CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 51: WHO MATTERS MORE

Lan Irving had a touch of sarcasm in her smile: "Could it be that Mrs. Warner thinks I’m unworthy of knowing someone like Young Master Yardley?"

"No, Sis Irving, you’re a smart person, you should understand what I mean. I won’t interfere in your personal feelings, but if you intend to ally with outsiders to harm the interests of Starfield, I can’t just ignore it."

Lan Irving lowered her gaze and smiled slightly, picking up the champagne beside her for a sip: "To be blunt, I’ve been with President Warner for six years, and you’ve only been married to him for a month, so you don’t have the right to suspect that I’d be a threat to the company."

Audrey Sutton remained calm and smiled lightly: "As the saying goes, time reveals a person’s heart. Just because someone has been around for a long time doesn’t mean their loyalty is guaranteed. It’s not impossible that there are ulterior motives involved, don’t you think, Sis Irving?"

Lan Irving stood up from the chair, walked over to Audrey Sutton, and leaned down to say: "Sometimes I both envy and pity you; envy your grand family background for marrying Shane, yet pity you for being used because of it. What’s even more pitiful is... you don’t even realize it. You naively think all of this is love. You fit the description of someone who’s been deceived and counts money for their deceivers."

Audrey Sutton stood up and looked at Lan Irving with her head slightly raised: "I feel sorry for you too, for having to fabricate unrealistic lies to deceive yourself and others."

"Is that so? How about we make a bet?"

Audrey Sutton frowned in confusion.

Lan Irving said: "Let’s play a game. You say he loves you, so we’ll see who holds a more important place in his heart."

Lan Irving’s eyes glanced in the direction behind Audrey Sutton, confirming the timing. Before Audrey could react, Lan pushed her toward the pool.

By the time Audrey realized what was happening, the heel of her high heel had already stepped into the void, and she was losing balance, falling towards the pool.

Audrey Sutton widened her eyes in panic, reaching out to grab something, but there was nothing at the edge.

She seemed to grab Lan Irving’s arm, but it didn’t help. Despite no force in her grip, Lan Irving also fell into the water.

Audrey could feel that Lan Irving had purposely jumped in with her.

At this moment, she couldn’t think about why Lan would do that. She feared the water, very much...

It could be described as a psychological fear.

Not knowing how to swim, she flailed in the pool, unable to even call for help.

At this moment, Shane and Arthur Sutton were walking towards this side.

Lan Irving had seen this earlier, so she timed her action.

The sound of bodies hitting the water was quite loud, drawing the attention of both those by the pool and those in it.

Flora Lane exclaimed when she noticed: "Audrey fell in the water!"

Arthur Sutton knew Audrey feared water, while Shane was simply worried. Both quickened their pace and nearly reached the edge simultaneously.

Lan Irving could swim, staying near the edge of the pool.

But Audrey, pushed further from the edge and flailing haphazardly, drifted further away.

Arthur and Shane jumped into the water almost at the same time.

At this moment, Shane’s eyes were only on Audrey, but as he swam toward her, Lan Irving clung onto him.

Shane frowned, lifting Lan with one arm, but his worried gaze remained on Audrey.

Arthur had already pulled Audrey to the surface.

"Cough, cough—"

Audrey clung tightly around Arthur’s neck, trembling all over, either from the cold or from fear.

Her hair dripped water, obscuring her eyes, and through the blurred vision, she saw Shane push Lan up to the edge.

At that moment, the pain in her heart overshadowed her fear...

As she closed her eyes, she couldn’t tell if it was water or tears trailing down her face...

Shane hurriedly climbed onto the poolside, helping Arthur lift Audrey up.

Seeing her silent with her eyes closed, he panicked and gently patted her face: "Audrey! Wake up!"

Arthur climbed up, taking a towel Flora handed him, first wrapping it around Audrey, speaking softly: "It’s okay, she must have just swallowed some water. Let’s take her to the room to change her clothes."

As Shane was about to stand up with Audrey, she pushed him away weakly, her voice raspy and frail: "I can walk by myself."

Flora went over to support Audrey, accompanying her back to the room.

Lan Irving sat on the ground, watching Shane leave without a care, as if he’d forgotten about her falling into the water too.

The night wind blew coldly against her drenched body, chilling her heart as well.

Suddenly, a warm coat was placed on her shoulders from behind, and she turned her head in surprise.

Ivan Yardley smiled gently at her: "It’s windy, don’t catch a cold, go change your clothes."

...

In the room, Shane opened the bathroom door and gently pushed Audrey in, his voice soft and deep: "You go wash up first."

Audrey hadn’t spoken since they returned, Shane assumed she was still traumatized.

She filled a bathtub with warm water, hugging her knees in the tub.

Her mind couldn’t shake off the scene of Shane rescuing Lan from the pool.

In moments of crisis, there isn’t much time to think; his decision reflected his truest feelings.

Undoubtedly, she lost this gamble thoroughly.

Shane went to the same floor’s bathing area with clothes, took a quick shower, changed into fresh clothes, and returned to the room within minutes.

He glanced at the tightly closed bathroom door, the warm yellow light leaking through the frosted glass.

Standing at the door listening for a while, it was perfectly quiet inside, not a sound.

Shane raised his hand to knock and ask, but before he could, there was a "knock knock" at the door.

He walked to the door and opened it.

Arthur smiled at him: "Is Audrey okay?"

"She’s still bathing."

"I brought some ginger tea from downstairs, you both should drink a little to avoid catching a cold."

Shane nodded, taking the cup from Arthur: "Come in and sit for a bit."

Arthur smiled and nodded, entering the room and sitting on the sofa, speaking softly with a gentle smile: "When Audrey was five or six, she almost drowned once. Thankfully, grandpa saw and pulled her out in time. She had nightmares for a long time after that, so she’s never overcome her fear. Forget learning to swim, she’s afraid of getting into water altogether."

Shane, a bit shaken, said: "Luckily, we arrived in time today."

Arthur lowered his eyes, slightly furrowing his brow, silent for a moment before saying: "But don’t you think it was too much of a coincidence? And hardly anyone was by the pool then, how did she accidentally fall in? Maybe ask Audrey when she gets out."