Chapter 14
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Her voice was barely audible, betraying no emotion.
Rachelle tilted her head slightly to look at Claudine.
The moment they met, she could tell–something in Claudine had changed.
Claudine had been famous since her youth, practically a legend in the auction world.
Time had failed to diminish her beauty. Instead, it lent her a mature elegance. But at the same time, her past confi- dence and radiance were gone.
Only weariness remained on her face now.
Women understood women the best. Instead of asking anything, Rachelle simply patted Claudine’s shoulder as com- fort.
Claudine smiled to say she was fine.
Just then, the gallery manager walked over to Rachelle and whispered something in her ear.
She nodded and said to Claudine, “A client is downstairs for a painting. Feel free to browse around. Let’s grab lunch together.”
Claudine nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll wait for
you here.”
It was a weekday, and there weren’t many people in the gallery. As Claudine walked around, her head grew increas- ingly heavy, the surroundings blurring into overlapping images before her eyes.
She was probably running a fever.
She found a seat, sat down, and closed her eyes to rest.
Just then, the rhythm of heels clicking against the floor reached her ears. She was all too familiar with the footsteps.
Damian?
She slowly opened her eyes. Sure enough, through the small window in the wall, she saw him.
How weird. She’d barely seen him for weeks when they were together, and now that they were getting divorced, she kept running into him two days in a row.
Besides, what was he doing here? He was never interested in art.
When they first got married, she’d repeatedly asked him to visit the gallery with her, but he’d always said he wasn’t in- terested.
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Chapter 14
Was he meeting someone here, or…
Damian saw Claudine, too.
Frowning, he walked toward her.
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Days had passed, yet she still wouldn’t come home and kept following him. And why did she look so deathly pale? Was that sickly pallor makeup? Because she wanted to make him pity her?
Enough with her tricks!
“Who said you could be here?” he said coldly, his expression sullen.
A wave of dizziness washed over Claudine. She stood up to argue with Damian, yet her legs buckled, sending her crumpling against his chest.
He caught her in time.
She tried to push herself up, but the harder she tried, the weaker she felt, as if all her strength had been drained away.
The thick coat masked her fever.
To Damian, she was shamelessly holding onto him in public.
His expression turned glacial as he pushed her away.
“You told Mom yesterday you wanted to split up, didn’t you? What’s this, then? Claudine, cut it out already and come back. I have no time for this charade.”
His movement wasn’t gentle at all. Weak and dizzy, she stumbled back, and her back bumped into a protruding wall ornament. She let out a muffled groan, her face twisting in pain.
He realized how brutal his movement was.
“Are you OK?”
His indifferent tone was tinged with disgust, showing no concern at all.
When asking this, he looked at her, only to see her face turning paler.
Realizing something was wrong, he stepped forward and held her arm.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
She nodded, feeling the entire world upside down. Without him, she would have collapsed already.
“Dami, I’ve got the painting. Let’s go.”
Just then, a woman’s voice rang out. Almost immediately, Damian let go of Claudine’s arm.
She slumped into a chair heavily.
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Chapter 14
With the last bit of strength, she looked over, only to see him wrap his arm around a woman’s waist.
The silhouette… It was the woman from last night.
So, the woman was why Damian was here–he had accompanied her to collect a painting.
It wasn’t that he disliked art. He simply hadn’t cared enough to visit a gallery with Claudine.
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