CHAPTER 18: CHAPTER 18: FIRST ENCOUNTER

Macchiato is indeed very sweet, but I didn’t taste the flavor of love from it; I only felt like bitter black coffee, while Azure was like sweet macchiato.

Sometimes I looked at her, calculating in my heart the timing of her encounter with Henry Preston the day after tomorrow.

The City A summit forum starts at 9:30 in the morning. As a part-time greeter, Azure will be early at the entrance, and Henry Preston will see her as soon as he enters, then get hit by Cupid’s arrow.

"Azure, would you like to do some other part-time work? I can introduce you to a tutoring job, which you can start tomorrow with good pay," I asked softly, taking advantage of the moment when Azure was tidying the table beside me.

Azure gave me a grateful smile but declined, "Miss Hathaway, thank you for thinking of me, but I’m starting school in a few days, and after finishing a temporary greeting job the day after tomorrow, I have to return to school to register."

I was taken aback; school was indeed about to start.

I was one step too late; if I had spoken a few days earlier, maybe I could have really prevented Azure from appearing in front of Henry Preston.

But I felt relieved as well, given the destiny between Henry Preston and Azure, even if I stopped them this time, I couldn’t stop the second, the third time...

"No worries, I just suddenly remembered this." I took another sip of coffee and smiled, "Are you quitting this job too?"

"Yes, with school starting, I won’t have time." Azure glanced around, seemingly somewhat reluctant, then gave me a playful smile, "Miss Hathaway, I’ll miss you."

I felt a bit awkward; if Azure knew everything, she would probably shy away from me.

Just then, more customers arrived, and Azure went to greet them. I breathed a sigh of relief, stood up to pay the bill, and left.

In the future, I probably won’t need to come to this affordable café again.

The wheels of fate have already started turning, and watching all that is about to unfold as an observer is no easier for me than the last lifetime.

From Ivan Underwood’s incident, I realized the butterfly effect is very strong, and there will definitely be changes happening that I will have to face.

These two days, with the in-laws at home, Henry Preston comes back every day for lunch and dinner and shares the bed with me.

Unlike his calm composure, my heart is growing more and more uneasy.

"What time are you going to the forum tomorrow?" I asked quietly.

"Eight o’clock," Henry Preston replied drowsily, eyes closed beside me, his voice indifferent.

"Can you bring family members?" I really wanted to witness that legendary scene in person, considering the love story between Henry Preston and Azure was a hit online for a long time in the past life.

Henry turned his gaze to me, with a hint of irony in his dark pupils, "Family member? You?"

I blinked, "Legally, yes."

Such business forums can certainly include partners or assistants. Many entrepreneurs attend with their spouses, and with my father’s status, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for me to accompany him.

But Henry didn’t think so; he scoffed, "Wishful thinking?"

I turned over, staring intently at Henry’s profile, his profile was incredibly well-defined and delicate, particularly where his nose bridge met his brow bone—excessively perfect. Such a handsome and wealthy man, in the end, was captivated by a girl with such an ordinary status?

It really has a bit of a Cinderella and Prince charm to it.

"If you don’t take me, I’ll go tell your father and have him take me," I said again, this time a threat.

My father-in-law would certainly wonder why Henry isn’t taking me, then question his care towards me.

As expected, this tactic was very effective; Henry’s look at me was now like it was poisoned, "Get up at eight tomorrow, I won’t wait a minute longer."

"Okay, I’ll be up at seven thirty, need to put on some makeup." I beamed at Henry with a happy smile.

I even thought it through: I would learn more about the development process between Henry and Azure, and in the future, after I get divorced from him, I could write a book from the perspective of an ex-wife, detailing their love story—surely many people would be interested.

Just for this angle, it will surely make a lot of money, really very worthwhile.

The next day, I got up on time, put on light makeup, changed into a relatively dignified outfit, and set off with Henry.

Upon reaching the destination, I looked at the magnificent and grand hall. The doors were open, several beautiful greeters stood on both sides, with Azure among them, wearing a Chinese qipao, very striking, more noticeable than the others. Henry unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car, clearly not yet noticing Azure.

"You go ahead; I need to touch up my makeup," I suddenly said to Henry.

In the past life, Azure knew Henry was married but never met me or had any communication with me; in this life, it’s better not to let her know about my relationship with Henry yet.

Henry couldn’t be bothered with me and walked away after getting out of the car.

Through the car window, I focused on watching Henry’s figure walk towards the entrance.

Finally, he arrived in front of Azure; since his back was to me, I couldn’t see his facial expression change—I could only see his footsteps stall slightly, seeming to evaluate the young, beautiful girl in front of him.

At that moment, my heart fell heavily to the bottom of the valley, very painful, while also coming to a definitive conclusion.

In front of so many people, no matter how moved Henry was, he wouldn’t act directly, the occasion wasn’t appropriate, so he soon entered the venue.

Seeing his figure disappear, I got out of the car and walked into the hall alone.

Seeing me, Azure showed a surprised expression, but quickly returned to normal, quietly greeting, "Miss Hathaway."

I smiled at her, said nothing more, and went in to find a seat.

Henry was already seated in a spot in the first row, beside the venue manager for this forum; the two were talking about something. My seat was next to Henry’s, and as I walked over to sit down, I happened to hear the venue manager finish his last sentence, "Okay, I’ll send you her number later."

Then he somewhat awkwardly glanced at me and quickly got up and left.

"He’s more perceptive than Chloe Payne," I remarked.

Henry glanced at me, with even more annoyance than before in his eyes, probably because his mind was full of Azure and he didn’t want to hear anything I said.

Since he didn’t want to listen, I insisted on speaking, "Last time, Chloe sat next to me for a long time but didn’t recognize me; said I was someone without a presence."

"Understandable." Henry replied indifferently.

"Are you saying it’s understandable she didn’t recognize me or that it’s understandable I’m someone without a presence?" I curiously asked.

Henry said nothing more, just looked at Azure, who was walking over from not far away, his eyes showing a brightness I had never seen before.

I recognized this look because that’s how I looked at Henry when I first met him.

Azure was all eyes on me, not even glancing at Henry, which I found quite gratifying.

I’m now somewhat believing that Azure truly loves Joel Sutton. In the past life, her rejections of Henry were also sincere; otherwise, how could she not see this intensely gazing man beside her at all?