His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex-Wife Chapter 41: The Late-Night Emergency

Iris had no mood for the game. Her head was spinning—Julian didn't love her, yet he knew her so well. Her scalp went numb, and she felt totally confused, her heart all messed up.

The host said happily, "Leo and Julian are neck and neck! Let's do an easy one. What's your partner's favorite food?"

Julian wrote: baby corn.

Iris hesitated for a second, then wrote: lamb.

When they held up their boards, Leo and Nina looked at each other. They'd gotten it right, and they hurried to check Iris's and Julian's answers.

They couldn't believe Julian had messed up the easy question. They jumped up and hugged excitedly.

The host picked up the flowers and trophy. "Congratulations to Leo and his girlfriend—you win the flowers and the 'Most Loving Couple' award!"

The whole crowd clapped, and the mood was great.

The game was finally over. Iris couldn't wait to put down the whiteboard and marker. She stood up and walked straight to Zoe.

Zoe looked confused. She took Iris's hand and asked, "You hate the smell of lamb more than anything! Why did you write lamb? Julian got it right—your favorite's baby corn. Why'd you throw the game?"

Iris pulled Zoe away quickly. Right then, her heart was in chaos. She asked quietly, her voice low, "Zoe, we've known each other for eight years. How many of those questions did you get right?"

"I know your favorite food is baby corn, and you're scared of snakes. That's it. And one more thing—I thought you liked apricot, not apricot white."

Iris didn't dare stop walking. She asked as they went, "So how does Julian know all that?"

"Did he peek at your answers?"

Iris stopped in her tracks and stared at Zoe. It felt like she'd found a logical explanation for the impossible. "Did he really peek?"

Zoe shrugged, guessing uncertainly. "You were sitting pretty close. He could've snuck a glance out of the corner of his eye, right?"

"It's just a little game. He wouldn't do that, would he?"

"Probably his male ego acting up."

Iris let out a long breath. It made sense, but a little twinge of disappointment snuck in.

Zoe looked back as they walked. "Aren't we riding back with Julian?"

Iris replied, "We're not going the same way."

*****

During the entire holiday, Iris only took one day off. She spent the rest in the lab.

Besides work, she squeezed in little bits of time to study. Thanks to her academic achievements in medical research over the years, she planned to work while pursuing her PhD.

Knowledge changes fate. Rely on yourself, not others. That had been Iris's life motto ever since she was a kid.

The night of the last day of the holiday.

Iris studied in her room until 11:30. She was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open, so she got ready for bed.

The phone on her nightstand rang.

She picked it up. It was her mom.

Her mom never called her this late, unless it was an emergency.

Iris answered, "Mom, it's so late..."

She didn't finish her sentence. Her mom was talking a mile a minute, yelling, "Iris! What do we do? The police are here! Emily got scammed! She won't listen to anyone! Ethan's gonna lose his mind. Hurry over and help him!"

Iris pieced together what her mom was saying. She jumped out of bed to change clothes, asking anxiously, "Are the police still there?"

"Yes, but she won't listen to them!"

"I'll be right there." Iris hung up right away, rushed to change clothes, grabbed her bag, and ran out.

Her noise woke Julian, who was in the next room.

After closing the door, Iris ran to the elevator and pressed the down button. She pulled out her phone in a panic and opened the ride-hailing app.

The elevator door opened. Iris stepped in and pressed the first-floor button.

Just as the door was closing, a figure rushed over and blocked it. The door, halfway closed, slid open again.

Iris looked up in shock.

It was Julian.

He was wearing light-colored casual pajamas, looking clean and handsome. But his face was dark. He was breathing a little hard, and his voice was deep and firm. "Where are you going?"

Iris almost never went out at night. Her sudden odd behavior had woken Julian. She felt a little guilty. "Sorry, I woke you. I have to go out for something."

Julian's face got even darker. His voice turned colder, laced with anger, as he repeated, "Where are you going?"

Iris didn't want to tell him about her family's trouble. But she was in a hurry—wasting time like this wasn't an option. "To Ethan's house. Emily might have been scammed, and the police can't get her to listen."

Julian took a deep breath, his tone softening a little. "I'll drive you."

"No, it's okay."

"Give me two minutes."

"Really, I can take a ride—" Before Iris could finish, Julian stepped into the elevator, grabbed her arm, and dragged her back home.

Iris was pulled back into the house and pushed down onto the sofa.

"Wait two minutes," Julian said in a commanding tone. "Don't leave."

Two minutes later, Julian came out wearing a brown casual sweatshirt and black pants. He walked straight to the entrance cabinet, grabbed his car keys, put on white casual shoes, and said. "Let's go."

Iris stood up from the sofa and hurried to follow him.

They took the elevator straight down to the garage.

The whole way, Iris was anxious. The air in the car was heavy and completely silent.