chapter152
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So this was what she cared about!
Claudine thought that her mother, knowing she had returned to work and seeing her current achievements, would be proud of her.
But unexpectedly, her mother still wore a worried expression.
“Claudy, I truly had no idea that you were living such a hard life.”
“Don’t worry, I will tell your father about your grievances. The daughter of the Hogan family will not be bullied so easily.
“With your father here, even if you get divorced, you are still the princess of the Hogan family. You still have me and your father.”
Claudine sighed deeply in her heart.
She had said so much, yet her mother still believed that even if she left Damian, she would need her family’s protec-
tion.
But she was no longer that helpless little princess.
She had long understood that only power and career would never betray her.
Family?
Even the closest couples, like her parents, or herself and Damian, beneath the surface harmony lay lies and schemes.
Blood relations, like her father and brother, for their own interests, her father had almost caused her brother to be wrongly accused of murder.
What she needed now was not anyone’s shelter, but to carve out a path of her own.
But her mother…
Was still trapped in the web of lies her father had woven.
Claudine said nothing more.
She knew it was impossible to change her mother’s mind overnight.
At least today, her mother learned about her intention to divorce. As for everything else, she would wait until her mother’s Opera Arts Center was established.
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chapter 152
Audrey left the Hogan’s mansion and got into a car heading to the hotel.
She looked at the man in the rearview mirror.
He showed not a trace of reluctance, just letting her go like that.
Audrey could never have imagined that one day, Damian would treat her so coldly.
Just now, she had almost begged Damian to let Darlene stay by her side.
But Damian had mercilessly refused.
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He claimed to be worried that Darlene would disturb her, that she wouldn’t have the energy to handle her doctoral
studies.
Audrey understood that these were just excuses.
From the moment Damian entered the garden, his gaze had never left Claudine!
Did he think she couldn’t see it!
They say true feelings change easily, but she never expected Damian to be the same!
Audrey’s gaze returned to the rearview mirror.
There was no sign of Damian anymore!
He must have rushed off to comfort Claudine!
Thinking of them together, Audrey was driven mad with jealousy.
All of this should have belonged to her!
Now, it had all been snatched away by that wretched Claudine!
She had only been gone for five years!
Damian, how could you change your heart!
The car soon delivered Audrey to the hotel.
Damian had booked her a suite on the top floor. Audrey called for room service and ordered a bottle of red wine.
Staying sober was simply too painful for her.
She needed to get thoroughly drunk.
She stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, watching as the sky gradually turned indigo, the sun finally set, and neon lights illuminated the city
She collapsed in front of the window, repeating Damian’s name over and over, asking him again and again: Why did you change your heart!
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chapter 152
She hated herself even more, hated that she didn’t have a background like Claudine’s.
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If she hadn’t had nothing, if she had a distinguished family like Claudine, how could she have felt so inferior and left Damian back then.
She thought again of the mother who abandoned her, of that muddy path, of the day she chased after her mother and fell into a muddy puddle.
But that woman hadn’t even looked back.
Today, seeing Claudine’s mother protect Claudine, at that moment, she truly envied Claudine.
She had everything.
Even her doctoral advisor was Mitchell, someone Audrey had never dared to dream of.
This world really is unfair!
Audrey stared at the woman reflected in the window, defeated and broken.
She picked up the wine bottle in her hand and smashed it furiously.
The bottle shattered instantly, fragments scattered across the floor.
The crimson wine slowly trickled down the window, like blood and tears streaming down the reflected face.
It was so eerie it was almost frightening.
Audrey stared at the scene before her.
She hated this world to the core!
She wanted everyone who betrayed her to pay the price!
At that moment, a phone rang in the room.
The light from the screen was the only source of illumination in the dark room.
Audrey stepped over the glass shards on the carpet and walked over.
The name flashing on the phone screen was Damian.
A strange smile finally appeared on Audrey’s face.
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