Chapter 190\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick shook his head, \u201cEven I just found out. Adrian keeps\u00a0<\/p>\n
things close to his chest.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine could sense from Roderick\u2019s words that he was\u00a0<\/p>\n
enjoying the drama.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t help but smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sometimes, Ricki was a lot like her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Adrian finished his speech to thunderous applause,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine looked all around but couldn\u2019t see Rebecca.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Rebecca?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s just an assistant, you wouldn\u2019t see her on stage.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As he spoke, Roderick grabbed Madeleine\u2019s hand and stood up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, I\u2019ll take you backstage to find her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca was indeed backstage, organizing the speeches from\u00a0<\/p>\n
the various guest speakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 190\u00a0<\/p>\n
Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind,\u00a0<\/p>\n
and she thought it was Adrian, who had just come off stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cProfessor Shaw, you\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before she could finish, Rebecca\u2019s eyes widened in horror at the\u00a0<\/p>\n
two people in front of her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you two doing here!\u00a0<\/p>\n
?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This couple, are they haunting me or what?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine held Roderick\u2019s arm, trying not to laugh as she\u00a0<\/p>\n
looked Rebecca\u2019s outfit up and down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was dressed like a schoolgirl, with a pair of large, black-\u00a0<\/p>\n
framed glasses on her nose.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her palm\u2013sized face was now more than half\u2013covered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And her makeup was different from usual, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Roderick and Madeleine hadn\u2019t known Rebecca so well,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine would never have recognized her just now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca, are you getting into cosplay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 190\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat cosplay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca rolled her eyes and held up the work badge hanging\u00a0<\/p>\n
around her neck for them to see.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here to work!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRight, right, to work with your Professor Shaw. I get it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca felt a little embarrassed and was about to raise her\u00a0<\/p>\n
voice to argue when she caught a glimpse of a figure\u00a0<\/p>\n
approaching.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Worried that Madeleine and the others would say something\u00a0<\/p>\n
crazy, she quickly called out, \u201cProfessor Shaw!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian\u2019s gaze first swept over Rebecca, then landed on\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick and Madeleine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stepped forward and nodded at Roderick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Livingston, I\u2019ve heard a lot about you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cProfessor Shaw.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two men shook hands politely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd this is Mrs. Livingston?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 190\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine quickly extended her hand. \u201cHello, Professor Shaw. I\u00a0<\/p>\n
just listened to your presentation, it was very insightful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian nodded, knowing Madeleine\u2019s words were just a\u00a0<\/p>\n
courtesy. Their fingers only touched briefly in a polite gesture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick subtly moved half a step closer to Madeleine,\u00a0<\/p>\n
conveniently putting some distance between her and Adrian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, his tone carrying the\u00a0<\/p>\n
usual business pleasantries: \u201cProfessor Shaw\u2019s report was\u00a0<\/p>\n
indeed brilliant, especially the analysis of investment prospects\u00a0<\/p>\n
in the biopharmaceutical field.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A glint appeared in Adrian\u2019s eyes behind his glasses as he casually glanced at Rebecca, who was standing to the side\u00a0<\/p>\n
pretending to organize her files:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re too kind, Mr. Livingston. I hear your company has also\u00a0<\/p>\n
been making moves in the medical Al field recently?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two men exchanged pleasantries, the atmosphere\u00a0<\/p>\n
seemingly harmonious but with an undercurrent of tension.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was the aura of powerful men clashing head\u2013on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 190\u00a0<\/p>\n
They chatted for a bit, and when an industry report came up,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian turned around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca, hand me the file you organized.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s lips uncontrollably wanted to curve into a smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Calling her so intimately, and they still say it\u2019s nothing? She\u00a0<\/p>\n
didn\u2019t believe it for a second.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With that thought, Madeleine feigned surprise and said, \u201cIs this\u00a0<\/p>\n
Professor Shaw\u2019s girlfriend?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oh my, I saw the work badge earlier and thought she was a\u00a0<\/p>\n
staff member. My apologies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The documents in Rebecca\u2019s hands almost fell to the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes widened as she stared at Madeleine in horror.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What is she doing? Isn\u2019t she trying to get me in trouble on\u00a0<\/p>\n
purpose?\u00a0<\/p>\n
!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca came over with the documents, about to explain, but\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 190\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian spoke first:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not a staff member. She\u2019s here with me to learn a few\u00a0<\/p>\n
things.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now that\u2026 was a very interesting thing to say:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine raised an eyebrow, giving Rebecca another look that\u00a0<\/p>\n
was half\u2013smile, half\u2013smirk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t deny she was his girlfriend~\u00a0<\/p>\n
He only said she wasn\u2019t a staff member~\u00a0<\/p>\n
That strong sense of being family\u2026 I ship it, I totally ship it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as they were talking, the event organizer came over, saying\u00a0<\/p>\n
they wanted to invite Adrian and Roderick to have dinner after\u00a0<\/p>\n
the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two men were hesitating, but then Roderick caught\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s little expression of wanting to watch the drama\u00a0<\/p>\n
unfold and was the first to accept.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then he looked at Adrian with a somewhat apologetic\u00a0<\/p>\n
expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cProfessor Shaw, if you don\u2019t have any other plans, I was\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 190\u00a0<\/p>\n
wondering if you could bring this\u2026 lady with you. My wife rarely\u00a0<\/p>\n
attends these kinds of events, and she\u2019d be more comfortable\u00a0<\/p>\n
with another woman around.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hearing this, Madeleine was so excited she wanted to clap.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brilliant, just brilliant. That Roderick really knows what he\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
doing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
Night Carved Paths Into Silence by Zyrel Ash `190 Chapter 190\u00a0 Roderick shook his head, \u201cEven I just found out. […]<\/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":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-heart-surgeons-last-patient-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29487","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=29487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29487\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}