\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 35\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary spoke as if nothing had happened, then reached out with practiced ease, intending to slide an arm around Genevieve\u2019s waist and pull her against him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve\u2019s gaze turned icy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A split second before his fingertips could touch the slick silk at her waist, she took a step back, evading his touch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary\u2019s hand stalled midair. The smile on his face stiffened for a heartbeat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve lifted her eyes to meet his, calm and unmoved. \u201cMr. Lambert, watch yourself. We\u2019re not close enough for you to put your hands on me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary\u2019s expression darkened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were married. Was he not even allowed to put an arm around her now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was furious, but with many people watching that night, he had no intention of making a scene and embarrassing himself. He recovered quickly, drew his hand back, and forced a generous smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. You\u2019re still mad at me.\u201d He chuckled, as if indulging her. \u201cThat\u2019s okay. After the gala, we\u2019ll go home and talk this through.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, he lowered his voice, the threat tucked neatly beneath a soft tone that was meant for her ears only. \u201cGenevieve, don\u2019t push me. These are all people who matter. You don\u2019t want this to get ugly in public.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve thought it through. If you agree to take on Lambert Group\u2019s most important upcoming partnership and lead it as Cen, I\u2019ll agree to the divorce.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOn top of that, the villa in the west and the 10% stake in my name can all go to you. That\u2019s more than fair, isn\u2019t it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve didn\u2019t look tempted by his offer. If anything, her mouth curved with sharper contempt, as though she had just heard the funniest joke of the night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She knew that he was lying through his teeth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All that talk about divorce and splitting assets was a joke. He only meant to trap her with the deal, squeeze every bit of value from her, and discard her once he was done.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice stayed flat as she asked, \u201cDo you really think what you have is still worth anything to me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, the lights in the ballroom dimmed. A spotlight snapped on, cutting across the room and landing on the main stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary took a slow breath, tamping down whatever was churning inside him. He gave Genevieve a look that felt oddly confident, almost smug. \u201cSoon, you\u2019ll understand whether you need it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He straightened his suit jacket and turned toward the stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the event\u2019s host, Zachary delivered a stirring speech, moving smoothly from the Lambert family\u2019s long tradition of philanthropy to Lambert Group\u2019s alleged commitment to social responsibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Applause rolled through the room on cue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve lifted a glass of juice, bored to the point of indifference, and watched him from the crowd with a cool, detached\u00a0<\/p>\n
gaze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Toward the end of his speech, Zachary shifted gears, and the real purpose of the night finally surfaced.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLadies and gentlemen,\u201d he announced, \u201cAside from our charitable efforts tonight, I have some exciting news to share.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The screen behind him lit up. Side by side, Lambert Group\u2019s corporate logo appeared alongside the mark of an international\u00a0<\/p>\n
YCLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 35\u00a0<\/p>\n
luxury powerhouse, Modernis.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter multiple rounds of negotiation, Lambert Group has reached a strategic partnership agreement with Modernis.m. Together, we\u2019ll develop a brand-new fragrance line, one that will define the next era!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room erupted into applause.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Modernis.m sat at the absolute pinnacle of the global fashion world, notorious for its impossible standards and arrogance. Countless brands fought for the chance to get anywhere near them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And Zachary was claiming that Lambert Group had secured a partnership?\u00a0<\/p>\n
If it were true, it was the biggest business bombshell of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary clearly enjoyed the crowd\u2019s reaction. He lifted a hand, motioning for silence, then let his gaze travel through the crowd until it locked onto Genevieve.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He continued, \u201cTo demonstrate our utmost sincerity, we\u2019ll invite the most elite and visionary perfumer to lead the development of this series.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure you all know her well. She\u2019s a former top perfumer, a genius in the fragrance world, and also my wife, Ms. Genevieve Whitfield.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0 Chapter 35\u00a0 Zachary spoke as if nothing had happened, then reached out with practiced ease, intending to slide an […]<\/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-209","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\/209","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=209"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions\/236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}