Chapter 290
The red–haired man spotted them and quickly tapped the round–faced guy, pointing in their direction.
“Let’s go,” Lena urged.
Seeing the round–faced man get out of the car and both men heading their way, Lena grabbed Audrey and they took off running
When the men realized they were fleeing, they picked up the pace and gave chase.
“Drive. Now!” Audrey jumped into the car first while Lena slammed the door shut and yelled at the driver to get moving
The car pulled away, and the two men gradually fell behind until they finally stopped chasing.
The round faced man patted the red–haired guy on the shoulder. The redhead said something about going to get their car to continue the pursuit, but the round–faced man talked him out of it.
“What kind of creeps were those?” Lena turned around in her seat, fanning herself with her hand. Her cheeks were puffed out in indignation. “My mom trusts Hilda so much, and this is what she sets me up with?
“If they just want to fool around, why don’t they stick to messing around with their buddies for the rest of their lives? Why marry a woman just to keep her at home like a decoration?”
“Don’t be upset anymore,” Audrey comforted her.
02
Lena pouted and looked at Audrey with guilt. “Audrey, please don’t tell Yann about this, okay? If he finds out you went on a blind date because of me, he’ll definitely kill me.”
“Don’t worry. He won’t.”
“Yes, he will!” Lena grabbed her arm. “I didn’t understand it before, but now I get it.”
A few years ago, Lena had seen an abstract painting in Yann’s room. It was extremely abstract–just simple lines sketching out face shapes with stick figure bodies. She couldn’t tell if they were male or female, but she could see what they were doing.
Some were riding bikes, others playing ball, running, and so on. All these abstract stick figures had one thing in common–where the there was a black dot positioned diagonally below.
eyes
should be,
At the time, Lena had grabbed the painting and run out to ask Yann what it was. She wasn’t watching where she was going, tripped, and dropped the painting into the artificial fountain.
The painting was ruined. Yann had seemed calm about it, and Logan had said it was no big deal.
“But after I went back to school, my teachers became incredibly harsh with me,” Lena said.
“You know I’m a dance major. If I gained even an ounce they wouldn’t let me eat. If I didn’t nail a move perfectly, they made me practice until i questioned my existence. Ever since I met you…”
Lena pointed to the small mole near Audrey’s eye. “I realized that Yann had a crush on you way back then. I destroyed his painting, so he got his revenge on me.” She linked arms with Audrey and acted cute, begging her not to tell Yann about what happened.
Audrey patted her hand reassuringly. “If he’s really angry, he should take it up with those two guys. They’re the ones who put you to the test.”
Lena thought about it for a moment and nodded vigorously. ‘Audrey’s right,‘ she thought. I brought Audrey along to help me screen guys. I didn’t ask
them to harass her.‘
Feeling better about the situation, Lena reached over to touch Audrey’s stomach. “You ran so fast back there. Are you okay?”
Chapter 290
Audrey laughed at her concern. “I could run 10 miles right now.” When Yann took her out for exercise, they ran much faster than that,
After dropping Lena off, Audrey packed her things and headed back to Ironhaven. She arrived at Royal House just as dinner time approached
Audrey walked through the front gate and then immediately backed out again. I didn’t get the address wrong, so why didn’t the inside look like my house?‘ she thought. She stepped back onto the path and carefully examined the surrounding buildings to get her bearings.
“Mrs. Winifred?” Zoe came running from the side of the house, carrying a gardening trowel. “Is that you, Mrs. Winifred?”
“Zoe?” Audrey walked back through the gate. “I thought I had the wrong place.”
“No, you’re in the right spot,” Zoe said, wiping her hands on her apron before taking Audrey’s suitcase. “After you left for Ashbourne, Ms. Smollett brought a crew in to renovate the house.”
Zoe was grinning so widely she could barely contain herself. She had witnessed firsthand how the Patel family treated Audrey. Compared to Vann’s family, it was like night and day.
Just because Talia mentioned that the house wasn’t renovated, implying that Yann didn’t value Audrey, Amelia immediately hired professional designers to create a custom layout tailored specifically for Audrey.
Everyone said that wealthy families had complicated and difficult relationships between the ladies, but Amelia treated Audrey like an absolute treasure.
During the renovation period, Zoe didn’t take any time off. Amelia gave her a raise and had her supervise the progress using the design plans.
Every room was completed, and even though they used eco–friendly materials, they kept the windows open for ventilation. Professional landscapers were coming tomorrow to transplant flowers in the garden.
Just the cat’s eye green stones embedded in the entryway wall showed how expensive everything was. The house came with a basement level that had never been used before, but now it was designed as a wine tasting area with a comfortable reading nook.
“I heard the design fees alone cost 300 thousand dollars,” Zoe said. She’d never seen anything this extravagant in her life. “Mrs. Winifred, when you went to Ashbourne, did you meet Mr. Winifred’s other family members?”
“Yes, I did,” Audrey smiled faintly.
“Are they all as easy to get along with as Ms. Smollett?”
Audrey thought about it. Everyone seemed fine except for Lucia. She nodded.
Zoe gave her a tour of the house and asked if she’d eaten yet. When she learned that Audrey hadn’t had dinner, Zoe quickly went to cook something for
her.
Audrey went upstairs to rest in the bedroom and called Yann to let him know she was back in Ironhaven and would return in a cour
Yann’s mood instantly dropped, and he gave a subdued grunt of acknowledgment.
“Amelia had the house redecorated,” Audrey mentioned.
“If you don’t like it, we can buy a new place,” Yann immediately replied.
days.
“No, I like it,” Audrey said quickly. She’d previously thought she wouldn’t be living in Ironhaven regularly since Yann’s business was centered in Ashbourne, and FlexiTech Group was based there too.
Once Audrey’s skincare line was stable and launched, she planned to establish headquarters in Ashbourne as well. This place would just be for occasional visits, so there hadn’t seemed any point in major expenses.
“As long as you like it,” Yann said. He seemed to be busy with something.
Audrey could hear papers rustling through the phone. “Go ahead and work. I’ll grab something to eat,” she said.
Chapter 290
After hanging up, Audrey called Amelia to express her grabitude and genuine appreciation for the renovat
“Why did you suddenly go back? I wanted to surprise you. The garden landscaping won’t be finished until tomorrow
“I came to check on the face mask production line. Thank you so much. I absolutely love everything.” Audrey replied,
“I’m glad you like it. No need to thank me.”
They chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up.
While Audrey went downstairs to eat, Amelia immediately called Yann. “Did you upset Audrey? Why did she suddenly run back to fronhaver
“No, I didn’t,” Yann sighed.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“If you dare treat Audrey badly, don’t expect me to go easy on you.”
After Amelia hung up, Yann thought for a moment and called Hardy. “You can help that little girl if you want to, but don’t let her appear in front of Audrey.
Hardy realized this made sense. Luna might be pitiful, but she was still Valerie’s daughter. There was no way Audrey could have positive feelings toward the child of the woman who destroyed her family.
Besides, Luna’s custody belonged to Valerie and Clayton, so any contact with Luna would inevitably mean encountering them both.
“I understand,” Hardy replied.
Audrey had no idea that her simple return to Ironhaven had, despite being completely innocent, already affected everyone around her.
Both Yann and Amelia were equally suspicious that someone close to them had done something to upset Audrey.
AD
