Hi Ex, Your Uncle Is My Hubby Now - Chapter 34: Chapter 34

After that, she stripped off her jacket and used her body heat to keep him alive.
They had survived three grueling days in the deep mountains before rescue finally arrived.
If it hadn't been for Amaris, there would be no Dorian today.
Hearing him recall that time from their senior year of high school warmed Amaris's heart.
Leaning into his chest, she asked softly, a trace of unease in her voice, "What about Irene? She's so beautiful... Are you really saying you've never felt anything for her?"
Dorian replied calmly, "A beautiful woman will always attract attention—I won't pretend Irene isn't charming. But the only one I love is you. With her, it was just playing a part."
Maybe her looks had stirred him for a moment. But in his heart, Amaris had always been the one—the only one he held dear. No one else was allowed near that place.
Running his fingers gently through her silky black hair, Dorian sighed. "Your heart's getting worse, Amaris. I need to cut off all of Irene's escape routes—make sure she has nowhere else to go.
"Just give me a little more time, okay?"
Hearing him admit Irene's beauty did sting a little, but Amaris could feel how genuine his words were—how real his love still was.
"Okay, Dorian. I won't let my mind wander anymore."
"Good girl."
While Dorian was away from Eldraeth City, Irene buried herself in work.
To create a design Charles would be happy with in just three days, she didn't even bother going home—eating and sleeping at the studio, fully locked in.
She managed to finish the first draft just in time on the final day, submitting it to the email address Charles's team had provided. Once she hit send, all the tension she'd been holding suddenly released.
She stretched, grabbed her bag, and was about to head home when she noticed the light still on in Anthony's office.
From the open office space, she glanced inside and saw him sitting quietly, staring at a wallet in his hand, completely zoned out.
"You're still here?"
Anthony snapped out of it, instinctively closing the wallet. "You finished?"
Irene hummed in response, then waved her car keys at him. "Want to grab a drink downstairs?"
There was a quiet little lounge bar just below their building.
Anthony raised a brow. "It's nine o'clock. Only three hours left until midnight. You sure you want to waste those precious birthday hours on me?"
He was hinting. "Today's your beloved Dorian's birthday, remember?"
He figured she'd been rushing her work so she'd be free tonight to celebrate with Dorian.
But Irene answered calmly, "He's still out of town. Didn't make it back."
That threw Anthony. "Didn't he say he'd be back in time to spend it with you? What happened?"
As a guy, his gut instinct kicked in. Something didn't feel right. "You don't think he's off somewhere with some other woman, do you?"
"Who knows," Irene said, completely unfazed.
Anthony's expression grew more serious. "Irene, you're putting way too much trust in Dorian. I'm a guy—I know how guys work.
"He told you he'd be back for your birthday, and now suddenly he's not? That's sketchy no matter how you slice it. You two have been together two years—once the honeymoon phase ends, that's when the cracks start to show.
"I'm serious. You need to keep your eyes open." He wasn't sugarcoating it. He wanted her to really hear it.
But Irene already knew why Dorian hadn't come back.
It wasn't because of work—it was because he was stuck in Halverra City, held there by Amaris.
And that was fine.
The fact that Amaris was trying to keep Dorian from returning only confirmed what Irene had suspected all along:
Amaris was secretly watching her Facebook—and her posts flaunting the "relationship" had clearly rattled her.
She thought, 'That easy to throw off balance? This little bitch act still has a long way to go.'