you while you sleep?”

But I didn’t respond to that. Instead, I looked over with a cool, calm tone and asked, “You were gone for quite a while. What exactly were you doing?”

I was giving him a chance here–if Vincent would just be honest, maybe I could at least listen, I told myself.

But Vincent said nothing about Joanna. “Just had to handle some work issues,” he explained instead.

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I finally gave up, my last bit of hope dying completely. I offered a faint, almost polite smile and said, “I see.”

Vincent noticed my smile and asked with that teasing grin, “So, want me to hold you while you sleep?”

He was already moving to climb into bed, but I didn’t budge. I just looked at him, my voice cool and distant as I said, “No. I want to sleep alone tonight.”