CHAPTER 18: CHAPTER 18: DISGRACED AND RUINED

Audrey Sutton looked at Shane Warner’s serious analysis, and it took her a few seconds to realize that he was going in circles just to say that she was jealous.

Audrey simply said, "I’m not jealous, I just want to tell you that now everyone knows I’m your wife. If you get too close to your little secretary, where will that leave my reputation, Audrey Sutton? The Suttons have a reputation to uphold, so you’d better not let me catch any slip-ups! Otherwise, I’ll spill all your dirty laundry! At most, I end up with a green hat, but you might become infamous!"

Shane thought she looked quite cute, like a little fussbudget, although he didn’t know what he did to cause such a misunderstanding, he still explained, "To be exact, these secretaries are all Faye Xavier’s, I only have one direct assistant, which is Faye, usually, if anything comes up, people in the company go directly to Faye. If Faye can handle it, he does it directly. If he can’t, then he reports it to me."

"Then why did she come directly to you?"

"Maybe Faye sent her; Faye values her quite a bit, and she’s a talent that Faye personally nurtured. She’s been with the company for a few years now."

Audrey skeptically glanced at Shane Warner a few times but figured it was good enough that he was willing to explain.

Besides, all of this was just her imagination and speculation. Secretary Irving hadn’t done anything over the top. Maybe she was too nervous about Shane Warner, which led her to react like this.

About ten minutes later, Lan Irving knocked on the door again.

This time, Audrey just glanced at the door without getting up, waiting for Shane to answer it.

Audrey pretended to be indifferent, but she was intently listening to their conversation.

"President Warner, these are the materials for the afternoon meeting. President Xavier asked me to bring them to you."

Audrey sneered internally. She thought it was something so important that Shane had to talk to her personally, but it turned out to be just delivering documents, couldn’t she have just given them to her earlier?

Shane took the folder and softly said to Lan Irving, "In the future, let Faye handle these matters."

Lan Irving was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "Yes."

Shane closed the door, went to his room, and changed into his formal attire. He straightened his tie in front of the full-length mirror in the hallway and said to Audrey, "I have a meeting in the afternoon; just wait for me at the hotel, and we’ll have dinner together tonight."

Audrey didn’t tag along for the excitement. After all, she had her own things to do; otherwise, Laura Yates might personally come looking for her on Monday.

Around five o’clock in the afternoon, she received a call from Shane, "I’ve been invited to a ball, and someone will bring a dress over for you soon. Change into it and wait for me. I’ll pick you up at six."

Shortly after hanging up, a hotel staff member knocked on the door and handed her a large paper bag.

The dress was a champagne-colored French court gown. Just by looking at the craftsmanship, it was clear it was worth a lot. Both the material and the design of the gown were stunning, as if tailored just for her, fitting perfectly.

Shane personally drove to pick her up, and every time he was amazed by her attire. The European court-style dress suited her well, but he never complimented her on her looks. This time was no exception, even though he couldn’t help glancing at her several times while driving.

He thought the dress was perfect except the neckline was too low, the square collar couldn’t hide her fair neck and collarbone, and the hint of her cleavage...

As they were about to get out of the car, Shane said, "Let your hair down."

Audrey was puzzled, "Why? Does it not look good?"

Shane couldn’t think of another reason for a moment, so he nodded casually, "Hmm."

Audrey immediately checked herself in the mirror and then, as if suddenly realizing, glared at him, "If it doesn’t look good, it doesn’t look good. I’m not dressing for you."

She thought Shane was just picking on her intentionally and angrily pushed the car door open.

Shane looked at her half-exposed back due to the updo, frowned tightly, pulled out the car key, and followed her out.

The European aristocratic ball was even more grandiose than imagined. Looking at a fair-skinned, beautiful French lady, even Audrey, as a woman, couldn’t help but stare.

Suddenly, a blonde woman in a dark green gown walked over to Shane, speaking fluent French.

Shane pretended not to understand and asked Audrey, "What did she say?"

Audrey, still holding a grudge from when they got out of the car, said, "She said you’re very ugly."

"Looks like you were lying about speaking French." With that, Shane smiled and responded to the blonde woman’s question in French.

The blonde had just asked if the girl next to him was his wife.

After hearing Shane’s affirmative answer, the blonde woman generously praised Audrey for a while.

"Master Shane, Vincent Warner is here too," Faye Xavier said as he walked to Shane’s side.

Hearing this name, Shane frowned, and Faye leaned closer to Shane’s ear and said, "It seems he’s here for the cooperation with Serephina KC."

Shane’s expression darkened. He lowered his head and said to Audrey, "Stay here, don’t go anywhere, I’ll come find you later."

Audrey nodded, watching Shane and Faye walk towards the inner hall with serious expressions.

In this foreign land, there wouldn’t be any acquaintances. Audrey found a nearby seat to sit.

Just as she got comfortable, Lan Irving walked over to her.

Lan Irving was no longer in professional attire, nor was she wearing glasses. She was in a burgundy flared gown, with chestnut curls delicately styled behind her head, exuding a different kind of oriental allure. Audrey almost didn’t recognize her.

Audrey greeted her first, "Secretary Irving? My husband isn’t here, what do you need him for?"

Lan Irving smiled and said, "I really envy you."

Audrey was taken aback, and her smile froze.

Lan Irving’s smile was as soft as her voice, "I grew up in an orphanage. People said my father was a murderer, but I never met him. So I grew up bearing the stigma of ’murderer’s daughter.’"

Audrey listened, bewildered, not understanding why Lan Irving was suddenly telling her this.

But just hearing her story made Audrey start to feel a bit of empathy for her.

"Faye and I were in the same orphanage. He always took care of me and was willing to spend time nurturing me, sending me to the best universities to study."

"In college, I fell for a man who only came to our school a few times for lectures. I went to listen every time, but I never dared to tell him I liked him."

As Audrey listened, things started to feel not quite right.

Lan Irving, with a hint of regret in her tone, smiled, "Because his family’s circumstances were so good, someone like me couldn’t reach. After meeting you, I kept thinking, if I were born into a powerful family like the Suttons, maybe he and I would have had a different ending."

Here, Audrey cut to the chase, asking directly, "That man is Shane Warner, right?"