Cold Husband Burning Regret: The Divorce He Couldn't Handle novel Chapter 425

It was late, and as the last of the guests trickled out, rain began to pour from the dark sky. Everyone crowded beneath the awning, waiting for their rides, leaving one by one until only a handful of people remained.

“Judd, I’m heading off now. Don’t forget to give Dr. Sterling a lift!” Gentry’s driver pulled up just in time, and as Gentry left, he called the reminder over his shoulder.

Soon, it was just Charlotte and Judd left under the eaves.

Judd turned to her. “You looked like you wanted to ask me something earlier.”

She hesitated, caught off guard by his perceptiveness. After a moment, she spoke. “Professor Carstairs, were you ever… kidnapped before?”

“Did Marge mention something to you?” Judd asked, watching her closely.

Charlotte didn’t answer, but her expression told him everything. He gave a resigned smile. “I thought you might remember on your own.”

“It really was you?” she exclaimed, astonished. “But the news back then only reported—”

“That there were two survivors,” Judd finished for her, a wry smile tugging at his lips. “My family wanted to keep things private, for the sake of appearances. ‘Young Master Carstairs abducted’—not exactly flattering headlines.”

Charlotte looked at him, unsure what to say. The rain made the night feel colder, and she hugged her arms for warmth. Judd noticed and slipped his jacket off his arm, draping it gently over her shoulders.

She froze, her mind going blank for a split second. His gesture didn’t make her uncomfortable; on the contrary, Judd had always known his boundaries. He wasn’t impulsive or overbearing, and she appreciated his tact.

“Just make sure you wash it before you return it,” he said with a smile. “Technically, it’s not even my jacket.”

Charlotte glanced down at the well-tailored women’s coat she was now wearing. “This is Dr. Hale’s? When did you borrow it?”

“Right before we left.”

She was about to reply when, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a shadowy figure standing in the rain. She whipped her head around. Under the downpour, a tall man stood beneath an umbrella, his silhouette blending into the night. He seemed to have been standing there for ages, watching.

He lingered so long that it felt as though the darkness itself could barely hide the storm on his face.

Charlotte met his dark, unreadable eyes, and her heart gave a jolt. Judd looked away, focusing back on her.

Charlotte glanced pointedly at Evander’s bedroom and raised her voice deliberately. “I’ll start packing right now. No need for him to throw me out.”

With that, she strode into the bedroom to gather her things.

Natalie hurried after her. “Ma’am, it’s really late!”

“Judd’s coming to pick me up. What difference does it make how late it is?”

Natalie’s nerves were on edge. She was stepping right onto one of Mr. Howard’s landmines.

Charlotte emerged with her suitcase, and not once did Evander open his bedroom door. She slammed the door behind her and left without a backward glance.

Inside the bedroom, Evander sat on the edge of the bed, one knee pulled up, his long fingers clutching a glass of whiskey. His sharp, chiseled features were half-hidden in the gloom.

When the apartment finally fell silent, he hurled the glass at the wall, shattering it into the darkness.