Chapter 234
Blake’s POV
I watched Audrey walk out of Parker Group. Ho
“Blake darling… it hurts…”
head was held high despite the whispers around her.
Laurel’s voice pulled me back to the scene sh
was
creating. Employees gathered around her sprawled figure on the lobby floor.
I’d witnessed the entire incident – there was nothing genuine about her fall.
“Miss Rose, are you okay?” an executive asked, kneeling beside her.
“Someone should call security! That woman assaulted Miss Rose!” another voice called out.
I frowned as Laurel clutched her chest, breathing deliberately hard. “Blake darling…” S She reached up with a trembling hand. “I can’t… breathe… I think I’m having an attack…”
The employees exchanged worried glances.
“Miss Rose looks terrible!” someone whispered.
“It’s Audrey Sinclair’s fault! She pushed Miss Rose…”
“She just walked away afterward. So rude!”
“Should we call an ambulance? She looks bad…”
Laurel glanced at me to gauge my reaction. When she saw my expression, she quickly changed tactics.
“Don’t blame Miss Sinclair,” she gasped. “I’m sure she… didn’t mean to…”
I’d had enough.
“Enough,” I muttered just loud enough for her to hear.
I grabbed the shopping bags I’d dropped and thrust them into her arms. She instinctively took them, forgetting her breathing problems for a
moment.
“I have something to take care of, I announced to the room. “You all can finish up here.”
I turned and walked out, feeling their shocked stares on my back as the doors closed behind me.
In my car, I spotted Audrey at the curb hailing a taxi. She wore a light pink dress I recognized. The breeze showed how much weight she’d lost the dress that once fit her perfectly now hung loose.
I remembered seeing her in that dress two months ago.
I’d come home early to find her in front of the mirror, talking to Astrid on the phone.
“This dress is great, but it runs small,” she was saying,
“djusting the fabric. “Don’t worry, I’ll slim down to fit it soon!”
She caught sight of me in the mirror and quickly ended her call, turning with a surprised smile.
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Chapter 234
“You’re home early. Have you eaten? What would you like for dinner?
Even caught off guard, her first thought was my comfort.
Now that dress hung loosely on her frame. Had our divorce affected her that much?
A taxi pulled up. She got in, and I noticed it heading toward the Parker mansion.
A knock on my window interrupted my thoughts.
Laurel stood outside, face tear–stained but posture perfect. Nothing about her suggested someone who’d just struggled to breathe.
I lowered the window. “What?”
“Blake darling,” she sobbed, “how could you leave me like that?”
“Laurel,” I said flatly. “Audrey came to deliver our engagement ring designs. This was our first interaction since that night. Your performance was unnecessary.”
Her face paled.
“Don’t waste your acting skills on petty games,” I said.
I raised the window and drove off, heading toward the Parker mansion.
When I arrived, I paused in the doorway. William sat talking with Audrey. Neither had noticed me yet.
William’s voice carried clearly: “That’s right! If you can’t cherish someone and choose someone else, what right do you have to chase after them once you’re apart?”
I stopped, recognizing the comment was aimed at me. After a moment, I turned and quietly left.
Audrey’s POV
I found William on the sofa wiping tears as he watched a soap opera. Hearing me approach, he quickly straightened up.
“Audrey, you’re here,” he said, trying to sound casual despite his red eyes.
I glanced at the TV, amused to see William Parker moved to tears by a drama.
“Is it that good?” I asked, sitting beside him.
William cleared his throat. “It’s quite compelling.”
His enthusiasm broke through as he explained the plot. “The lead has a terminal illness but tells no one. She even divorces her husband to spare him pain.”
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