Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 277

Love him?

Emmy dug her nails into her palm, the question hanging in the air, impossible to answer.

James watched her, the tension in the room spiking. His jaw tightened and his voice was low, nearly sharp. “So you don’t love him?”

His stare made her skin prickle and her heartbeat trip over itself. She shook her head a little too quickly. “We’re married. Of course I… I like him.”

“Like isn’t love.”

Steve had asked him before if he loved Emmy. He’d only said, I like her. Steve just grinned and said liking someone is easy—you admire them, find them interesting. But loving someone means wanting them all for yourself, but also being afraid you’ll break them. Love is holding back, letting it get into your bones.

Back then, James hadn’t answered.

But last night, with her in his arms, vulnerable and soft, he finally got it.

He loved her. All of her—her body, her heart, her everything. He wanted to keep her close every second, but the thought of hurting her made him careful. He wanted her so badly it felt a little crazy, but he held himself back.

And now she was saying she just “liked” him?

Was he just “interesting” to her?

The spark in James’s eyes faded. He let out a short, cold laugh and gave up on pushing her for more. The rejection stung, sitting heavy in his chest.

He flopped back onto the couch, legs crossed, face unreadable again. His voice was icy. “You can go.”

Emmy let out a shaky breath, not daring to look at him again. She turned and made for the door, wanting to get out as fast as possible.

But then she saw Dean, standing just outside the revolving door.

The hallway lights stretched his shadow out behind him. His messy hair half-covered eyes that looked absolutely wrecked—full of pain and something almost desperate.

He just stood there, staring at her.

Emmy frowned, hesitated, then turned back around, swallowing hard.

“Mr. Nelson, could you… please let Evelina go?”

She couldn’t stop thinking about Evelina—locked up for a whole day and night by now. Whatever punishment she deserved, she’d already paid for it. If Evelina died in there, Emmy would never get back the rights to her stolen tech. Evelina had to stick around, at least long enough to return what she stole.

James’s lips barely moved, his voice cool and steady. “You want me to let her go? What are you giving me in return?”

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