Chapter 523\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dorothy, worried the situation might cause a misunderstanding or make Sydney uncomfortable, quickly smiled and explained, \u201cOh no, you\u2019ve got it wrong. I\u2019m not that fortunate. This young lady heard that I was unwell and came to check on me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only then did Adeline turn toward the sitting area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When her gaze landed on Sydney, her voice grew sharp and smug at once. \u201cThen you must be mistaken. Not just anyone can come to the Hampton residence. As for my future daughter-in- law\u2026 that position\u2019s already taken.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few years ago, Adeline couldn\u2019t stand Penelope. Everything about that woman had annoyed her. But now that Penelope had moved up in the world, Adeline was eager to see the Hampton and Hutton families tied together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Besides, Penelope was said to be carrying Caleb\u2019s child. She couldn\u2019t run even if she wanted to. Once the Hamptons approved, the matter would be sealed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adeline was only too pleased to share the \u201cgood news.\u201d It was the perfect way to make Sydney abandon any lingering feelings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018What nerve, always claiming she and Caleb are over, yet still showing up here!\u2019 Adeline thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At her words, not only the circle of elegantly dressed women but even Dorothy herself looked puzzled. What was that woman up to now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Intrigued, one of the women, asked, \u201cOh? And which family is the lucky girl from?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Hutton family,\u201d Adeline said proudly, casting Sydney a disdainful glance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, as if to make sure everyone heard, she added, \u201cThe Hutton family from Brimcrest.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gasps rippled through the room. Even among social elites, the Hutton name commanded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This time, Sydney\u2019s calm expression wavered slightly. It was the first real reaction she\u2019d\u00a0<\/p>\n
shown all afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That flicker of emotion thrilled Adeline. Finally, she\u2019d struck a nerve.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Sydney felt no jealousy or pain-only amusement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018So that\u2019s it. Adeline must have assumed Penelope\u2019s baby belongs to Caleb. Now that the Huttons have recognized Penelope, Adeline is desperate to make Caleb a proud, premature father.\u2019 Sydney almost laughed. \u2018Does she really think that will end well?\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the Huttons ever learned the truth-that Penelope\u2019s identity was still uncertain-Adeline would lose everything. When that day came, she\u2019d regret ever opening her mouth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a few rounds of small talk and laughter, one of the guests suddenly exclaimed in recognition, \u201cOh, I know you! You\u2019re the lead researcher behind that new specialty drug from Sterling Corp., aren\u2019t you? Wilson-Sydney Wilson?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her family also worked in pharmaceuticals, so she was the only one present who understood Sydney\u2019s true status in the medical field. Most of the others had no idea how influential the young woman had become.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her husband had been eager for months to meet Sydney, but she kept such a low profile that they\u2019d never managed to cross paths.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney smiled warmly and nodded. \u201cYes, that\u2019s me. Pleased to meet you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman was delighted and hurried forward, clearly hoping to exchange contacts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adeline couldn\u2019t stand the sight of anyone flattering Sydney. Her tone turned sharp and dripping with sarcasm. \u201cOh, Mrs. Wycomb, don\u2019t bother! Ms. Wilson\u2019s nose is so high in the air, she wouldn\u2019t look twice at your son. She only cares about climbing higher.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cClimbing higher?\u201d Iris Ryder frowned, genuinely puzzled. \u201cIsn\u2019t Ms. Wilson already seeing someone from the Sterling family? Tell me, who in Jouleston ranks higher than the Sterlings?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She even chuckled at the thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She and her husband had watched the press conference back then. The way the Sterling family\u2019s \u2018Grim Reaper\u2019 looked at Sydney was like a starving dog spotting a steak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later, when the two were exposed for dating, he hadn\u2019t denied the rumors once. Even now, whenever someone mentioned it, he only smiled and said nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Who in their right mind would try to compete for that woman as a daughter-in-law? It would be social suicide. Iris had only wanted to make a polite connection, nothing more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adeline burst out laughing and covered her mouth as if she\u2019d heard the funniest joke in years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, Mrs. Wycomb, you actually believe that nonsense? Her? Join the Sterling family? You must be dreaming.\u201d Her voice dripped with disdain. \u201cGiven how much Madam Sterling despises her, the only way Sydney will ever step through that door is over the old woman\u2019s corpse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She gave a soft, derisive laugh. \u201cWhat a ridiculous fantasy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
D\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When The Ocean Learned My Name and Whispered It Back to You by Aurelia Novel 523 Chapter 523\u00a0 Dorothy, worried […]<\/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":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-when-love-is-gone-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22703","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=22703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22703\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}