After My Death, My Husband Who Threw Me Into the Hunting Grounds Went Insane novel Chapter 148

JULIA

The meeting began in the afternoon at the Ritz-Carlton—the hotel we had checked into along with the staff. Adam came, and fortunately, his fiancée didn't. I was so nervous since he didn't even reply to my message. What if ignoring it was his answer?

Luke enlightened us about the contract, and then we were now officially in business with Cavendish Enterprises. They both signed the deal and sealed it for legalization. Adam's company was going to be our contractor for the establishment of the new Hotel B in Los Angeles.

As stated in the contract, they would be in charge of the resources, workers, and structural design. Adam initially showed Luke the plan for the new hotel, but we were still going to discuss it precisely with the whole team. My new boss still needed to meet Adam's architects and designers when we returned to New York.

"It's a great pleasure working with you, Mr. Cavendish." 

"It's mine as well. Thank you, Mr. Alejandro." Adam shook his hand, and then the members of our team.

"Well, we've got to get back to our room to rest since we have to visit the site and take photos. So we could discuss it again with the other people in charge when we get back," Luke announced.

"I see. Are you sure you don't want to eat first? I could ask the manager here to prepare something for us," Adam offered.

"Oh no, it's all right. Thank you, I already made a reservation, and my team is a bit exhausted. The same goes for me, unfortunately," Luke explained. He had been working for the entire day.

"No problem. Have a good night."

Our eyes locked for a few seconds, but he swiftly looked away. I had a feeling that he was not interested in meeting me.

"He is so hot," Nina whispered at the back.

I know, and it hurts to see him.

Adam excused himself first while I walked out with the team. It was still an hour early before I asked him to meet me. But I had the feeling that he would not show up.

"Julia, what's wrong? You didn't say anything about the meeting," Luke whispered in my ear, gently holding my elbow.

"It turned out okay. Congratulations, Luke."

"You don't seem pleased."

"But I am." I forced a smile. "Hey, I'm going up first."

"Are you sure? I promised the team we'd meet them for dessert."

"I'm a bit tired, Luke, and I need to call Jake."

"Alright, just tell me if you need anything."

"Sure."

"Say hi to Jake for me." He gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder before we parted ways.

I walked away first. I wanted to call Jake to tell him everything. I couldn't say it to Luke because I did not want him to know that I texted Adam. I lazily went up to our floor. I almost wanted to crawl on the floor because I had no strength to walk to my room. It was a long, carpeted corridor. When I reached my door, I turned on the light.

I almost screamed in fear when I saw a figure sitting on the sofa. God, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

"That took so long," he said, then stood up, crossing his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow.

"God, Adam, you scared me!" I held my chest. "Why are you here?"

"You asked me to come," he said softly.

"Of course, but not like this." I gulped. "How were you able to get here? You were sitting in the dark." I took off my coat and put it on the hanger.

He released his arms, then slipped his hands into his pocket. "This is my suite, Julia. I booked it for your team. What did you expect?"

"Sure! This is the normal you," I rolled my eyes. "You owned the whole floor."

"Why did you ask me to come?"

"Do you want to sit first or something? I'm still processing everything. This is going to be our first normal conversation in six months."

I walked to the side of my bed and then took off my necklace as well as my other accessories. I dropped my bag on the bed as well, then sat on the edge to take off my shoes.

Adam sat on the sofa. I could feel him staring at me.

"I thought you weren't going to come—wait, do you mind?" I asked. I was about to remove my pantyhose. It was irritating.

He shook his head.

I lifted my dress a little up to my thighs and slowly slid down my black hose off one leg, then the other. I let it drop on the floor.

"Julia, if you are just going to show me how you take off your stockings, you probably should refrain from asking a busy man to come to your room. Because doing that, is going to make the person think of another reason why you asked him here," he said with his eyes gleaming up and down my body.

"I called you for a reason," I said. I walked toward him and sat across from him. "We need a serious talk."

"Then start talking."

"Things went wrong between us. I need to say sorry. I want to apologize for everything."

"I told you, your apology is accepted—"

"No, hear me out first." I cut him off. "You accused me before of choosing Henry over you. I doubted you, I didn't trust you, and I am so sorry. We were both wrong, and I called you here because I want you to know what I feel about everything. Even if you don't want me anymore, I'm going to say it."

"Wait," he said, "it's not that easy."

"I don't regret leaving because I met amazing people. My only regret was not telling you how I really feel. You didn't even look for me. You told me you loved me, but you never looked for me like you did for your ex-wife. I was so confused about what I was to you."

"I did not look for you because you didn't want me to. I didn't want to be the man I was anymore. This isn't going anywhere." He heaved out a breath of frustration. "I have to go, Julia. I shouldn't have come if you're just going to blame me," he said, then he stood again.

"Stop." I held his arm. "I'm not blaming you. Look, I should at least tell you before you leave what I feel about you. I want you to think about it. I know that you are getting married again, and you seemed happy with her—"

"Happy? Do I seem happy?" His scowl darkened. "What about you and Alejandro? You appeared to like each other. You haven't changed, Julia. You just wanted to pile up men and feast their hands on you."

"And you changed, have you? Luke is my friend, and so is Jake. I did not have sex with any of them. How about you and your fiancée, or any other women out there?"

"I'm a man," he groaned, "and I have needs, but I didn't sleep with Bianca, no." He hastily ran his fingers through his hair. "This has to stop. Julia. We are clearly incompatible with each other."

"We're not, but you were jealous of Luke."

"Right, I am. After all this time, I couldn't bear to see any other men touching you. But so what? We don't trust each other anymore."

"But I still want you…" I confessed. "I want you to take me back."

Adam grabbed my waist and pressed me against his rock-hard body. His other hand cupped my face as he gazed into my eyes. "But you are mine," he whispered painfully, "even before, you are."

"I never wanted anyone as much as I wanted you," I admitted, resting my head on his palm.

"But we can't be together." Adam shook his head. "I am afraid, and this is what we are. We are bad for each other. You don't love me the way I love you."

He still loves me. I knew it. "But I do! I love you. I want you back in my life."

Adam released me, breathing out sharply, but his worried eyes didn't leave mine. "Even if you want me back, you still can't be with me," he whispered. There was a pain in his voice.

"Why not?"

"Julia, there are thousands of employees with families I'm carrying on my shoulders right now. Do you remember what I told you that I lost almost every contract I had? Because of Bianca, I redeemed everything. I was able to get things back because of her. I couldn't just neglect those people just for one person, even if I wanted to. I just can't."

"You're still going to marry her." It wasn't a question.

"Bianca and I are going to be married again for a year. That's our deal," he said, "but we are going to get divorced again once our deal ends. But if you could let me finish our deal—"

"What are you saying? You want me to wait for a year?"

My insecurities began to fill in. He couldn't break up with Bianca because he needed her. Unfortunately, it was partly my fault. I understand that his ex-wife was a billionaire who could save him, but I didn't want to become a mistress.

"I know it's too much to ask, but I have a responsibility, Julia."

I heaved a sigh. "Yes, because it is, and I don't want this to lead to another mistake. You're going to marry her again. What if you realize you still love her, and I'm only going to wait for nothing? I'm sorry, Adam. I shouldn't have called you here."

"Oh, come on, don't do this. I can't lose you again."

"Look, Adam. I love you, but I can't promise you anything. Maybe, we don't really belong to each other. Let's look at this the other way. Would you wait for me if I were to marry someone else?"

"That isn't fair." Adam shook his head and gritted his teeth. "I could never let you marry someone else."

"See? Now, you understand why we can't be together." I wiped the tears I felt rushed to my cheeks.

He held my shoulders. "I… I'll think of something else. There must be something else I could do, but please. I just don't want you to go away again."

"Adam, I'm not going to push you to come to me—"

"Give me a chance, Julia."

"What you are asking of me isn't easy. But right now, I need to be alone. I have to process all this in my head. Goodnight, Adam."

***

I didn't go to the site with Luke the next day. I stayed in my room, and fortunately, I needed to make a gazillion calls and check the paperwork for the new hotel. I had breakfast and then ate lunch by myself. Luke and Adam would be working together at the site until the next day. My boss did not call, so I guessed it was fine.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify