CHAPTER 188: CHAPTER 188: THE WOMAN I LOVE BECAME SOMEONE ELSE’S WIFE

Justin Holden sat behind the wide desk, a pair of rimless glasses perched on his nose, his gaze focused and cool as he reviewed the document on the computer screen.

The only sound in the office was the tapping of his keyboard.

The door was gently knocked; without waiting for him to respond, Samual Pryce pushed the door open and walked in, holding a folder.

"Lawyer Holden, this document needs your signature."

Samual Pryce placed the folder in front of Justin Holden.

Justin Holden took the document, quickly browsed through it, picked up a pen, signed his name, and handed it back to Samual Pryce.

Samual Pryce took the document but did not leave immediately. Instead, he sat down on the chair opposite the desk, with a somewhat gossiping smile on his face.

Justin Holden looked up at him over his glasses, his tone flat.

"Is there something you need?"

Samual Pryce chuckled, leaning forward slightly.

"It’s not really a big deal, but I heard Aunt Anne went to Miss Ellison’s place looking for you yesterday? Didn’t cause a scene, did she?"

Justin Holden’s fingers paused their typing; he raised his hand, rubbed his temples, removed his glasses, his dark eyes sharp as he looked directly at him.

"Your information is quite well-informed."

Samual Pryce’s smile froze a bit, and he laughed awkwardly, trying to pass it off.

"Oh, I just overheard, just overheard..."

Justin Holden looked at him, his gaze devoid of warmth, his tone flat.

"My whereabouts were tipped off to her by you, weren’t they."

It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

Samual Pryce’s smile faltered; he scratched his head, revealing a helpless yet slightly appeasing expression.

"Justin, it’s... Aunt Anne came to me herself; with her tone, how could a junior like me refuse? I really had no choice."

Justin Holden said nothing, only looked at him with cold eyes.

Samual Pryce felt uncomfortable under his gaze, attempting to change the subject.

"Did you really argue? You couldn’t have, right? When Aunt Anne came to me, she said she just wanted to check on Jean Ellison and Jesse, show some concern. Moreover..."

He paused, observing Justin Holden’s expression, speaking cautiously: "Jesse might not be Diana Sawyer’s biological daughter, but Jean Ellison and Diana Sawyer, they are indeed legally married. They have been living together in the United States, right? You know this, being in New York yourself."

"Get out." Justin Holden put his glasses back on, his gaze returning to the computer screen, his voice low, with a clear hint of dismissal.

Samual Pryce sighed, standing up: "Alright, alright, I’m leaving, I’m leaving."

He walked to the door, grasping the handle, unable to resist turning back and quickly saying.

"But I must say one last thing, fancying someone else’s wife isn’t quite respectable behavior, Senior Counselor Holden."

Justin Holden’s typing motion halted once more.

He didn’t look up, a cold voice emerged.

"Fancying someone else’s wife?"

"Why don’t you say, it’s the woman I fancy who became someone else’s wife."

"Doesn’t that sound more pitiable?"

Samual Pryce’s fingers froze on the door handle, his mouth slightly open, momentarily at a loss for words.

Truly, the art of language.

With Justin Holden’s remarks, the context and perspective shifted instantly.

From a potentially unethical pursuer of another’s spouse to a pitiable man who failed to attain, watching helplessly as his beloved became someone else’s.

Samual Pryce savored the flavor of those words, looking at Justin Holden’s seemingly calm profile, a vague sense of sympathy arose within him.

He cleared his throat, his tone noticeably softened.

"May I leave now?"

Justin Holden finally removed his gaze from the screen, glancing at him, remaining silent.

Samual Pryce hurriedly pulled open the door.

"Yes, yes."

"Additionally, there’s a gathering at the firm this weekend; Group 2’s case trial was won, and everyone said to celebrate together. Will you join us?"

Justin Holden redirected his gaze to the screen, fingers tapping the keyboard, his tone indifferent.

"We’ll see, might not have time."

"Come on!"

Samual Pryce grasped the door frame.

"You have to come; everyone is waiting for you, we’ll drink until we drop."

Justin Holden did not answer him; Samual Pryce knew further words would be futile, so he closed the door and left.

The office returned to its quiet state.

Justin Holden’s typing slowed down, eventually stopping.

He leaned back against the chair, removing his glasses, rubbing his slightly strained brow.

Samual Pryce’s final words still echoed in his ears.

"Fancying someone else’s wife..."

He closed his eyes, envisioning Jean Ellison’s cool and stubborn face, and the way she confronted his mother to get him to leave.

He took a deep breath, putting his glasses back on.

On a weekend night, the law firm booked a private room in a high-end restaurant to celebrate their victory.

The room was quite loud, filled with the clinking of glasses and laughter.

Elegantly dressed lawyers gathered in small groups, chatting about cases, industry trends, and life’s trivialities.

Justin Holden sat alone on the corner sofa at the back of the room, holding a glass of whiskey, the ice cubes gently swaying in the amber liquid.

He showed no expression, his gaze fixed on some point in the void, completely out of tune with the lively atmosphere surrounding him.

A few bold female colleagues attempted to chat him up, but he only responded politely yet distantly with a nod or two, refusing to say more, clearly keeping people at a distance.

At the height of the excitement, the heavy door of the room was pushed open slightly from outside.

A figure appeared at the entrance.

She wore a simple professional outfit, holding a recording pen and a notebook, with a professional smile on her face, her eyes quickly scanning the room as if searching for someone.

She raised her voice slightly to be heard by most.

"Sorry to interrupt everyone. I’m Jean Ellison, a reporter from Urban Legal News magazine."

"Regarding the Hale Group acquisition case your firm just won, I wonder if I could take a bit of your time for a brief interview?"

The noise in the room immediately quieted down, and everyone’s eyes focused on the female reporter at the door.

A male lawyer whose face was flushed from drinking immediately stood up, quickly walked to the door, and blocked Jean, speaking with an unfriendly tone.

"No, no, we don’t accept interviews. This is a private gathering."

He said this while impatiently waving his hand like shooing away a fly, muttering under his breath, just loud enough for those nearby to hear.

"These journalists nowadays really don’t have a break, chasing us from the courthouse to here just for a news story, isn’t it annoying..."

Turning to the colleagues in the room, he raised his voice self-righteously.

"Besides, we’ve all signed confidentiality agreements, can we casually talk about matters related to our clients? Where can they just ask anything and we tell them everything, we have no professional ethics."

His words drew agreement from several colleagues, and the gazes directed at Jean were filled with hostility.

Standing at the doorway, Jean’s smile froze slightly, but she didn’t back down.

Her gaze swept past the obstructing male lawyer, seemingly continuing to search within the room.

She was looking for a person, Lawyer Adler who was responsible for the case.

It was Lily who gave her this insider information, saying Lawyer Adler would be drinking in this room tonight.

"Please, just a few questions, it won’t take much of your time."

Jean spoke sincerely.

"I mainly want to consult Lawyer Adler about the just-concluded self-defense case..."

"No means no."

The blocking male lawyer was firm, showing no intention of compromise, his hefty body nearly blocking the doorway entirely.

"I already said it’s a private gathering, no interviews allowed, no matter who pleads."

Jean tried to look past him inside, raising her voice to shout: "Lawyer Adler, Lawyer Adler are you here? Regarding your client’s decision in the excessive use of self-defense, if she hadn’t taken such a level of defense at the time, she might have lost her life. Do you think that our current legal provisions need amendments and improvements regarding the definition of self-defense?"

Lawyer Adler, who had just been clinking glasses with someone, frowned impatiently upon hearing this, and waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh, annoying, I told you no revealing case details, hurry up and leave, don’t disturb our celebration."

Jean was stuck at the doorway, unable to go in or retreat, and the scene grew awkward and stalemated.

At this point, Samual Pryce came humming a tune, hugging a few bottles of good wine he had just brought in from outside.

He immediately saw Jean blocked outside, and the colleagues inside who enjoying the spectacle, while Justin Holden deliberately pretended to mind his own business from his corner.

"Wow, what’s going on here?"

Samual Pryce replaced his face with a smile, quickly stepped forward, and said to the lawyer at the door.

"Attorney Lewis, Attorney Lewis, calm down, we’re all familiar, no need to be so tense."

As he spoke, he skillfully nudged Attorney Lewis aside slightly, warmly inviting Jean: "Come, Reporter Ellison, don’t just stand at the door, please come in, please come in, any questions you have can be discussed slowly inside, it’s tiring to stand."

Jean gratefully glanced at Samual Pryce, about to go inside, but Attorney Lewis wasn’t cooperative, blocking her way, and complained to Samual Pryce.

"Attorney Pryce, this isn’t appropriate, this is our gathering, how can we let reporters mingle in? Besides, can we casually discuss case matters?"

Samual Pryce tried to smooth things over with a laugh.

"Oh, just chatting, not involving specific case details, not involving specific case details, okay, Reporter Ellison is a person who understands the rules, right?"

He winked at Jean.

Jean hurriedly nodded: "Yes, I just want to consult some legal viewpoints, I absolutely won’t press for case details and client information."

Despite Samual Pryce’s efforts in mediating, Attorney Lewis and a few more serious colleagues still blocked the entrance, showing no intention of letting her through.

Jean could only stand there helplessly, looking inside the room.

This time, her gaze landed on Justin Holden.

She knew Justin Holden was the founder of the law firm, to put it bluntly the leader of these people, his words carry the most weight.

Justin Holden leisurely swirled his wine glass, his gaze fixed on the wall of the glass, not even lifting his eyelids once.

The wine in his glass was empty, and he showed no intention of getting another.

"Lawyer Holden, please let me in."

The female reporter at the door suddenly called out, and the laughter and drinking sounds within the room stopped abruptly, everyone looked toward Justin Holden.

They thought the woman at the door was crazy, daring to go over Lawyer Holden’s head.

Who didn’t know Lawyer Holden was the hardest to approach in the law firm, he never accepts any form of interview, even his photos are taken secretly, he declines even reputable magazines asking for an appointment to shoot.