Aveline's fingers curled instinctively as she lay in the car.

She had actually woken up as soon as they put her in, but she hadn't opened her eyes immediately.

Zachary had already left, and it was too late for her to return to the hotel alone, so she pretended to be asleep. There mit have been other reasons, but she didn't want to delve into them. She responded coolly, "Yes, any problem with that?"

"Aveline, you deceived me and took a free ride back, and this is how you repay me?" Lucas was nearly laughing in frustration.

Aveline looked at him. "Didn't I say thank you? What more do you want? Should I kneel and kowtow to you?"

Lucas was speechless. This woman really knew how to infuriate him!

Seeing his increasingly dark expression, Aveline smiled and said, " Lucas, you're upset because you gave a lady a ride back to the hotel? That's pretty petty of you." With that, she turned and walked away.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Lucas stood there for a long moment, truly exasperated by her words, before finally returning to the car.

Desmond, sensing the tension, cautiously started the car and headed towards Celestial Heights.

Once they arrived, Lucas coldly ordered, "Find out who that guy was with her today."

"Yes, sir,” Desmond replied.

In less than five minutes, Zachary's information was handed to Lucas. Desmond stood nearby and explained, "He grew up with Mrs. Tudor. They're childhood friends."

A cold glare was cast in his direction,

"I'll give you one chance to rephrase that," Lucas said icily.

Desmond cleared his throat. "Uh, they're just ordinary friends."

Damn! Why did he have to say that?

Calling them childhood friends was bound to cause

misunderstandings, no wonder Lucas was angry. Desmond reminded himself that he'd have to be more careful next time.

Lucas withdrew his gaze, scanned the documents indifferently, and then tossed them aside. "Not just anyone can be the director of ant orphanage. Go and notify them." Desmond's expression tightened. "Yes, sir!"

It was clear that Lucas was displeased with Zachary and intended to reject his application.

Aveline returned to the hotel, took a shower, and then called Zachary.

He didn't answer.

She sighed in frustration.

She hadn't expected things to unfold this way.

When she got drunk, her mind was filled with thoughts of Lucas, specifically the version of him before he regained his memory.

She hadn't considered anything else.

Only after sobering up did she realize Zachary might have misunderstood everything.

"Oh well," she thought. "I'll explain it to him the next time we meet."

After her shower, Aveline went to bed.

It rained again the next day, making travel inconvenient, so she didn't book a return ticket.

She spent the day holed up in the hotel, and by evening, the rain had stopped. Deciding to go out for dinner, she dressed simply in a base layer and a light jacket.

She headed to a nearby food street and wandered around. She found a steakhouse and had just sat down when her phone rang. It was Zachary. Aveline was a bit surprised; she hadn't expected him to call her first.