Chapter 440

Adrian Blackwood remembered that Dominic Sinclair's girlfriend wasn't some spoiled heiress. She'd built her own fashion label from scratch, and this luxury watch she'd gifted him must have cost her months of earnings.

His thoughts drifted to Vivian Hartley. Despite her recent success with both acting and scriptwriting projects, she'd never bothered to get him anything meaningful. Julian Montclair's grand gestures still occupied her thoughts, while his own efforts went unnoticed.

The sight of that ridiculous green frog plushie in the bedroom corner made his jaw tighten. With deliberate calm, he typed: "That watch will outlast your relationship. Enjoy it while you can."

Gift or no gift, he wasn't about to let Dominic have the last word.

His phone lit up instantly with Dominic's call. Adrian declined without hesitation. He could already hear the whiny excuses about "true love" and "meaningful connections."

Fingers flying across the screen, he sent another message: "Public displays of affection are just compensation for private insecurities."

The moment it sent, he grimaced. Coming from him, that was rich.

Dominic's reply came fast: "Spoken like someone who's never been properly loved. Maybe if you'd shown Vivian how you felt—"

"Fuck off," Adrian typed, cutting him off mid-sentence.

A barrage of voice messages followed. When Adrian predictably ignored them, Dominic switched to text: "You're just bitter. Being with Audrey makes me feel alive in ways I never imagined. If I could spend eternity wrapped in her embrace, I'd die a happy man."

Adrian's lip curled in disgust as he blocked the number, then wiped his hands with a sanitizing cloth as if scrubbing away the conversation.

Opening his laptop, he tried focusing on work emails. But his mind kept circling back—had Vivian ever given him anything? She maintained their penthouse flawlessly, anticipated his every need... but actual gifts?

His wardrobe was perpetually stocked by personal shoppers from Opal Galleria. That time he'd shown interest in a limited-edition tie at Emerald Pizzeria, she'd said, "You have three dozen untouched ties at home. Let's find you something you'll actually wear."

Yet whenever he traveled, he always returned with something special for her—that sapphire necklace from Sapphire Springs, the antique script from Sterling & Co's rare books collection...

The double standard stung more than he cared to admit.