Filed to story: Leaving the Country After Divorce Novel (Lucian & Roxanne)
“Who was the woman in the photo?” Gina asked with a frown.
Auhree‘s chest heaved violently. She swept an icy gaze over the phone screen without saying a single word.
Receiving no response after a long time, Gina pressed, “Who was that woman? Was it that won with the last name Jarvis?”
Other than Roxanne, she couldn‘t think of anyone else.
At the mention of Roxanne, Aubree replied through gritted teeth, “It was that b*tch all right!”
Never mind that she embarrassed me during the banquet back then, but my impending marriage with Lucian is already public knowledge now, yet she‘s still clinging on to him shamelessly! Fortunately, the photos taken by the media are blurry, and not many can tell that it wasn‘t me. Otherwise, I‘d be a laughingstock again!
At that thought, her face flushed bright red with fury. Her hands hanging by her sides balled into fists, her nails embedding into her palms.
Although Gina had long since harbored that guess, her expression still turned as dark as night when she heard that confirmation from her daughter.
She thought that the marriage between the two families would be a guaranteed thing after news of Lucian and Aubree‘s impending marriage leaked out.
Never had she thought that things would still be variable.
I never knew that Lucian and that woman are so close!
“Don‘t panic. Since everyone is saying that it was you, we‘ll just feign ignorance,” Gina ordered, lifting her eyes after a long moment.
Aubree naturally wouldn‘t take the initiative to humiliate herself, so she agreed with a frosty expression.
Aubree, Gina, and Samuel discussed for a long time before coming to a consensus to have Sonya resolve the matter.
After all, Sonya was the most supportive of Aubree marrying into the Farwell family, and Lucian would still obey her to a certain degree.
In consideration of that, Gina asked Sonya out right away.
“You’re here as well, Aubree? What would you like to eat? It’s my treat today.” Sonya didn’t notice anything amiss, taking her seat across from them with a smile.
Aubree’s smile was a tad forced. “Thank you, Mrs. Farwell, but I don’t have much appetite today.”
After saying that, she despondently lowered her head and placed both hands on her knees, twining her fingers together.
Seeing that, Sonya queried in concern, “Are you not in a good mood? What happened?”
However, Aubree merely pursed her lips and shook her head.
At that, Sonya looked at Gina in bafflement.
Gina’s smile was likewise forced. She took out her phone and logged on to Twitter. This time, she didn’t even have to search before she spotted the news report on the trending list. She tapped on it right away and handed the phone to Sonya. “Look at this headline.”
Sonya’s heart clenched at both their expressions, but still, she reached out and took it.
A smile bloomed on her face when she saw the contents of the news report. “I just knew that they make the perfect couple. Lucian will definitely treat Aubree all the better after getting married.”
She vaguely found it strange when she again glimpsed the expressions of the two women across from her, but she couldn’t fathom the reason.
Sure enough, she didn’t even realize that the woman in the photo wasn’t Aubree.
Suppressing the chagrin within her, Gina glanced at her daughter beside her before commenting with a conflicted expression, “But… Aubree wasn’t sick at all last night. She was at home the whole night.”
The moment Sonya heard that, the smile on her face gradually faded.
Aubree was at home last night. In other words, the woman in the photo wasn’t her. Then, who else could it be?
She stared at the photo on the screen intently, a vague conjecture surfacing within her.
It was uncertain whether her presumption helped things along, but as she looked at the woman in the photo, the more she felt that it was Roxanne.
Forcing a smile, Gina put on an understanding expression and ventured, “I was afraid that there’s a misunderstanding, so I’d like to ask whether Lucian has a cousin or something. Otherwise, this is really quite unacceptable.”
At that, Aubree finally lifted her head and waited for Sonya’s answer with an aggrieved yet hopeful expression.
At the sight of her prospective daughter-in-law suffering such a grievance, a wealth of guilt swamped Sonya when she glanced at the photo of her son carrying another woman once more. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Aubree about the identity of the woman in the photo.
A long while later, she enunciated, “No matter what, news of the wedding has been circulated. Now that such a scandal has broken out, our family is indeed at fault. Don’t worry, Aubree. I’ll definitely talk to Lucian. Such a thing will never happen again in the future!”
Aubree’s gaze darkened slightly, but she nodded docilely.
Sonya hadn’t the temerity to tarry there, so she got up and left with huge strides after taking her leave from them both.
In the blink of an eye, Aubree’s expression darkened entirely.
After returning to the Pearson residence, she couldn’t help looking at that news report again, especially the comments.
One read: Wow, Mr. Farwell’s bridal carry is perfect! His fiancée is so lucky!
Another read: While the resolution of the photo is horrible, I can still see that his fiancée’s aura and figure are incredible! As expected of Mr. Farwell’s woman!
And so it went.
Without exception, they were all lauding Lucian’s attentiveness toward the woman in the photo and how they make a perfect match.
Seeing the comments increasingly steadily, Aubree pressed the lock screen hard. The screen went black at once.
A moment later, a muffled thud rang out in the room.
The phone that was initially in Aubree’s hand lay on the floor, the screen cracked.
Roxanne had just gotten off work when she heard the employees in the research institute discussing Lucian and Aubree’s marriage.
“Mr. Farwell is so attentive! He actually took care of his fiancée for the entire night. If it were my boyfriend, he would never do so.”
“Most importantly, he’s handsome and rich. His fiancée is beautiful as well. She resembles Dr. Jarvis quite a bit, so she must be a beauty!”
Similar sentiments drifted into the air.
The group of researchers chatted as they walked. When they caught sight of Roxanne, they even bid her farewell. “See you tomorrow, Dr. Jarvis.”
Smiling, Roxanne answered them one by one.
However, she couldn’t help feeling puzzled upon hearing their discussion.
Lucian took care of his fiancée the whole of last night? But he had been with me the entire time last night. When did he meet up with Aubree?
Just when she found it strange, Colby came up to her from behind. “Are you free tonight? How about having dinner together?”
Abruptly snapping back to her senses, Roxanne flashed him an apologetic smile. “I still need to rush over to the kindergarten to pick my kids up, so I’m afraid I’ll have to take a rain check. Another day, perhaps. When the project concludes, I’ll treat everyone to a meal.”
When Colby heard that, a glimmer of disappointment flashed across his eyes, but he said nothing in the end. Talking about the project, he exited the research institute with her.
As Roxanne didn’t drive to work, she could only hail a taxi by the roadside.
A moment later, Colby’s car slowly came to a stop in front of her. “Did you not drive?”
In response, Roxanne shook her head.