Ex Cried as I Wed a Tycoon

After Effie left, Bancroft finally stepped out of the room.

"You're clever as ever, sir," the butler said with a knowing smile. "Noticing that the young master had gone out, you guessed the young lady wouldn't want to stay put either. So you pretended to go for a walk yourself."

Bancroft chuckled. "Of course. She's a wonderful girl, just a bit shy still. Once she settles in, she won't feel so uneasy."

As Effie headed out, she nearly collided with someone just outside the door.

Still startled, she blurted, "Are you alright?"

The young man she'd nearly run into looked just as shaken. Pressing a hand to his chest, he managed a shaky laugh. "I'm fine."

Effie got out of the car, glancing over at the man. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you need me to take you to a hospital or something?"

She pulled out her phone and snapped a quick photo of him.

He raised an eyebrow, a mix of amusement and exasperation on his face. "Miss, you don't actually think I'm trying to scam you, do you?"

Effie gave an embarrassed grin. "Sorry! I've just seen so many videos lately about scam artists jumping in front of cars. Figured I'd better be cautious."

He gave a wry smile. "Fair enough. But I promise, I'm not one of those people." After a brief pause, he asked, "Do you know which one is number 1002?"

Effie had a good memory. After a few visits here, she'd memorized the area pretty well. She gave him directions, and after a quick thank you, he headed off.

Effie didn't rush to leave. Instead, she pulled out her phone and called the police, calmly explaining what had just happened, recounting the details clearly and thoroughly.

Meanwhile, the man realized he'd dropped something and returned to look for it- only to catch part of Effie's phone conversation.

He gave a helpless little laugh and muttered to himself, "Didn't think I'd get

mistaken for a criminal my first day back in the country."

He spotted his fountain pen lying near Effie's feet. After a moment's hesitation, he walked over.

He startled Effie, who jumped slightly at his sudden reappearance.

"Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you," he said, gesturing toward the pen on the ground. "I just dropped my pen and came back to get it."noveldrama

Only then did Effie realize she'd misunderstood. She quickly crouched down,

picked up the pen, and handed it over. "Sorry about that."

"No, no, I should be the one apologizing," he replied, accepting the pen. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

With all the polite formalities exchanged, an awkward silence fell between them. Effie broke it, offering, "If you start feeling unwell or anything, just let me know..." Just then, a sleek black Cullinan pulled up. The man inside rolled down the window and called out, "Jacques Crawford!"

Jacques's face lit up when he recognized his friend. He waved, grinning.

Seeing that her part in this was over, Effie got back into her car and drove away.

As the engine roared to life, Jacques glanced back and watched Effie's car disappearing down the driveway. A flicker of disappointment crossed his face.

Maxwell, the driver, shot him a

teasing look. "What's with you, man? You look like you've just seen a ghost-or maybe lost your soul to a pretty one?"

Jacques laughed awkwardly. "I wouldn't mind if she did take my soul. Trouble is, I don't think she's interested."

"So what are you even doing out here?" Maxwell asked, still grinning. “This is the Etheridge estate-home of the richest family in the country."

Jacques shrugged, a little sheepish "I haven't been around here in ages,

took a wrong turn. Nearly got run ач

over by one of the Etheridges, actually."

"That woman just now?" Maxwell had only caught a glimpse and

hadn't gotten a good look at Eff

face but he'd definitely noticed it was a woman.