Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1211

Emmy instinctively looked where Harlene was pointing.

Through the crowded room, a man in a black, perfectly tailored suit strode confidently toward them. His face was almost dangerously handsome, sharp and intense, but what really set him apart was the energy that surrounded him. It was the kind of presence you could feel before you even saw him, a mix of raw power and authority that made everyone else around him seem to fade away.

Men who usually thought of themselves as important suddenly looked small and forgettable. Next to him, they were just background noise.

Emmy’s heart skipped a beat.

For a split second, it was like someone had hit mute on the whole event. The noise and chatter disappeared. All she could see was him.

He was looking at her, too.

His eyes, impossibly dark and deep, cut through the crowd and landed right on her. There was a heat there, a look that said she was the only person in the room. It was so intense she felt like he could see straight into her soul.

The calm she’d felt just moments ago shattered. Her heart raced, as if someone had thrown a stone into still water and sent waves crashing everywhere.

She hadn’t expected him to show up.

A rush of happiness swept through her, wild and overwhelming. For a second, she wanted to forget where she was, run to him, and wrap her arms around him.

But then Harlene’s voice sliced through her happiness like ice water.

“See, Em? Didn’t I tell you?” Harlene was practically bouncing with excitement. “That guy is seriously the best of the best. If he and Mercedes stood together, they’d be the hottest couple of the century!”

Emmy’s smile froze.

She turned her head slowly, her voice suddenly tight. “What did you just say? He’s... Mercedes’s boyfriend?”

Harlene didn’t notice anything strange about Emmy’s tone. She was still caught up in the gossip. “Yeah! Everyone’s talking about it!”

“Mercedes went to his suite this morning. They had breakfast together. I even heard Mercedes’s assistant bragging that he flew in just for her, to go to the ceremony.”

“People are saying he’s the mystery guy behind Mercedes, her soulmate.”

Emmy’s mind went blank. The joy that had filled her seconds ago twisted into something sharp and bitter.

So he wasn’t here for her.

He came for Mercedes.

Emmy pressed her lips together, her face turning pale. She watched as James came closer, the light in her eyes dimming with every step he took.

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