As Audrey and Yann walked toward the door, Audrey suddenly stopped. She looked down at the gift boxes on the floor and said thoughtfully, “Ms. Aldrin, you should probably take these supplements back with you. Yann and I are still young. We don’t need them.”
Olivia was speechless. She never cursed out loud, but when she wanted to, she couldn’t find the words.
Walter watched Yann’s car disappear into the distance, his expression dark and cold. ‘That little bastard has gotten too big for his britches. He doesn’t even show respect to me anymore,‘ he thought.
“Dad, what am I going to do? It’s hard to find work after 35, and at my age, with just a lame college degree, how can I survive without Darkshell International?” Olivia said in a panic.
Walter was deeply unhappy with how Yann had handled the situation, but he knew the real problem lay with Olivia.
‘Olivia stuck her nose where it didn’t belong, picking fights with Audrey for no reason. She knows how hard it is to get someone to work at Darkshell International, yet she went and got herself fired. What’s the point of regret now?‘ Walter thought.
“I warned you at Logan’s birthday party that Yann’s interest in her was just a passing phase, and to wait until the novelty wore off. You completely ignored my advice,” Walter said.
Olivia pressed her lips together in frustration. If Audrey hadn’t made such a big show of coming to the company, she wouldn’t have felt so threatened. If she had just asked Audrey to leave with her politely, and Audrey had complied, things wouldn’t have escalated like this.
“It’s all my fault. I know I was wrong, but what do we do now?” Olivia bit her lip.
“We go to Winifred Manor.” Walter narrowed his eyes.
While Yann might not care about his connection to the Aldrin family, Logan would surely care about his grandmother’s family. It would be ungrateful of
him not to.
Olivia and Walter went to Winifred Manor and told their version of events, embellishing the details as they went.
Logan’s position was crystal clear–since Darkshell International was under Yann’s management, he wouldn’t interfere. However, if they were interested, they could join his smaller company instead.
Walter and Olivia hadn’t expected this outcome at all. Logan’s small company was purely a hobby project that couldn’t compare to a major corporation like Darkshell International. The projects, the exposure, and the networking opportunities were worlds apart.
was
‘He’s just trying to brush us off!‘ Olivia thought. But if she didn’t accept the arrangement, she would really be facing unemployment. Her husband taught at a school with a fixed salary, his parents needed long–term medication, and her own parents required financial support too. The pre overwhelming.
At the gaming facility, Audrey walked into the main training room and immediately noticed an extra chair next to Hardy’s setup. A little girl was sitting in it. When she heard the door open, the little girl jumped down from the chair and threw herself into Audrey’s arms.
“Audrey, I missed you so much!” Luna exclaimed.
Audrey stared at her in shock, though not because she was surprised to see Luna. She was shocked at how fluent her speech had become.
“Hardy and I finished our checkup and ran into her in the hospital parking lot,” Edward explained from the side. “Her parents weren’t around, and we were planning to take her to the police station, but she said she was looking for you. So Hardy brought her back here.”
Luna pulled Audrey toward the computer and pointed at the screen excitedly. “Hardy is amazing! I’m amazing too!”
“This kid actually has some talent for gaming. Hardy only had to show her once and she got it…” Edward trailed off without finishing his sentence.
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Chapter 2881
Audrey knew what he meant Luna was better than she was. Luna ever taught Audrey how to control recoil and identify enemies by sound. Right in fronti of Audrey, she managed to get a kill.
Luna was looting boxes, switching weapons, and checking gear with her little fingers flying across the controls–even more skilled than Audrey’s gameplay. While they were gaming, Edward went to prepare dinner, making Audrey’s favorite barbecue.
They’d had the same meal just two days ago, and Audrey had eaten so much she couldn’t stop hiccupping. Tonight, even with the identical sauce, she had no appetite.
“What’s wrong?” Yann noticed something was off about her.
“Nothing,” Audrey smiled and ate the beef Yann grilled for her.
‘Is this all in my head?‘ Audrey wondered. Ever since Lena and Emilia had hinted about pregnancy, she felt like her body was different somehow. She seemed to get tired more easily than usual, and foods she normally loved didn’t appeal to her anymore.
‘it’s probably just psychological suggestion. I’m not actually pregnant. That’s right. That’s all it is, Audrey thought. She looked down and stuffed the beef into her mouth.
Hardy and Luna sat across from them, and somehow they managed to communicate perfectly. Hardy kept cooking all of Luna’s favorite dishes.
Yann kept watching Audrey, and when he saw her looking at Luna, he assumed she was worried about having to explain Luna’s disappearance to Clayton.
“Hardy can take her to the police station later,” Yann whispered in her ear.
“Huh?” Audrey looked at him. “What?”
Yann glanced meaningfully toward the other side of the table.
Audrey nodded, though she remained distracted throughout dinner. Audrey nodded, though she remained distracted throughout dinner.
After the meal, Luna offered to wash the dishes, but Hardy stopped her. He found a keychain from a previous gaming competition and gave it to her as a
gift.
During dinner, Yann had explained Luna’s situation to everyone.
Hardy felt a bit awkward about bringing her home, worried that Yarm might be upset given Clayton’s involvement in her circumstances.
“I’ll take her to the police station later,” Hardy said.
“Can I come back again?” Luna looked up at Hardy hopefully. She really enjoyed playing games with him. Even though Hardy wasn just felt comfortable being around him.
ch of a talker, she
“Of course you can,” Hardy said, holding up the keychain to show her the gaming center’s address and phone number printed on the bottom. “You can call me, or just take a cab over. But you need to get permission from your family first.”
Luna clutched the keychain and nodded eagerly.
On the drive home, Yann pulled Audrey into his arms and took her hand. “Valerie is serving her sentence under medical supervision because she has an
infectious disease.”
Since Valerie had committed her crimes in Ashbourne, she had to check in regularly with the local Courthouse while actively seeking treatment. Once her condition was cured, she’d be sent to serve her full prison sentence.
Her illness was fairly severe. Clinical recovery would take about six months with proper treatment. That timeline assumed Valerie would cooperate fully with medical care. If she refused treatment and let the disease progress, there was no telling how long it might drag on.
“Well, getting sick certainly worked out in her favor,” Audrey sighed.
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Chapter 288
Valerie escaped her punishment, but Cheryl wasn’t so lucky. Even though she was just an accomplice, she still had to spend a year behind bars.
According to Luna, Valerie had latched onto Clayton again.
‘That sickly man got abandoned by his own family, can barely take care of his kid, and now he’s got a woman climbing all over him like a parasite, Audrey thought. ‘He made his bed, now he can choke on the consequences.’
Just then, Audrey’s stomach growled loudly, “I want some beef stew,” she said.
“Ryder, take us to the beef stew place,” Yann instructed.
When they arrived, the restaurant was about to close, but Yann had connections. The staff opened a private dining room just for them.
Audrey had been craving beef stew so badly she was practically drooling, but when the glossy, rich dish arrived at their table, her appetite completely vanished. Not wanting Yann to notice anything unusual, she forced herself to eat half the plate.
As soon as they got back to Hillcrest Gardens, Audrey rushed straight to the bathroom and threw up everything.
Yann’s deep eyes grew serious as he brought her a glass of water and gently rubbed her back. “You should get checked out tomorrow,” he said quietly.
Audrey waved him off and bent over for another wave of nausea.
When she finally felt like she was done, she took the glass and rinsed her mouth. “I’m fine. I’ve probably just been so stressed about the lawsuit that now that it’s over, my body doesn’t know how to relax.”
Yann didn’t believe a word of her excuse.
