Chapter 1436

[ 640 words ]

Lexi-kins: [I wasn’t trying to slander her!]

Message sent. The recipient has rejected it.

Lexi: ?

What did that mean? Had she just been blocked again?

“Lexi, what happened?” her friend asked eagerly. “Is Dr. Houston furious?”

“Of course he is!”

Lexi flipped her phone over, her eyes icy as a nasty smirk pulled at her lips. “She’s a manipulative, unfaithful tramp. Harold absolutely loathes her.”

“Obviously.”

Her friend nodded in fierce agreement. “If she hadn’t pulled that stunt at the hotel to force his hand, the title of Mrs. Houston would probably be yours right now.”

“Exactly! So true.”

The others quickly chimed in.

Hearing that.

Lexi kept her expression cold, but the suffocating jealousy in her chest only tightened further.

After their meetup.

Joel walked side-by-side with Lorelei toward the entrance.

“Lori, let me give you a ride home,” he offered softly.

“No, thank you.”

Lorelei had always maintained strict boundaries, declining with a polite smile. “I can just grab a cab.”

“Alright.”

Joel understood her reservations and couldn’t hide his disappointment. He quickly pivoted, “Are you free anytime soon? My mother wants a bespoke silk dress for an upcoming gala. She absolutely loves your craftsmanship and designs.”

Lorelei had opened her own boutique, Lorelei’s Gowns, and business had been thriving.

“I’m afraid I don’t have the time right now,” she answered truthfully. “I have to make a trip to Eclara City.”

“To visit Harold?”

“Yes.”

“What a coincidence.” Joel forced a tight, bitter smile. “I actually have a case in Eclara City that requires my attention soon. Who knows, maybe I’ll even bump into you two while I’m there.”

“Oh?”

Lorelei self-consciously touched her hair, laughing awkwardly. “That is quite a coincidence.”

She was going there to ask for a divorce.

Was she seriously supposed to bring Harold along to grab dinner with Joel?

Harold would never agree to that in a million years.

She had an early morning flight.

Lorelei packed her bags a day in advance. Initially, she had thought about letting him know she was coming.

But then she worried that he wouldn’t want to see her and would just make up an excuse to sneak out of town.

It was better to just ambush him.

Finished packing, she lay on her bed, staring blankly at the bright white ceiling, her thoughts drifting.

Her memories suddenly pulled her back to three years ago.

She had unknowingly taken a sip of a drink spiked by her stepmother and stepsister, stumbling dizzily into a hotel room.

And then-

She saw the man she had dreamed about day and night. Harold.

One night of complete absurdity.

When she woke up, seeing the two of them completely bare and the absolute wreckage of the room, she had panicked. “Harold? Why is it you?”

“Who else were you expecting?”

ét

His back, covered in fresh scratch, marks, went completely rigid, his expression terrifyingly cold. “Weren’t you the one who drugged the drinks and crawled into my bed?”

Lorelei shook her head frantically, clutching the duvet to her chest in absolute terror.

And then-

Reporters suddenly burst through the door, cameras flashing relentlessly at them.

In less than two minutes.

The photos were plastered all over the internet.

Desperate to secure an alliance with

the Houstons, the Bellamy family intentionally fanned the flames publicly backing them into a corne to force the marriage.

To control the PR nightmare and protect his future career, the Houston family’s only

option was to propose marriage.

She still remembered it. When Harold came to the Bellamy estate to formally propose, she overheard him arguing with his father in the garden.

He had said, “I’m marrying her just like you asked. What more do you want?”

And Faulkner had replied, “I know you have someone else in your

heart, but for the sake of your fel

and this family’s reputation, this marriage is happening.”

Harold had gone completely silent.

That was the exact moment she realized he already had a girl he loved.

But she had no idea who it actually was.

Thinking about it now, she suddenly recalled that the last time she called his phone,

it sounded like a girl had answered it.

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