Chapter 5

Chapter 5
Over the years , Matthias and Celeste had rarely seen each other . Yet , even from just a few encounters , Matthias could tell that she was no longer the confident and spirited person she had once been .
Matthias thought back to the Celeste he knew from the past He could never have associated the word “ insecure ” with that individual . He didn’t know much about Celeste’s marriage to Trevor , but he was completely clueless about her sorry state which was essentially an open secret .
He had his suspicions but didn’t voice them , Instead , he sincerely encouraged , “ Falling behind for a time doesn’t matter . Your ability and talent surpass that of most geniuses . As long as you’re still passionate about this field , it’s never too late to start again .
“ Don’t forget that you were our teacher’s favorite student throughout his entire career . ”
Celeste smiled as she listened to him . “ If he heard that , he’d probably scoff and say that he didn’t have much of a choice and could only settle on the least bad one . ”
earlier that he
As she thought of her wise but sharp – tongued mentor , Celeste’s smile faltered . “ I saw on the news .
also came back for the celebration . How has he been ? ”
“ He’s doing well , though he’s often annoyed by us – his ever – disappointing students – popping up in front of him from time to time , ” Matthias replied .
Celeste chuckled , her mind wandering back to the days when she toiled away working on thesis papers under her mentor every day .
“ Come back , Cel , ” Matthias urged .
Celeste gripped her cup tightly . After taking a deep breath , she nodded and said , “ Alright . ”
She had been passionate about artificial intelligence since she was a child , and she loved anything related to this field . But because of her love for Trevor , she had put her dream on hold for seven years .
It would take time to catch up after such a long absence . But she believed that with hard work , it wasn’t too late for her .
Matthias asked , “ When do you think you’ll return ? ”
“ I still need to transition out of my current job . It might take a while , ” Celeste explained .
“ That’s fine . There’s no rush . ”
As long as she was coming back , a little more time wouldn’t matter .
They talked for a while longer before Matthias checked the time . “ I’m meeting someone who’s supposedly a genius in algorithms . They just returned to the country recently . Since we bumped into each other , why don’t you come along and meet them ? ”
Celeste shook her head . “ I don’t know your team well . Maybe next time . ”
“ Alright . ”
As Matthias left , Celeste saw Trevor’s sister , Teagan Fleming, walking toward her . She had seen Teagen in the news but hadn’t expected to run into her here ..
Celeste greeted , “ Hello , Teagan . ”
Teagan didn’t respond to her polite greeting . She frowned hard instead . “ What are you doing here ? ”
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Chapter 5
“ It’s Trellis College’s 100th anniversary today . So , I came to visit . ”
It Celeste hadn’t brought this up , Teagan would have forgotten that she graduated from Trellis College too . But aside from current students and staff , the attendees today were mostly honorary alumni invited by the school .
What was an unknown nobody like Celeste doing here ?
Still , as long as she didn’t embarrass the Fleming family , Teagan couldn’t be bothered to say much .
Getting straight to the point , she said , “ Nicholas says he misses your cooking . I’ll have someone send him over to you and Trevor later . ”
Nicholas was Teagan’s son , and he was a year or two older than Jordyn . With her strained marriage and demanding career , Teagan had rarely been involved in her son’s life . Over the years , his rebelliousness had only grown , making it even harder for her to manage him now .
Upon learning that Nicholas liked Celeste’s cooking , Teagan had frequently sent him over to Celeste and Trevor’s place over the past two years .
Aside from Martha , the Fleming family didn’t take Celeste seriously . Even Nicholas looked down on her and treated her like a maid despite liking her cooking .
In the past , Celeste had tolerated this for Trevor’s sake . She did her best to care for Nicholas and didn’t chastise or correct him whenever he was disrespectful .
But now , as she and Trevor were preparing for divorce , she no longer felt the need to endure it . She rejected Teagan without hesitation . “ I’m sorry , Teagan . I’m not available tomorrow . ”
As she planned to return to the Al field , she intended to dedicate her time to meaningful pursuits . After the divorce , she would have no ties to Trevor or his family . She wouldn’t waste her time on them anymore .
Teagan hadn’t expected Celeste to refuse her . After all , Celeste had often humbled herself to please the Fleming family for Trevor’s sake .
Nevertheless , Teagan didn’t dwell on it . She assumed Celeste must have something important going on . Otherwise , she wouldn’t have passed up the chance to curry favor .
Even so , she felt annoyed . “ What could possibly be so important ? Trevor and Jordyn aren’t even with you now . ” Upon hearing this , Celeste couldn’t help but smile bitterly to herself . For years , she had abandoned her own Identity and centered her life around them . And now , this was how Teagan viewed her .
It wasn’t undeserved , but Celeste wouldn’t live that way anymore .
Just as she was about to respond , a group of people approached them . “ Ms. Fleming ! ”
They were clearly there for Teagan .
When they saw Celeste standing beside her , they looked her over before asking , “ Ms. Fleming , who is this ? ” Teagan , of course , didn’t tell them that Celeste was her sister – in – law . She replied indifferently , “ A friend . ” “ Oh , a friend … ” These people , all prominent figures attending Trellis College’s celebration , had assumed Celeste must be someone important upon seeing her with Teagan .
But Teagan’s dismissive attitude dispelled that impression . Aside from one or two people admiring Celeste’s striking looks and slender legs , the rest paid her no attention . They quickly resumed their focus on Teagan and
moved on
Chapter 5
In the past , Teagan’s refusal to acknowledge her would have hurt Celeste deeply . But now , she didn’t care
anymore .
After Teagan left , Celeste picked up her bag and walked away .
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That night , at around 10:00 pm , the plane carrying Trevor and Jordyn landed on time . By the time they got home , it was nearly midnight .
Jordyn had fallen asleep before they arrived . When Trevor carried her upstairs , he passed the master bedroom and noticed the door was open , but the room was pitch black .
After putting lordyn on her bed and tucking her in , he returned to the master bedroom and turned on the light . Then , he glanced at the bed and found that it was empty – Celeste wasn’t there .
Just then , the butler , Peter Hawk , came upstairs with his luggage .
Loosening his tie , Trevor asked , “ Where is she ? ”
Peter replied , “ Mrs. Fleming is on a business trip . ”
Half a month ago , Peter hadn’t been around when Celeste had left with her suitcase . The other maids told him that Celeste left with a suitcase , so he had assumed she was traveling for work .
Now that he thought about it , this was unusual . Celeste rarely went on business trips . Even when she did , they typically lasted only two or three days .
This time , she had been gone for over two weeks .
“ Alright , ” Trevor responded indifferently , asking no further questions .
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