Never Forgive Never Forget (Celeste and Philip) novel Chapter 75

Alfred's living room looked immaculate, not a thing out of place. A few files were scattered across the coffee table, but otherwise, everything felt untouched.

Since Celeste had stepped inside, Alfred hadn't said a single word. The silence in the room grew heavy, almost unnatural. From outside the door came the faint rustle of movement—shoes scraping, quiet whispers. Then, just as suddenly, those sounds faded, swallowed up by stillness.

Philip and Viola were gone. Celeste breathed out, relief loosening her shoulders.

Alfred broke the silence.

"You care about them, don't you?"

"No." The answer slipped out before she could think. She turned, meeting Alfred's gaze—so dark and deep it was impossible to read what he was thinking.

Their eyes locked. Neither of them spoke.

The whole atmosphere felt off, making Celeste uneasy. When Alfred didn't say anything else, she decided not to wait around. The last thing she wanted was for everyone to find out what had happened between her and Philip. She fumbled for an excuse and made a quick exit.

Back in her own apartment, she leaned against the door, heart pounding. Why was Alfred living here of all places? If he'd been home the whole time, he must have overheard every word she and Philip had said.

If the noise had bothered him, he could have stepped out immediately and told Philip and Viola to leave. But if he was just curious about what was going on between her and Philip… then why bother stepping in to help her?

She couldn't make sense of it.

Just then, her phone buzzed. It was Irma:

"The folks from Robertson Group said they'll continue negotiations tomorrow. How do you want to handle it?"

Persistent, as always.

Celeste looked down at the faint marks on her arm—remnants of Philip's grip. She frowned.

"Pass the deal to Beverly and Herbert," she replied.

Beverly had lost a major project to her recently and was left empty-handed. Handing this deal to Beverly would give her something to chase after—and hopefully keep her busy.

As for herself, Celeste wanted nothing more to do with Philip.

Irma understood immediately. She sent over a few documents and then got to work handling the reassignment.

"Celeste! Morning!"

Her smile vanished.

Before she could shut the door, Philip caught sight of Alfred inside the car and strode over, urgency written all over his face.

"Mr. Alfred, I—"

Bang. Celeste slammed the door shut.

Alfred's driver seemed to catch her cue, flooring the gas pedal. The car merged smoothly into traffic, leaving Philip standing in a cloud of exhaust.

He'd been stonewalled twice in less than twenty-four hours. Frustration twisted his features.

"Celeste, you did that on purpose."

"Mr. Alfred doesn't want to see you."