CHAPTER 13: CHAPTER 13: FORDHAM GROUP ANNOUNCES MRS. FORDHAM’S IDENTITY

Victoria Monroe didn’t pay attention and directly bypassed Julian Fordham’s body, putting down her coat and the coffee she had taken a sip of, then poured herself a glass of warm water.

The housekeeper had already left, and the vast room, with only the subtle sound of running water, made the atmosphere even more oppressive and suffocating.

Her disregard nearly drove Julian Fordham insane.

It was as if the monster within his heart was about to break free from the chain called reason and roar out.

Julian Fordham forcibly suppressed the jealousy deep within him as he walked step by step towards Victoria Monroe.

He tried to soften his tone: "Victoria, tonight I..."

Victoria Monroe held her cup, leaning against the bar, her posture leisurely as she sized up the man approaching her.

The body honed by years at the gym looked particularly tall and upright in a suit, the expensive fabric accentuating his neat and noble appearance, an invisible air of authority belonging to one of high status.

The youthfulness was long gone.

Victoria Monroe interrupted him, "The surprise you prepared for me was seized by someone else."

"Yes, it was a misunderstanding."

Victoria Monroe took a sip of water, a mocking smile appearing at the corner of her mouth, "Julian Fordham, do you know why I was late, giving Rachel Hayes a chance?"

"Your lovely sister deliberately diverted me after I left home, wanting to create opportunities for you and Rachel Hayes, forcing me to back down, what a wonderful sister..."

"So besides me, everyone around you knew about Rachel Hayes, right?"

Julian Fordham explained, "Autumn Fordham came to the company today to find me, at the time I was discussing the fireworks show with Assistant Prescott, I didn’t expect her to interfere from within."

Victoria Monroe raised her hand and drenched his face with the remaining water in her glass, water droplets rolled down his fair cheeks.

His hair was soaked, reminiscent of the past of him sweating heavily during basketball team matches, looking at her after every shot.

She reached out to touch his wet cheek, her voice soft, "Julian Fordham, you know I hate betrayal and concealment the most, you enticed me to retire, letting me dream a beautiful dream within the cage of marriage you wove, but in fact, everyone already knows you have an affair."

Her fingertips were cool, clearly performing acts akin to lovers, yet those eyes held only sadness.

"Why are you so cruel to me? Stripping away all my dignity and respect, letting everyone think I’m a joke!"

Julian Fordham bent down and hugged her tightly, his chin buried in her neck, "It’s not like that, my mother found Rachel Hayes’ secret when she came to the company with soup, as for Autumn, I’ve never mentioned this to her. Honey, this is not a good thing, why would I make it known to everyone? I’ll investigate and give you an explanation."

"No need."

She pushed his body away, "The truth doesn’t matter, the outcome is already fixed, it can’t change the entanglement between you and Rachel Hayes. Julian Fordham, don’t waste your time on me, you know my personality, I won’t look back."

"Honey." Julian Fordham held her cold hand.

"If you have any humanity left, and haven’t forgotten how I helped you at the beginning, then don’t block my return to the limelight, as for you and Rachel Hayes, I really don’t have the energy to deal with it."

Victoria Monroe pried his fingers open one by one, "The fireworks, I watched them today, but I still think the ones you took me to see through the crowd when I was in my teens were the best."

"Julian Fordham, we can’t go back."

"So, let me go."

She returned to the bedroom, and he could only watch her back slowly disappear at the corner of the stairs.

He reached out his hand wanting to grab her, but with that woman full of fragility, he was afraid if he gripped too hard, she would shatter gently.

Long fingers lightly grasped in the void, ultimately empty-handed, unable to hold onto anything.

He softly murmured, "Honey..."

Suddenly Julian Fordham’s gaze fell onto the coffee cup on the table.

The side of the cup had a label: Orange C American, Large, Hot, No extra sugar.

The bottom line was the brand’s exclusive logo and address—Solis Bay Airport Store.

Airport.

Victoria Monroe left Solis Bay and it only took forty-five minutes to get home directly in less than half an hour, meaning she spent ten minutes outside watching fireworks.

Besides her, there was a man accompanying her.

This man was the one who accompanied her for three days in Portoros before!

He dialed Assistant Prescott’s number, wanting him to check the flights from Portoros to Kenton.

As soon as it connected, Assistant Prescott panicked.

"President Fordham, something happened, originally you prepared to announce publicly with Mrs. Fordham today, but Rachel Hayes jumped in unexpectedly, I’ve retracted the news release, yet Miss Autumn sent it out randomly from the publicity department, using the photo of you kneeling, Rachel Hayes also posted a selfie, confirming this news, now the web has exploded!"

Julian Fordham crushed the coffee cup, spilling much of the coffee onto himself.

His carefully planned public announcement unexpectedly allowed Rachel Hayes to exploit a loophole.

He initially thought after the announcement, for the sake of the company’s greater good, Victoria Monroe wouldn’t be able to bring up divorce again.

Therefore, he hadn’t thought about leaving a backup plan, specifically asked the company’s publicity department to prepare the article.

If retracted now, the negative impact on the company would be enormous!

A perfectly fine love-seeking stunt, now like himself soaked in coffee, trying to steal without success and losing everything.

"President Fordham, what should we do now? Everyone thinks Mrs. Fordham is Rachel Hayes, should we clarify immediately?"

Julian Fordham threw the coffee cup into the trash, his brows tightly knitted, "I’m signing with Willis soon, I’ve laid the groundwork for Caledon for two years, yet it’s at this critical juncture, deleting or clarifying won’t have any significance, these count as major mistakes, would he negotiate procurement if even the wife’s announcement can be erroneous? If the cooperation is canceled, my years of arrangements will be empty handed."

"Then what do you mean..."

"Handle it quietly, don’t delete this announcement content for now, suppress the news online, it’ll lose its heat in a few days."

Assistant Prescott’s voice sounded a little troubled, "But about Mrs. Fordham..."

"I’ll explain, as for Rachel Hayes, get the immigration materials ready and send her abroad as soon as possible, and—"

Julian Fordham’s voice was icy without a trace of warmth, almost word by word he said, "Also find out where Autumn Fordham, that liability, is now?"

Victoria Monroe nestled in the bathtub, through the floor-to-ceiling window, watching Julian Fordham leaving in a hurry, driving off quickly, even his back emitting some anger.

She opened her phone, all app headlines—Fordham Group’s president’s wife is surprisingly the popular Rachel Hayes!

The accompanying picture was the one of him kneeling on one knee.

In the image, the woman appeared surprised, couldn’t hide her happiness, the man had only his back visible, the expression on his face was unclear.

But no matter what the expression, it was no longer important, what’s important is that tonight, everyone would know the wife Julian Fordham kept hidden is Rachel Hayes.

She knew that recently Julian Fordham had been busy with the cooperation with Willis, so, would he choose to clarify?

Ping—

A message came into her phone.

Rhys Hawthorne: [Still awake?]