\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 38\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 38\u00a0<\/p>\n
Armandine kept hold of Genevieve\u2019s hand and chatted with her warmly in Frencian. \u201cDarling, I read the first draft of the new formula you sent me. It\u2019s brilliant.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve answered in fluent Frencian, \u201cIt\u2019s only an early concept. It still needs refinement. I\u2019m honored to have your approval.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Zachary saw them talking like old friends, he dug his nails into his palm so hard that it almost hurt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He took a deep breath, forced a stiff smile, and stepped forward. \u201cMs. Brunet, Cen\u2026 Gen\u2019s achievements today also stem from the Lambert family\u2019s support over the years. For this partnership, Lambert Group will spare no effort to\u2014\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Lambert.\u201d Armandine cut him off. \u201cI think I need to say this again. Modernis.m\u2019s partner is Cen, and only Cen. It has nothing to do with Lambert Group, or with anyone else.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, Regina pushed her way out from the back of the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment she saw Zachary losing ground, she immediately switched targets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Brunet, hello. My name is Regina Sloane. I\u2019m a perfumer too. I admire you and Cen so much-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She hadn\u2019t even gotten close before a man in a sharp suit extended an arm to block her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was Armandine\u2019s assistant, Lucas Beaumont.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucas looked at Regina without a hint of warmth. \u201cMs. Sloane, we know who you are.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regina froze. Then, a rush of joy surged through her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was she really that well-known now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur legal department received an investigative report about you,\u201d Lucas continued. \u201cIn a competition previously sponsored by Modernis.m, the entry you submitted matched the core structure of an unreleased private formula with a 93% similarity rate. How do you explain that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regina\u2019s face went pale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The plagiarism accusations from the URI Corporation gala had barely cooled when another one detonated in public.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my God! She stole it!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no wonder she accused Hannah. Guilty people always point fingers first!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has no shame at all! And she still tried to suck up to them!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regina was shaking so badly that she couldn\u2019t get a single word out. She just wanted to disappear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve didn\u2019t spare her a glance. She only gave Armandine a slight nod. \u201cMs. Brunet, we can discuss the process and timeline in detail afterward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d Armandine smiled, then announced it for everyone to hear. \u201cI\u2019m formally declaring that Modernis.m\u2019s new project with Cen will begin immediately. Cen will lead this partnership in full under the name of her independent studio.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her words settled the matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve drew a clean line between herself and the Lambert family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary stood there, stunned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Genevieve had this kind of power, why had she never told him?\u00a0<\/p>\n
X CLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 38\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
The banquet ended on an awkward note.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve had just stepped out of the ballroom when a car rolled to a stop in front of her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The window lowered, revealing Tristan\u2019s unfairly handsome face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll take you home,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve hesitated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan added, \u201cIf Zachary comes out, you can forget about a quiet night.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With that, Genevieve quickly opened the door and got in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An awkward silence filled the car as it slipped into the night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a while, Tristan finally broke the silence. \u201cZachary\u2019s financial records over the past few years aren\u2019t exactly clean. I\u2019ve already had someone dig up some key evidence of internal violations. With that, you can strip him of everything in the divorce.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve turned to look at him, a flicker of surprise crossing her cool eyes. He clearly had more pull than she expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d She knew that nothing came for free.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re smart.\u201d The corner of Tristan\u2019s mouth lifted, quiet approval flickering in his eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to join your new partnership with Modernis.m. In exchange, I\u2019ll help you finalize the divorce and get everything you deserve.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve fell silent for a moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Working with Tristan was risky, but it was better than waiting for Zachary to tear her apart. And at least Tristan was upfront about what he wanted. It made him easier to deal with than Zachary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFine,\u201d she agreed. \u201cWe\u2019ll be temporary allies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan\u2019s smile deepened. \u201cI like that term.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Y CLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0 Chapter 38\u00a0 1\/2\u00a0 Chapter 38\u00a0 Armandine kept hold of Genevieve\u2019s hand and chatted with her warmly in Frencian. \u201cDarling, […]<\/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-212","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\/212","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=212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":239,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212\/revisions\/239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}