\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 13\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 13\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve slowly turned back. There wasn\u2019t a trace of anger on her face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She casually asked, \u201cWhat is it? Was one slap on the left side not enough? Is the right side itching, too? Do you want me to slap that one as well?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou!\u201d Zachary instinctively took a step back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had no doubt that Genevieve would slap him again in front of everyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Being slapped in public once was humiliating enough. If he struck back, the moment word got out that he had hit a woman, he would drag the Lambert name straight through the mud. Either way, the Lambert family would be disgraced.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That thought forced his anger down. He shot Genevieve a hard glare, then finally swallowed it. He grabbed Regina, who still looked like she wanted to argue, and yanked her close. \u201cWe\u2019re leaving.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hauled Regina away in a rush, retreating in embarrassment. He still hadn\u2019t even processed the humiliation when the lights in the hall suddenly went dark. Only the central stage remained brightly lit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A tall figure walked up the stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Liam held a microphone, poised and perfectly at ease. \u201cGood evening, everyone. I\u2019m Liam Palmer from URI Corporation. It\u2019s an honor to host tonight\u2019s gala.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary\u2019s eyes widened in shock.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Liam Palmer?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man who had shielded Genevieve, whom he\u2019d assumed was her lover, was actually a senior representative from URI\u00a0<\/p>\n
Corporation?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary\u2019s head buzzed, his thoughts tangling into a mess.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then another thought struck him-Liam had mentioned that Genevieve was the guest of honor that day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Genevieve was supposed to be nothing more than an uneducated orphan who had married into the Lamberts because of\u00a0<\/p>\n
her connection to Raymond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why was she suddenly important here? Unless\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary didn\u2019t dare finish the thought. It was an absurd guess, but it kept taking root, growing until it felt almost real.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Zachary was lost in thought, Liam announced the start of the impromptu perfumery challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that moment, Genevieve turned slightly and murmured a few words into Hannah\u2019s ear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hannah listened intently. A knowing smile curled at her lips, and she nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She set her wineglass down and, under the gaze of the entire room, walked straight to the perfumery table lined with rare ingredients.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t even hesitate as she began selecting materials with calm, practiced ease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary snapped back to himself. He shoved Regina\u2019s shoulder urgently. \u201cRegina, go! Take first place!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said it confidently, as if it were a declaration. \u201cWho does Hannah think she is? You\u2019re the genius that Cen personally acknowledged. Ocean\u2019s Embrace belongs to you!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The color drained from Regina\u2019s face, and her fingertips went cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t know how she was supposed to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
X CLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 13\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hannah was Cen\u2019s chief assistant. Her ability was far beyond Regina\u2019s. Stepping up now would only make Regina an easy joke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But if she didn\u2019t go, Zachary would surely get suspicious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regina looked into his expectant eyes and felt panic crash over her for the first time, as if she\u2019d been pushed to the edge of a cliff. She bit her lower lip, unable to decide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing her hesitate only made Zachary more frantic. He was desperate to recover his dignity, and his voice rose before he realized it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you afraid of? I\u2019m here. The fragrance you blend is always the best. Go show those clueless people what real talent looks like!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His loud praise drew attention from the guests around them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From the crowd, a cutting comment rang out. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong? Blossom Studio sends someone, and the so-called genius Lambert Group paid a fortune for someone who won\u2019t even step onstage?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regina looked even more uncomfortable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Off to the side, Genevieve watched the entire scene like a spectator at a show.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0 Chapter 13\u00a0 1\/2\u00a0 Chapter 13\u00a0 Genevieve slowly turned back. There wasn\u2019t a trace of anger on her face.\u00a0 She […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-you-chose-her-so-i-married-better"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}