Chapter 46

Alexander Hamilton's gaze fell on his phone screen, his brow instantly furrowing.

An unfamiliar interface displayed a progress bar already at 96%.

"Did you touch my phone?" His voice turned icy.

Annabelle Taylor casually shook her head. "Just looking. Why so tense?"

"What exactly did you do?"

"Cleaning up your trash contacts." She snatched the phone from him. "Almost done."

His expression darkened. "What did you delete?"

"What else?" She smirked. "Evelyn Carter's contact. You're getting divorced. Why keep her on WeChat?"

He inhaled sharply, suppressing his anger. "This is my personal property."

"Yours? Mine?" She lifted her chin defiantly. "We're getting married soon. What's yours is mine. Keeping your ex's number—what are you planning?"

His knuckles whitened. "Annabelle, you've crossed a line."

"I'm doing this for you!" Her voice rose sharply. "Do you know what the nurses say behind your back? That you can't let go of the past!"

"What have I done to lose your trust?"

"You visit the hospital daily. Think I'm stupid?" She waved her own phone. "If I hadn't installed tracking, I'd never know."

His eyes locked onto the blinking red dot on her screen. The absurdity struck him.

"You're spying on me?"

"It's called caring!" She jutted her chin. "If I didn't love you, why bother?"

The phone vibrated. The progress bar hit 100%.

"Done." She triumphantly raised it. "No ties left."

He grabbed it back, frantically checking his contacts. Evelyn's name had vanished—all calls and messages wiped.

"She's still hospitalized. What if there's an emergency—"

"Spare me." She cut him off. "Plenty of doctors there. You just can't move on!"

He closed his eyes, voice hoarse. "Twenty years of friendship, and this is how you see me?"

"I—" She faltered, then hardened. "No contact. If you reach out to her, I'll—"

"You'll what?"

Her lips curled unnervingly. "Tell everyone she came between us. Her reputation's already ruined—one more scandal won't matter."

His head snapped up, shock flashing in his eyes. "You're insane."

"Fighting for my love." She pressed closer, voice sickly sweet. "Alexander, we finally have our chance. Don't disappoint me."

After a long silence, he rubbed his temples wearily. "Delete the tracking app."

"No!"

"Delete it, or we're done." Quiet but final.

Her eyes widened. "You'd choose her over me?"

"For the last shred of trust between us." He held her gaze. "No respect means nothing left to say."

Her lips trembled, tears welling. After a searing glare, she grabbed her purse and stormed out.

The door slammed violently.

Alexander slid to the floor, staring at his phone. Annabelle's digital footprint remained.

Where Evelyn's number once was—now only garbled code.