His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex-Wife Chapter 22: She Doesn't Need to Say It

Everything clicked. The elevator conversation. The bloody foot. The urgent phone call.

"Thank you," Iris said, her voice polite but flat.

She walked out of the building. The sun was still shining, warm and golden, but she felt chilled. The street noise faded behind her. She moved through the crowd like a ghost.

That ache was back. Not the sharp, dramatic kind of heartbreak people write songs about.

Just a slow corrosion. A quiet soaking of sadness that wore her down inch by inch.

She bought a train ticket with cash, boarded, and stood near the door with her arms wrapped around herself.

The AC was freezing. She stayed like that the whole ride—over an hour—mind blank, just wanting someone, anyone, to tell her it was okay. But no one came.

At the hospital, Lily's parents had arrived in a panic. Julian met them in the hallway.

"She's getting an MRI," he said.

Irene's voice trembled. "What happened?"

Harold was furious. "She walks into your office and ends up in the ER?!"

Julian's tone was clipped. "She went up to the roof. There was construction. She stepped on a nail. The bleeding looked worse than it was."

Harold narrowed his eyes. "Then why is she getting a brain scan for a foot injury?"

Julian exhaled. "She passed out when I got there. The doctors ran full tests—no major blood loss, no concussion, nothing critical. They cleaned the wound, gave her a tetanus shot. But she won't wake up."

Irene's voice cracked. "What do the doctors say?"

"They're being cautious," Julian replied, jaw tight. "But I think she's faking. That's why I called you."

Harold's face darkened. He grabbed Julian's collar. "She might be dying and you think it's a performance?! You grew up with her—how can you be so heartless?!"

Julian peeled his hand off, calmly. "I know her too well. If she wasn't someone I grew up with, I wouldn't even be here."

He turned to Irene. "Tell her I left. Once she thinks no one's watching, she'll snap right out of it."

Irene looked away but didn't argue. She just nodded, tight-lipped. Julian turned and walked out, already pulling out his car keys.

Back at the office, Iris was gone.

He stormed into Owen's workspace, voice sharp. "Where is Iris?" Owen stood up, startled. "I—I don't know, sir. I've been in meetings all afternoon."

Julian didn't wait. He pulled out his phone and hit her contact.

The robotic voice answered. "The number you dialed is powered off..."

Next morning, Iris had barely moved the night before. She'd gotten into bed after midnight and didn't stir until six. She washed up, changed, and stepped into the living room.

Two new contracts were sitting on the table, crisp and pristine. She flipped through them. Julian had updated everything. The equity split, the voting control, the fine print—it was all exactly as she'd requested.

It was a better deal than she ever imagined.

She slipped them into her bag. She'd have Zoe take a look later.

She made two simple breakfasts, turned on the cleaning bot, tossed the laundry in the washer, and curled up on the couch with a book, waiting for Julian to wake up. She just wanted to say thank you.

But he never came out. At 8:00 sharp, her phone rang. Zoe.

"Morning, Zoe," Iris answered softly.

"Morning?! Iris, get over here. Now. Something's happened."

Iris's heart dropped. "What happened?"

"No time to explain. Just come. Right now."

Iris hung up, grabbed her bag, and ran out the door.

What normally took ten minutes, she made in five. She burst through the front door of the lab, breathless.

Zoe was walking two fire marshals out, smiling politely and holding a correction notice. "Don't worry," she said sweetly. "We'll fix everything right away."

Once they were gone, Zoe turned back to Iris, exhaling hard. "Thank god it was just minor stuff. We move a few boxes, we're good."

Iris looked at the paper. "You nearly gave me a heart attack. It's just a fire safety check."

Zoe crossed her arms, exasperated. "That wasn't the problem. They were the easy ones. We also had a visit from the tax bureau. Our finance team is there now—they said we're under full audit. Oh, and guess who else showed up?"

Iris tensed. "Who?"

Zoe gritted her teeth. "Animal Welfare Association."

Iris blinked. That wasn't even a proper government agency—more like a loose affiliation of watchdogs and public crusaders.

"What are they doing here?"