After being snubbed at Hillcrest Gardens today, Lucia felt terrible. When she got home, she barely touched her dinner before heading to her art studios.
They said writing helped calm the mind, but Lucia’s restless heart made everything she wrote look awkward and forced. Her studio door was wede with crumpled half–finished pieces scattered across the floor.
Lucia figured that when Logan walked by and saw the mess, he’d definitely come in to ask what was wrong. Then, she could put on her magnanimous act and express her grievances from the perspective of a concerned mother worried about her daughter.
But Logan completely caught her off guard today. He was in an incredibly good mood. Not only had he seen Amelia, but he’d actually sat with her to discuss the wedding invitations. It was the kind of warm, comfortable scene he never could have imagined in his wildest dreams.
So, when Logan passed by her studio door, he didn’t even notice that something was bothering Lucia. Logan was humming to himself, practically bouncing as he walked past.
Lucia just stared, speechless. She hadn’t seen Logan show his emotions like this in ages. ‘Just because he saw Amelia? If he loves her so much, why did he divorce her in the first place? Why did he marry me?‘ she thought.
Lucia clawed at the paper on her desk, crumpling it into a tight ball. She raised her hand to throw it, but Logan suddenly turned around and came back. “Lucia.”
Her twisted expression instantly melted into hopeful anticipation. Lucia hid the crumpled paper behind her back. “I’m here.”
Logan stood in the doorway, glancing at all the paper scattered on the floor. If she hadn’t heard him humming earlier, she never would have been able to tell from his face that he was in a good mood.
His eyes shifted and settled on Lucia. “For Yann’s wedding, you don’t need to show up.”
It hit Lucia like a thunderbolt. ‘Excluding me from their wedding planning was bad enough, but why won’t they even let me attend?’ she thought.
Seeing Lucia’s shocked expression, Logan raised his hand to stroke his chin and said coolly, “There will be quite a few mutual friends of Amelia and me that day. Your position would be awkward, so it’s better if you stay away.”
Behind her back, Lucia’s hands clenched the paper so tightly that her knuckles turned pale. She thought, ‘What’s awkward about my position? If he thinks my position is so awkward, then he shouldn’t have married me in the first place.
‘Oh right, when he married me, there wasn’t any big celebration either. Just dinner with a few of Logan’s close friends and the Winifred family.
The anger in Lucia’s heart raged like a hurricane. But on the surface, she was still trying hard to maintain her gentle and virtuous image. She was really furious though. Her anger was so hard to hide that her body started trembling slightly.
“I’ll do whatever you say. You tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. Audrey has prejudices against me, but what mother doesn’t love her child? I had no choice back then.” As Lucia spoke, tears began falling. She was actually crying.
Lucia felt that excluding her wasn’t really about Logan’s friends at all–it was Audrey’s idea. Audrey hated her for abandoning George back then, so she wouldn’t let her attend the wedding. She was deliberately trying to humiliate her.
Logan was about to walk in, but when he saw the crumpled paper on the floor, he stepped back. “Time reveals a person’s true nature. If you’re good to Audrey, she’ll recognize it eventually.”
That ungrateful brat will never appreciate anything,‘ Lucia thought angrily, but she nodded obediently. “I will.”
“I’m going to rest now. Tomorrow, we’re going to look at venues, so you should get some sleep too.” Logan turned and left.
Lucia listened to his footsteps fade away and heard the master bedroom door close. Then, she hurled the crumpled paper in her hand against the wall with all her strength.
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‘That damn girl, Lucia thought. I should have drowned her in the pond when i had the chance, knowing what an ungrateful snake she’d turn out to be
The angrier Lucia got, the more worked up she became. There was no way she could write anything now, and sleep was impossible. She tossed and turned in bed until she woke up Logan.
“What the hell are you doing?” Logan snapped irritably.
“…” Lucia turned on the bedside lamp so Logan could see her swollen, tear–stained eyes. She sobbed, “When Audrey got marned last time, I missed t because I went with you on that business trip. Now I can’t attend this wedding either. As her mother, I feel so guilty”
Logan’s brow furrowed deeply. He had no idea when was the last time Audrey got married. Even though she was his stepchild and they rarely spoke after the marriage, he would have at least prepared a wedding gift for something this important.
If Lucia had wanted to give Audrey a generous wedding gift, Logan wouldn’t have objected. The Winifred family certainly wasn’t hurting for money. But Lucia had never mentioned this to him before.
Last year, when Logan went abroad for business, he hadn’t planned to bring Lucia along. She was the one who insisted on coming, saying she was worried about his health and afraid the foreign food wouldn’t agree with his stomach.
Lucia said she had to come take care of him. Now, she was making it sound like she had sacrificed for Audrey, which created resentment between them.
Seeing Logan’s face darken, Lucia knew when to stop. “It’s all my fault for disturbing your rest. I’ll go sleep in the guest room.” She turned to leave, but moved slowly, waiting for Logan to ask her to stay.
Lucia walked all the way to the door, but Logan never said a word. When she looked back, Logan had already laid down and gone to sleep.
Lucia went to the guest room next door and deliberately made as much noise as possible. She went downstairs for water, then to the bathroom, making a racket each time.
No matter how much commotion she caused, Logan never came to check on her or show any concern. She finally fell asleep, filled with resentment.
The next day, Audrey woke up in warm arms. The moment she stirred, Yann opened his eyes. “Are you uncomfortable?” His hand immediately moved to cover her lower abdomen.
Audrey caught his hand and said patiently, “You told me not to stress too much, but I think you’re more nervous than I am. I’m fine. Nothing hurts at all.” “Then why did you wake up so early?” It was only six o’clock, and Audrey usually slept until after eight.
“I drank too much soup last night and need to use the bathroom.” As soon as Audrey finished speaking, Yann sat up and reached out to carry her.
Audrey quickly pressed her hands against his chest to stop him. “I don’t feel anything wrong right now, so don’t treat me lik
disabled.”
Yann frowned and pinched her lips to stop her from talking nonsense.
Audrey put on a sweet smile and got out of bed by herself. When she came back from the bathroom, she crawled back into his arms to continue sleeping Yann got up at seven.
Audrey slept until she naturally woke up, her stomach growling with hunger. Even though she’d eaten plenty last night, she was starving again. After washing up and going downstairs, the servants had already prepared a lavish breakfast.
Audrey had just sat down when Quentin arrived with two people–a man and a woman. He didn’t avoid her when talking to Yann, so Audrey learned that the man was a bodyguard Yann had arranged for her.
The woman was a doctor who also had nutritionist certification and would be responsible for creating customized meal plans for her.
The man nodded to Audrey. “Mrs. Winifred, I’m Hugo Graham.”
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The woman also introduced herself, “Sylvie Marchand.”
“Thank you both for your help.” Audrey nodded to them.
Sylvie took samples of the breakfast and then prepared a new meal plan for Audrey to review. After confirming Audrey was satisfied, she handed it to the servants to prepare.
Just as Audrey was about to continue eating, Emilia’s call came through. “Someone’s filed a complaint saying our face masks are false advertising and caused skin allergies and imitation.”
AD
