Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
Vicki Hampton, having been watching the scene quietly with Katie, couldn’t help asking, “Katie, do you know that woman?”
Katie, regaining her composure, replied with a faint smile, “Yes. She also has some connection to you.”
Vicki frowned. “To me? How can that be? I don’t know her. What connection can she have to me?”
Audrey, on stage, was dressed simply without wearing any makeup.
Vicki, on the other hand, wore exquisite makeup and was meticulously dressed. But despite this, Audrey’s natural beauty still made her look more vibrant and youthful than Vicki. This made Vicki feel inexplicably hostile to Audrey.
When Katie noticed this, the corners of her mouth curved into a smile. An idea occurred to her, so she said playfully, “She is acquainted with your beau, Jarrod. Since she and Jarrod know each other, doesn’t it mean she has a connection to you?”
Vicki’s face immediately turned red when she heard Jarrod’s name.
“What beau? You’re teasing me again.”
Vicki could not deny her feelings for Jarrod because it was written all over her bashful face.
Katie knew of Vicki’s fondness for Jarrod, though Jarrod’s affections lay elsewhere. With Cecilia no longer in play, she considered nurturing a new pawn for her grand schemes. She glanced at Vicki, thinking Vicki was a suitable candidate.
Katie remarked with a smirk, “The Hampton family is close to the Schultz family. With so many cooperated projects, it’s a sure thing that you and Jarrod…”
Katie’s voice trailed off deliberately. She knew Vicki enjoyed hearing this.
Vicki held Katie’s arm, smiled sweetly, and said, “Then your marriage with Cornell is also a sure thing.”
Katie serenely basked in Vicki’s jests.
To those oblivious, Katie was still Cornell’s so-called fianc?e.
After all, she had put in effort to postpone the clarification press conference. However, her leverage didn’t end there. Cornell wanted to clarify his relationship with her to the public, but there was no way she could let that happen.
Vicki, reveling in her own illusion, rested her head on Katie’s shoulder and said cheerfully, “Isn’t it great? Our husbands are good friends, and so are we. We can travel together to have a blast.”
Katie, her acting instincts kicking in, didn’t say anything. Noticing Katie’s unusual silence, Vicki looked over and it was only then that she saw the tears that welled up in Katie’s eyes.
Surprised, Vicki asked, “Katie, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
Katie, as if frightened of being noticed, quickly wiped away her tears and muttered, “It’s nothing… let’s go…”
After saying this, Katie turned around and was about to leave.
However, Vicki suddenly grabbed her arm and said anxiously, “What’s going on? If you don’t tell me, it means you don’t take me as a friend.”
“Vicki, It’s not that I don’t take you as a friend. It’s just that…
Katie hesitated. She bit her lower lip and said in a low voice, “You’d better not ask…”
“No way! What if I can help you?” Vicki’s voice raised. “Did someone bully you? Tell me. I will deal with that person for you.”
Katie’s face turned pale, making her look pitiful. “The woman on the stage is actually Cornell’s ex-wife.”
“What? Cornell’s ex-wife?” Vicki exclaimed in shock. “How can that be?
Cornell’s ex-wife died from drowning, right?”
But only a few people knew this.
Vicki knew because Cornell suddenly disappeared from the public eye at the peak of his career a couple of years ago. She was puzzled then.
On one occasion when Vicki accompanied her mother to the church, she bumped into Cornell. At that time, Cornell looked so disheveled and gaunt that she hardly recognized him.
Later, Vicki found out Cornell was depressed because of his ex-wife’s death, which had moved her at that time.
Knowing Katie was the one who had stayed by Cornell’s side and helped him get through his grief, Vicki admired Katie’s steadfastness.
Despite Cornell’s indifference, Katie never left him.
Judging from Katie’s expression, Vicki speculated, “Did his ex-wife return to go back with him?”
Katie nodded aggrievedly. “She has approached Cornell several times..
“That bitch! How dare she do that!” Vicki cursed angrily. She related because Jarrod, the man she loved, also had an unforgettable first love. That was why she always despised ex-girlfriends and ex-wives.
Since Audrey was Cornell’s ex-wife, she instantly hated Audrey.
Vicki looked at Katie and said resentfully, “You were with Cornell at his worst days. When he was in the hardest times of his life, you never left him. Now, his ex-wife comes back to take him back? What does she mean? Does she think she can get him back because of her good looks?”
Katie shook her head helplessly. “I don’t know what will happen next…”
Vicki felt annoyed by all the ex-girlfriends and ex-wives. She held Katie’s hand and advised, “Cornell is young, handsome, and successful.
Maybe that’s why his ex-wife is unwilling to let him go. So, you must keep an eye on him and secure your position.”
Katie nodded slightly. “Yes. But there’s something else I know. I’m not sure if I should tell you…”
Vicki asked in confusion, “What is it? Does it have something to do with me?”
Katie said somberly, “Audrey and Jarrod’s first love are best friends.”
Vicki’s eyes widened in shock. “What? Do you mean Jamie?”
Jarrod’s previous entanglement with Jamie was public knowledge.
Oblivious to Jarrod’s relationship with Nicole back in their school days, Vicki assumed Jamie was Jarrod’s first love.
Shaking her head, Katie revealed, “No, not Jamie. Jarrod’s first love is the daughter of the lawrence family. They were classmates and childhood sweethearts.”
“The lawrence family?” Vicki was even more surprised. “Do you mean the lawrence family who fell into ruin after the director’s suicide?”
Katie nodded. “Yes. Miss lawrence has returned to Ardlens. She seems to still be in contact with Jarrod.” Then, she warned worriedly, “Vicki, you have to be careful. Those two women are cunning. Their tactics are quite formidable.”
Vicki suddenly grasped what Jarrod had been up to and why he kept avoiding her. She stomped her feet angrily and said viciously, “Those despicable women! I’ll find someone to teach them a lesson.”
When Katie saw the anger in Vicki’s eyes, the corners of her lips raised slightly. She continued to advise Vicki, “Vicki, don’t act rashly. If Jarrod finds out it was me who told you all these, it would make things difficult for me with Cornell.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t say anything. I’m not that stupid,” Vicki assured Katie straightforwardly.
Vicki looked at the stage and said bitterly, “We can’t let those women get away with this. How dare they seduce our men!”
The press conference still went on.
The woman, having wrongly accused Audrey under Katie’s instruction, still wanted to stir up trouble.
The journalists kept asking questions unrelated to the baseless accusation of plagiarism. The woman was dissatisfied they had deviated from that topic and shouted several times for their attention. However, they all just ignored her as if she didn’t exist.
Frustrated, the woman suddenly jumped onto the stage and yelled, “Even if Casey is your mother, how can you put your name on her works and claim them as your own? What is the difference between what you are doing and plagiarism?”
As soon as the woman said this, there was pin-drop silence in the room. Everyone stared at her as if she was a fool. They collectively believed the woman’s claim of being an employee of Dream Studio was nothing but a lie. For someone in the design industry, not knowing Casey’s story was unthinkable.
Unfazed, Audrey turned to the security guards and ordered softly, “Security, please escort this lady out.”
The woman protested madly and shouted, “Why are you kicking me out?
Because I exposed you? You are a plagiarist! How dare you hold a press conference! You are a shameless bitch!”
“Miss…” Audrey was about to say something when one journalist, who could no longer hold back, suddenly spoke up. “Do you really work in the design industry? If so, how could you not know that Casey once mentioned in an interview that some of her designs were completed with her six-year-old daughter?”
Casey received a purely foreign education, explaining the style of her initial designs. later, she started to create a national-style series, influenced by her daughter’s drawings. She perfected her daughter’s drawing of national animals and presented them on clothes.
Impressed by the national-style designs she delivered, Casey dedicated herself to promoting it globally.
And now, Audrey seemed to be doing the same thing as her mother. It was really commendable.
The woman meant to stir up trouble was rendered speechless. She knew nothing about Casey. Her only purpose in coming here was to make things difficult for Audrey.
Rolling her eyes, the woman changed her tactic and scoffed. “So this woman said she was Casey’s daughter, and you believed her right away?
Who knows if her work is outsourced? If she is really that capable, why doesn’t she design in front of us now?”
The room became noticeably quieter.
The woman’s words had a point. Considering Casey had stepped down, it wasn’t sufficient to take Audrey’s claim at face value without proof that she was indeed Casey’s offspring.
Several journalists agreed, “Indeed, we can’t just accept her claim without question.”
“Let’s have her show us Mrs. Warburton’ signature embroidery skills, the Warburton Embroidery Method, known only to her daughter.”
“Exactly, exactly..
Audrey saw through that the woman with the sunglasses was here to stir up trouble.