Too Late for Sorry, Mr. Billionaire (Chasing my Wife Back) novel Chapter 137

THE bar that Marcus had chosen was the quiet kind, low lighting, leather booths, music that played softly. The DJ knew what he was doing. Charles had arrived first and was already on his second drink when Marcus slid in across from him, and Julian came in behind him looking like someone who wanted to be somewhere else but here.

"You are late," Charles said to Julian.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Julian sat down and signaled for the waiter.

Marcus poured himself a drink and leaned back.

"So. You said you had news."

Charles smiled in the slow, satisfied kind he wore when he believed he was operating at full capacity.

"You know how I told you things with Amelia were getting complicated?"

"You said she was acting different," Marcus said. "Detached."

"Yes. And I wasn't wrong. She's still—" He waved a hand. "She's still there. She's just not as easy to manage as she was before. She has been asking questions, pulling back slightly, being careful. And worst, always reminding me of Sunshine."

"So what's the news?" Julian asked flatly.

"Her name is Sandra Milano," Charles said. "Forty-four. Divorced twice. No children. Has a property company that turns over more in a year than most people see in a lifetime." He sipped his drink. "And she is—" he searched for the word, "—receptive."

Marcus stared at him. "Receptive."

"Receptive." Charles repeated in agreement.

"Charles." Marcus set his glass down. "You are engaged."

"I'm aware."

"To Amelia," Marcus said, as though he needed to be specific.

"I'm also aware." Charles was unbothered, leaning against the backrest with the ease of a man who had already made peace with a decision and was simply reporting it. "Look, I'm not ending anything. I'm creating a parallel arrangement. Sandra has money, she wants company, she wants to feel chosen. I can give her that."

"While also being engaged to someone else," Julian said.

"While managing my other commitments, yes."

Julian looked at him for a long moment. Then he picked up his drink and said nothing.

Marcus pressed on.

"Does Sandra know about Amelia?"

"Hell no, of course! She doesn't need to. She doesn't, even though she had asked too many questions. She is mature enough. She just needs some loving here and there, and I'm really good at that area." His lips curved into a smile as he winked at his friends. They both looked away in disgust after realizing what Charles was on about. Sex.

"Yes," Julian said. "That's right."

The table went quiet. Marcus looked between them carefully.

"I came here to celebrate," Charles said, his voice cooling significantly. "Not to be lectured by the likes of both of you."

"Then you came to the wrong friend," Julian said, visibly offended. He picked up his jacket from the back of the booth, reached into his pocket and dropped enough cash to cover his drink on the table. "I'm not going to sit here and toast to this nonsense, Charles. I can't. First it was abandoning your child, and now this?" Julian shook his head in disgust. "Have a nice night, Charles."

"Julian—" Marcus started.

"I will talk to you later, Marcus." Julian stood. He looked at Charles once more, something between disappointment and finality in his expression. "I hope I'm wrong," he said. "I genuinely do. But if it blows over, you are fucked. And I wouldn't want to be fucked with you."

“Mehn! What's with that dude today? Isn't he happy for me, huh?”

He walked out of the bar without looking back. Charles watched him go. Then he turned back to Marcus with an expression that was working very hard to look unbothered.

"He will come around," he said, but he didn't believe it himself. Something that Julian said has touched a nerve, and it was all he could do to keep his anger from spiking. If Amelia was really smart, wouldn't she have figured his scams by now?

Tch.

Marcus said nothing. He picked up his drink and looked at the table, and the silence between them was the kind that said everything the words didn't.