Chapter 307
“Oh?” Audrey glanced up. “I feel a bit swollen.”
“Let me massage them.” Sylvie placed a clean towel over her feet.
“Don’t try to massage them yourself. Generally, pregnant women shouldn’t get foot treatments during the first three months and the last three months of pregnancy. It might stimulate the fetus. I’ll do it gently to help you relax for now,” Sylvie said.
Sylvie had barely begun when Audrey suddenly pulled her feet back. “Wait a second.”
Audrey’s every reaction affected Sylvie’s performance metrics. Instantly, Sylvie asked, “Does it hurt?”
“No.” Audrey lifted the hem of her dress. “I need to use the restroom.”
Wearing a formal gown made things inconvenient, so Audrey hadn’t planned on eating anything. But Amelia, worried she might go hungry, had given her two boiled eggs.
Audrey had choked down the yolks, washing them down with a few sips of water. She had already visited the restroom once before the ceremony. After drinking a glass of milk, she felt the urge again.
“That’s normal. Frequent urination is common in the early stages,” Sylvie said, accompanying Audrey to the restroom.
Outside the lounge, a man in the garden stared fixedly in their direction.
It was Clayton. When he woke up, the wedding ceremony had long since ended. Like a rat scurrying in the shadows, he lurked in the darkness, gazing from afar at the banquet hall.
From a distance, he caught sight of the newlyweds making their rounds with toast. He moved toward the hall almost against his will.
Clayton’s dereliction of duty forced his colleagues to pick up the slack. The moment he stepped out, they shooed him away. His misconduct had already been broadcast over the walkie–talkies. He couldn’t get the pay and might even lose his deposit.
If Clayton caused trouble today, this would be the security company’s final job. Even the boss would suffer the consequences.
Clayton was about to leave when he noticed someone escorting Audrey toward the lounge. He immediately changed course, circling to follow.
Hugo guarded the door, making it impossible for Clayton to get close. All he could do was stare from a distance.
Hugo, sharp–eyed, had already noticed Clayton’s presence, but he didn’t move to shoo him away, just in case this was some kind of trick. His only job was to keep Audrey safe.
“What are you doing here?” A security guard patrolling the area jabbed Clayton’s backside with a rubber baton.
Caught off guard, Clayton stumbled forward, nearly tripping out of the bushes. “I know the bride. I just wanted to say hello.”
The guard scoffed, “What makes you think someone like you knows the bride? Loser.”
“I’m not lying. I really know her.”
Now that he had been spotted, Clayton didn’t bother hiding. He strode up to the lounge entrance and looked up at the towering Hugo. “I’m Clayton Patel. Could you tell Audrey that I’m here? I just want to wish her a happy wedding, nothing else.”
Hugo stood three steps above him, staring down impassively.
“I swear I know her. Please tell her. She’ll see me,” Clayton insisted, growing more desperate.
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Chapter 307
Hugo pressed a finger on his earpiece and relayed the situation to Sylvie inside.
When Sylvie got the message, she passed it along while helping Audrey adjust her dress.
“I don’t know him,” Audrey said, tugging at her borderline. Her legs were swollen, and her chest felt tight. “Don’t let anyone ruin my wedding”
Sylvie relayed Audrey’s message, and Hugo couldn’t even be bothered to respond to Clayton. He simply shot a glance at the security guard.
The guard caught on instantly. “Are you insane? Stop spouting nonsense. Come with me.”
“I’m not insane!” Clayton refused to leave. He couldn’t accept how his life had fallen apart, how he had lost Audrey for good, and how even seeing her had become a pipe dream.
As the guard dragged him away, Clayton twisted around and screamed toward the lounge door, his voice raw with desperation, “Audrey, it’s me! I’m Clayton. Come out and see me. Please!”
Hugo’s face darkened. He pulled something from his pocket and then flicked his fingers.
“Audrey, we were-” Clayton’s words cut off abruptly. His eyes widened in pain. He stopped struggling and was quickly hauled outside.
The guard, furious, shoved him hard. “Damn it! Get a grip on yourself! Do you even know whose wedding this is? Talking nonsense like that!”
Clayton, frail and broken, crumpled to the ground. He opened his palm. A bloody front tooth lay in it.
“Don’t try to frame me for this.” The guard bolted off
to
report to his supervisor.
The tooth had been knocked out by Hugo. Clayton sat in silence for a long while before burying his face in his hands and wailing.
“Man up and shut it!” A cold voice snapped, and a pack of tissues landed beside Clayton.
He stopped crying and looked up to see a woman with a sweet face, but her eyes were sharp and calculating. It was Jocelyn.
“Thanks.” Clayton tore open the tissues, wiping his tears and then the blood from his mouth.
“You’re Audrey’s ex–husband?” Jocelyn didn’t have an invitation to the wedding, but she had booked a table at the adjacent reception hall.
Thanks to Clayton’s negligence, she had slipped into the periphery, but she couldn’t get past the lounge. And soon, his shouting had drawn her over.
“You want Audrey back?” Jocelyn asked. “I can help you.”
Clayton froze. He slowly lifted his head, disbelief flashing across his face. “You’ll help me?”
Jocelyn nodded.
“Why?” A flicker of hope flashed across Clayton’s eyes, then replaced by suspicion. “Do you have a grudge against Audrey?”
“Audrey got everything from Yann–wealth, status, and a new life,” Jocelyn said bluntly, not hiding her contempt as she looked at him. “If she came back to you, your life wouldn’t be this miserable anymore. Are you accepting of how things are now?”
No way Clayton was going to just accept this. But he wasn’t a fool. “What do you want? I won’t do anything to hurt Audrey.”
Jocelyn snorted coldly, “Real men don’t get hung up on the details. No wonder Audrey left you. You’re spineless, always hesitating and holding back.”
Clayton’s face paled at her words. His gaze drifted to the bloody tooth he had just tossed aside. Slowly, his expression hardened.
Suddenly, a business card fluttered to the ground in front of him.
Jocelyn couldn’t even be bothered to hand it to him. “Call me if you make up your mind. After midnight tonight, I won’t waste another second on you.”
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Chapter 307
With that, she turned on her heel and strode off. She pressured Clayton to force him into action. Otherwise, with his weak–willed nature, he would never commit.
Audrey had ruined StellarCore and destroyed Eclat. Jocelyn was determined to make her pay.
The thought of her plan unfolding, of Audrey’s reputation crumbling and Yann dumping her, lit a fire in Jocelyn’s eyes.
A smirk curled her lips, lending her adorable face an eerie vitality. Lost in her triumphant fantasy, she rounded the security barricade. But the next second, she froze mid–step.
Her head snapped up, and the color drained from her face as she saw the man standing before her.
