Chapter 372
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I looked down at my phone and was zooming in on the image of the data. But before I could even take a good look at it, Emma squeezed my arm.
“Holy crap! Emilia. Isn’t that your ex–husband’s brother!” she exclaimed.
I instinctively looked up just in time to see Irvin opening the car door and courteously helping Grace get down.
Grace flashed a gentle smile at Irvin, then linked arms with him. To onlookers, that intimate gesture made them look like a loving married couple.
I thought back to how Irvin had been near tears when we had met on the first snowfall of the season. Yet now, he was holding another woman’s arm and playing the role of her devoted husband
I couldn’t even describe how I felt at that moment.
Then, I recalled how much Irvin had despised Grace before. Yet, in just a month, he managed to make it look like they were happily married.
I feared it wouldn’t be long before he began to feel sympathy for her. And then, per Grace’s scheme, Irvin would eventually truly become her husband.
My heart lurched as though it had been stabbed. I wasn’t bleeding, but the pain was overwhelming–even though this was exactly what I had once wanted.
By the time I pulled myself together, Irvin and Grace were already walking toward us–arm–in–arm and surrounded by a crowd. Seeing how energetic Grace was, Emma asked, puzzled, “Didn’t his wife just faint at the hospital earlier? He came rushing in with her in his arms to see a doctor, right? So, how could she have recovered so quickly?”
I looked down and smiled wryly. If Grace didn’t faint, how could anyone pity or sympathize with her?
Suddenly, we heard someone yelling at us.
“Why are you two still here? Didn’t I tell you earlier that you won’t be allowed in even with an invitation!”
It was the blond man.
Irvin had been chatting with others as he walked, but the man’s yelling made him reflexively glance toward us.
He froze when he spotted me. Then, his distant gaze suddenly lit up, and he looked as overjoyed as a dog who’d just found a big
bone.
The change in his expression was so stark that I felt a sharp pang in my heart. I really hated this version of myself–the one who still couldn’t control how I felt, who still let Irvin affect me.
“Security!” the blond man yelled. “Don’t just stand there. Hurry up and throw these two out!”
He signalled the security guards, who quickly rushed over to execute his orders.
Seeing this, Irvin instinctively moved to stop them, but Grace stopped him. He frowned and was about to say something when Grace shot him a look. She silently reminded him to be mindful of where he was and that right now, he was her husband, Timothy Hardwell.
If Irvin didn’t want me to be labeled a homewrecker, he had to keep his distance from me and allow Grace to handle things instead.
Without waiting for him to respond, she stepped forward and addressed the blond man. “What’s going you having these two ladies removed?”
Slate? Why are
Looking at me with disdain, Mitchell Slate replied, “They’re academic frauds! This conference doesn’t welcome people like them!”
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Grace frowned at this. Her expression clearly said she was on my side.
“I think there’s been some mistake, Mr. Slate,” she said. “Ms, Quill isn’t an academic fraud! She’s an exceptionally talented researcher who developed the equipment that cured my husband’s legs. She’s truly remarkable!”
Mitchell looked at her skeptically. “Is that so?”
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