After Divorce I Married a Tycoon-Chapter 13: How Come I Keep Running Into Him?

Chapter 13: Chapter 13: How Come I Keep Running Into Him?

Ever since he’d gotten Claire Mercer’s contact info, Adrian Sutton had been dying to message her.

He had so much he wanted to say, so much he longed to tell her about how he felt.

But he was afraid of scaring her off, terrified she’d block the contact info he’d worked so hard to get.

He wanted to strike up a conversation, but worried she’d find him annoying.

He’d written and rewritten the message countless times, deleting it, then starting over... never quite daring to hit send.

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and settled on a topic he hoped wouldn’t seem too forward.

"Miss Mercer, I hope I’m not disturbing you. I’d like to ask for some advice about live-streaming. Would you happen to be free for a meal?"

His deferential words were brimming with anticipation.

Once he saw that the message was delivered, he stared at the screen, unable to look away.

He was terrified he might miss her reply and not respond immediately.

His emotions swung from anticipation to anxiety, then to the dreadful fear that she would just delete him after reading the message. He was a nervous wreck.

It had only been a minute since he’d sent the message, but it felt like a century had passed.

His gaze flickered between his phone and Claire Mercer, who was just a short distance away.

He saw her look at her phone, her lovely brow furrowing slightly.

’Just as I thought. Claire’s annoyed with me.’

Adrian Sutton’s heart plummeted.

Just as he was starting to think she wouldn’t reply, his phone screen finally lit up.

Claire Mercer replied: "Sorry, I’m actually not that familiar with live-streaming."

"Besides, I’m with my two best friends right now, so it’s not a good time."

Seeing her reply, Adrian Sutton was so overjoyed he could have cried.

’Claire didn’t delete me. I really thought she was going to.’

’But... Claire did turn me down.’

’Was it too forward of me to message her, given our current relationship?’

’This won’t work. The progress is too slow. Even getting a single meal with her is an impossible luxury.’

He’d already waited for her for so many years. He didn’t want to wait any longer.

So, as Claire Mercer and her two friends found a restaurant for dinner, she ran into Adrian Sutton yet again.

While Stella Thorne was still marveling at his good looks, Claire Mercer couldn’t help but grumble to herself.

’Is Rhonia really this small?’

’How do I keep running into him every other day?’

Just as she was thinking this, Adrian Sutton was already walking toward their table.

He wore a warm, polite smile as he greeted Claire Mercer.

"Fancy seeing you here, Miss Mercer..."

Claire Mercer nodded at him.

"It is a coincidence."

"Claire, you know this gorgeous guy?"

Claire Mercer nodded.

Roxanne Peyton leaned into her ear and whispered.

"That’s the male model Claire spent the night with."

Once she had her answer, Stella Thorne’s eyes lit up with gossip as she looked at Adrian Sutton.

’Putting other things aside,’ she thought, ’this handsome guy’s looks and bearing are at least a passable match for our Claire.’

’It’s a shame such a top-tier hunk is just a male model.’

’Otherwise, with looks that stunning, he’d be perfect for Claire to have a little romance with.’

"Miss Mercer, would you mind if I joined you?" Adrian Sutton asked, looking down at their table.

Claire Mercer actually wanted to say no.

’I don’t know why, but this man gives me a strange feeling.’

’Rhonia is a huge city, yet we’ve run into each other time and again. It seems a little too frequent.’

Just as she was about to politely decline, Roxanne Peyton spoke up.

"We don’t mind. Go ahead and sit."

She had a good impression of the handsome stranger, if only because he’d put Gavin Sinclair in his place the other day.

’His profession might be a bit unsavory, but which heiress in their circle hasn’t hired a male model for a bit of fun?’

’Just think of it as some entertainment for my girl, a way to pass the time.’

There happened to be an empty seat next to Claire Mercer. Adrian Sutton fought the urge to sit down beside her immediately and instead asked politely.

"Miss Mercer, may I sit here?"

What else could Claire Mercer say?

It was a four-person booth. Stella Thorne and Roxanne Peyton were sitting across from her, leaving only the seat beside her empty.

She nodded at him.

Adrian Sutton sat down beside Claire Mercer, his heart hammering in his chest.

’Ten years. This is the first time I’ve ever been able to sit openly by Claire’s side.’

’Is my dream of all these years finally, slowly, coming true?’ 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Adrian Sutton was beyond ecstatic.

Roxanne Peyton, a natural extrovert, started to break the ice. "By the way, we still don’t know your name."

"Adrian Sutton."

"Can I call you Sutton?"

’Sutton?’ Adrian thought.

’Not even the elders in his family had ever addressed him so informally.’

’Especially since he was several years older than them.’

But she was Claire’s best friend, so he couldn’t very well refuse her.

He nodded at Roxanne Peyton.

"Sutton, you don’t have to be so formal. We’re all pretty easygoing."

"But speaking of which, shouldn’t you be at work around this time?"

Adrian Sutton repeated, "Work?"

Claire Mercer asked, "Don’t you work at the CK Lounge?"

"Oh... right."

He remembered telling Claire he was a staff member at the lounge.

"The day I met you was my first day."

"Then you suggested I try live-streaming. I thought it was a great idea, so I quit the next day."

Stella Thorne quickly jumped in. "So Claire was your first client, and also your last?"

Adrian Sutton nodded distractedly before her question fully registered.

’Client?’

’Why does it sound like I’m really in some kind of illicit profession?’

’No wonder they’re calling me Sutton...’

’I can’t let them misunderstand my profession. How am I supposed to pursue Claire if they do?’

’How could a male model ever be worthy of standing by her side?’

’How could he ever deserve to?’

Just as Adrian Sutton was about to explain, the food arrived.

The topic was dropped, and he couldn’t just force an explanation without it seeming deliberate.

’It’s fine!’

’I’ll find a chance to explain it to Claire later.’

’I only need to explain it to Claire. What anyone else thinks doesn’t matter.’

Noticing he had barely touched his chopsticks, Claire Mercer asked.

"Why aren’t you eating? Is the food not to your liking?"

’Is Claire worried about me?’

Inside, Adrian felt a blaze of excitement ignite in his chest, but he feigned composure.

"No, it’s not that."

Remembering how she’d beaten him up last time, Claire Mercer felt a pang of guilt.

Besides, he didn’t seem to hold any malice toward her, so she placed a piece of spicy stir-fried chicken in his bowl.

"You should try this. It’s their specialty."

’Claire... just served me food?’

An overwhelming sense of bliss washed over Adrian Sutton.

’The moment I’ve fantasized about every day... it’s finally happening.’

He suppressed the tempest of emotion inside him and gave her a small smile.

"Okay. Thank you, Miss Mercer."

Though he almost never ate spicy food, he popped the piece of chicken Claire had given him into his mouth without a second thought.

It was so spicy. So spicy his tongue went numb, his throat felt like it was on fire, and his stomach burned as if scorched by flames...

But he was happy.

’This is a dish from Claire. Even if it were poison, I would savor it.’

Before the meal was even over, Adrian Sutton’s stomach condition flared up, and he broke out in a cold sweat from the pain.