Chapter 160

Chapter 160
Chapter 160 ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ
In those few seconds, Dylan walked into the hall, bouquet in hand, not once glancing back.
Bianca immediately pulled out her phone and dialed Dylan’s number.
He didn’t pick up.
Unwilling to let it go, she called again.
This time, Dylan hung up on her.
Her heart sank, icy and heavy.
All those years together, and not once had he brought her flowers.
She’d always thought Dylan just wasn’t the romantic type, that he didn’t understand women.
But now…
Now she realized just how foolish she’d been.
–
Jude had wanted to follow Bianca out–the longer he stayed, the more stifled and frustrated he felt.
He was just about to call her when he saw Dylan coming in, arms full of fresh flowers.
“Dylan…” he called out, loud enough that Dylan had to have heard.
But Dylan didn’t even glance his way. Instead, he strode straight toward Noreen, his steps
unwavering.
Jude’s next attempt to call out got stuck in his throat. No words came out.
After the event, Noreen stepped down from the stage and was immediately surrounded by people asking for her contact information–some of them prominent business leaders and investors.
Noreen didn’t turn anyone away. She exchanged numbers with them all.
More friends, more opportunities. She figured it never hurt to build connections; there might be a chance to work together down the road.
When she finally managed to break free from the crowd, a huge bouquet of sunflowers appeared in front of her, so large it blocked her view of the person holding it.
Noreen tilted her head, trying to see who it was.
The bouquet lowered, revealing Dylan’s familiar face.
Surprised and delighted, Noreen exclaimed, “What are you doing here?”
“How could I miss such an important moment?” Dylan’s eyes sparkled as he urged her to take the flowers.
“Thank you!” Noreen accepted the congratulatory bouquet with a bright smile.
But there was no time for small talk–she was worried about Carman and anxious to find him.
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10:03
Chapter 160
She was just about to call when Carman appeared, wearing an ill–fitting suit, his hair wet, a look of distress etched across his face.
“What happened to you? Are you alright?” Noreen asked, concern in her voice.
Carman explained that he’d slipped in the restroom.
Someone had spilled an entire bottle of soap on the floor. Lost in thought, rehearsing his speech, he hadn’t noticed and took a hard fall, getting himself filthy in the process.
Thankfully, staff came to clean up and helped him get sorted out.
Carman, pressed for time, tried to refuse their help, but they practically shoved him into a side room.
Everything was a blur. Surrounded by staff, he barely knew what was happening before he found
himself in the bathroom.
He didn’t even have time to shower–just changed into whatever clean clothes they could find and rushed back.
Then the restroom door jammed.
By the time he forced it open, he was already running late.
It had all happened so suddenly, so strangely.
Suspicious, Carman questioned several people, but their answers all seemed plausible, as if the whole thing had truly just been a freak accident.
Noreen was thinking the same thing. Whoever orchestrated this clearly knew what they were doing and had covered their tracks.
So there was no point in digging deeper–it would only be a waste of time.
Besides, Noreen already had her suspicions.
From several yards away, she looked over at Jude.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, Jude’s heart skipped when he saw her watching him. He couldn’t bring himself to meet her gaze and instinctively looked away.
Then, realizing how suspicious that seemed, he tried to compose himself and looked back–only to find that Noreen had already turned away, deep in conversation with Dylan.
They had barely exchanged a few words when her phone began to ring.
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