Chapter 65: Blocked and Bedeviled
“What reasons?” Sophia’s softness didn’t last long; she quickly became stern again. “Carly is still your elder, and Ellis is supposed to be your lifelong partner. You think making their lives difficult will make yours any easier?”
“Mom, you should get some rest. I’m leaving now.”
Easton declared his departure and left without room for negotiation, leaving Sophia with no options. He hadn’t even stepped out of Sophia’s place when he pulled out his phone to dial a number he rarely contacted.
“Sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service!”
After calling three times and receiving the same message, his brow furrowed. Why was Ellis’s number out of service? Did he dial it wrong? He double-checked the contact list, and the name ‘Wife’ confirmed he hadn’t.
Ellis could sometimes be childish, especially about minor details. She had once insisted on taking his phone to personally edit her contact name, as if to brand him visibly as ‘Ellis’s husband.’ She had set the contact herself, and there was no chance he had dialed the wrong number. Had she changed her number without telling him? That wasn’t like her at all.
Once back in his car, Easton switched to WhatsApp instead of calling. At the same time, Ellis, who had just finished getting ready for bed, decided to check her phone to wind down. A notification popped up indicating a new message on WhatsApp—Frederic texted. “Where are you?”
A question mark flashed before her eyes. Who is Frederic? Quickly recognizing the profile picture, she realized it was Easton, using his nickname and WhatsApp handle. Wait, haven’t I deleted Easton as a friend? Why is he still able to message me? And why is he asking for my location in the middle of the night?
Curious and puzzled, she replied, “Is something up?”
Only seconds after her message sent, Easton replied with another message. “I know exactly what you’ve been up to recently! Do you find life too peaceful? Does stirring up trouble make you feel better?”
The message was laden with displeasure, and she could almost see Easton’s frowning face. But she didn’t want to deal with it and instead cursed WhatsApp. What kind of lousy app was this, allowing deleted contacts to still send messages? Thinking it over, she realized she hadn’t actually blocked him.
After quickly blocking Easton, Ellis turned off her phone and went to bed. What did it matter what Easton said? He complained about her causing trouble, and she was spooked by his “ghosting” on her WhatsApp. She needed to clear her mind of his negativity before sleeping.
“Resign from Tate Group immediately, let Carly cool off, and stop using my mother to nullify our prenup. I won’t hold it against you; otherwise, you’ll face the consequences.”
Easton had intended to speak with Ellis face-to-face, but considering it was late, he felt a message on WhatsApp would suffice. After typing out his final warning, he imagined the different ways he might teach her a lesson.
Unexpectedly, a red exclamation mark appeared on his screen along with a message, “You are not friends.” Accustomed to Ellis’s frequent messages, it never crossed his mind that he would be unable to send one to her, and the chat history still displayed her previous affectionate messages like “Kiss me, hubby! Love me!” juxtaposed with the stark red warning. Had she deleted me? His face darkened as he tried to send a friend request.
The red exclamation mark appeared again, accompanied by “Message sent, but recipient has blocked you.” Clearly, Ellis had…
What did this mean? At that moment, Easton felt a mix of frustration and irritation. He was used to dismissing her overbearing messages, occasionally blocking her for half a day, but now, Ellis had taken it to the next level by deleting and blocking him entirely—a move he had never reciprocated. This upset him deeply.
As Ellis slept in the dark, the world suddenly brightened, the light stinging her eyes. Half-awake, she squinted, unable to discern if it was the sun or another light source, her mind foggy with confusion. Was it morning already?
Driven by instinct, she reached under her pillow for her phone to check the time. Just then, a sound resembling footsteps echoed. Ellis became more alert and reflexively looked in the direction of the sound. To her shock, a tall man approached her, his handsome and stern features unmistakably familiar. Easton! Am I sleepwalking, or is this a hallucination?
Under her astonished gaze, the man stopped by her bed and slowly spoke in a deep voice, “Awake?” It was no hallucination; her mind snapped fully alert.