Chapter 27
Blake’s POV
Grandpa’s words echoed through the grand living room, and my jaw clenched involuntarily. How dare he suggest I let Audrey go? After everything thời bất happened at his birthday celebration, after her public declaration of divorce, after that scene with James Collins – now my own grandfather was taking bet side?
Before I could respond, Laurel’s quiet sob drew my attention. She stood by the white marble pillar, one hand pressed delicately against it los support, her fate a perfect picture of distress.
It’s all my fault…” Her voice trembled with carefully controlled emotion. If I had known my return would cause such damage to Blake and Audrey’s marriage, I would have rather died in Europe than come back…”
I watched her dab at her eyes with a monogrammed handkerchief, something twisting uncomfortably in my chest. She looked so fragile, so genuinely remorseful. This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go.
Laurel turned toward the door, but her steps were deliberately slow, almost theatrical. “Perhaps… perhaps I should just go back to Europe…
“Don’t you dare!” Thalia’s voice cut through the tension as she rushed to block Laurel’s path. My sister’s face was flushed with emotion, her usual composure cracking. “Three years ago when Blake was in a coma, you went to Europe for three months to help search for new treatments. Before you could even retur, he married that… that country girl.”
Her words hung in the air like smoke, acrid and bitter. “If you hadn’t gone to Europe then, someone like her would never have had the chance to marry into the Parker family!”
I saw Audrey’s lips curve into a cold smile at that.
“I’m curious, Miss Rose,” she spoke up. “When you went to Europe seeking treatments, did you take any of Blake’s medical records with you?”
The question landed like a stone in still water, ripples of tension spreading through the room. I frowned, something about her tone setting off warning bells.
“Tell me, Miss Ross.” She continued. “His vital signs data? Or his diagnostic reports?”
Laurel’s face turned a shade paler, her composure cracking just slightly. The silence that followed was deafening.
Audrey tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her voice carrying a deadly calm. “When Blake was in a coma three years ago, I was the one taking care of him. I worked with the nurses to monitor all his vital signs. I still have all that data saved on my laptop. But you, Miss Rose.”
What Audrey said completely stunned everyone present – including me. Indeed, taking care of a vegetative patient had been no easy feat. My family members had only come to visit me in the hospital occasionally, but she had come almost every day to assist the nurses in taking care of me. I saw my mother, my sister, and even I myself unconsciously lowered my head a bit. Audrey wasn’t done yet.
She took out her phone. “According to online sources. Three years ago, you joined an acting training camp the moment you arrived in Europe, spending six months on intensive drama training? I’d love to know how exactly you managed to search for treatments during that time?”
I watched Laurel’s pale face, her manicured hands twisting the handkerchief. Something cold settled in my stomach as I remembered those months confusion of waking up from the coma, everyone telling me how Laurel had been searching for treatments while Audrey chose to take care of me in order to
marry me.
–
the
Had I never questioned that story?
Am I wrong? No, impossible! It couldn’t be that.
“Enough.” My voice came out harder than intended, drawing every eye in the room. I turned to Audrey, who stood straight–backed despite everything, her chin lifted stubbornly.
She spoke up, “Fine, we should stop wasting/time. Let’s go to the courthouse now.”
