“But today, when I was at Prof. Nixon’s, I saw Claudine.”
Damian stopped writing and looked up at Audrey.
“What was she doing there?”
Audrey had assumed Damian knew about Claudine’s abilities, and that she had once been Adriana’s student.
But judging by Damian’s reaction now, he clearly had no idea.
Of course, Dami never liked her, so why would he care about Claudine’s affairs!
“She was… cooking for Prof. Nixon…”
Damian frowned.
“Cooking?”
Audrey nodded.
“Prof. Nixon told me that Claudine is also preparing to apply for her PhD. Dami, did she ever mention this plan to you before?”
Damian put down the pen in his hand.
“Why would she suddenly want to pursue a doctorate?”
Seeing that Damian truly knew nothing about Claudine’s plans, Audrey realized he genuinely didn’t care about that woman. Her earlier annoyance over the evening dress completely vanished.
“She never had this idea before? It seems it’s really because of me. Dami, your wife seems to mind me quite a lot…”
Audrey bit her lower lip, looking aggrieved.
She watched Damian out of the corner of her eye and continued.
“Before I knew her identity, I thought since we were neighbors, maybe we could be friends, so I told her I was prepar- ing for my PhD.
“I never expected she would even compete with me over this.
“Actually, if she truly wanted to work in this field, I wouldn’t mind at all, and I’d be happy to help her study.
“But she’s never worked in cultural relic restoration, and I doubt she’s published many papers.
She probably knows her professional knowledge can’t compare to mine, so she’s trying to take a roundabout approach
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and build a good relationship with Prof. Nixon.
“But after all, she’s your wife. If outsiders find out about this…”
Audrey didn’t finish her sentence, but Damian’s expression had already darkened.
She stepped forward and poured Damian a glass of water.
“Don’t be too upset. I’m not afraid of her competing with me, I’m just worried that if this gets out, it could affect you and Darla.”
Thinking about Claudine’s recent actions, Damian’s frown deepened.
That woman was always jealous. He found it petty, but since she was usually attentive to the family, he hadn’t minded much.
Besides, she hadn’t done anything truly outrageous.
But now, with Audrey back, Claudine had first thrown a tantrum and left home, then deliberately moved in down- stairs from Audrey to cause trouble, and now she was trying to interfere with Audrey’s PhD plans.
She was getting more and more out of line!
If this isn’t dealt with soon, she’ll really make a fool of herself.
Just as he was thinking this, the office door was knocked.
Lindsay entered from outside.
She glanced at Audrey, then walked up to the desk.
“Mr. Barrette, there’s news about the Willow Creek Villas property.”
She paused, not continuing.
Damian noticed her hesitation.
“Audrey isn’t an outsider, go on!”
Lindsay was surprised; she hadn’t expected Mr. Barrette to truly care more about Audrey now.
Does that mean he’s going to divorce Claudine?
Seeing Lindsay remain silent, Damian looked up and frowned, “Ms. Powell?”
Lindsay snapped back to attention.
“The house Mrs. Barrette is living in now is registered in her own name. But when I contacted the owner, it was a man named Roberto who answered the phone.
“According to my investigation, Mr. Gregory was Mrs. Barrette’s classmate in high school. Before the SAT, Roberto chose to go abroad, and lost contact with Mrs. Barrette.”
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Before Damian could speak, Audrey interjected.
“You contacted the owner and reached Mr. Gregory? Could it be that Mr. Gregory bought the house?”
Lindsay frowned at Audrey upon hearing this.
That was a rather malicious thing to say!
Wasn’t she implying that Claudine had an unusual relationship with another man!
After all, what man would casually buy a house for a woman he wasn’t involved with!
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Lindsay looked at Damian, but his face betrayed no emotion, so she couldn’t tell if he believed Audrey’s insinuations.
She hadn’t liked Claudine at first because she mistakenly thought Claudine was an ignorant woman who had married above her station with Damian.
But after seeing Claudine at the auction, she even felt that Damian wasn’t good enough for Claudine.
As for the woman stirring up trouble before her now, she truly looked down on her.
She really couldn’t understand why Mr. Barrette had been so taken with her, even now!
“Mrs. Barrette shouldn’t need another man to pay for her!”
Lindsay couldn’t help but say this.
Audrey glanced at her and smiled.
“Of course, with such an outstanding husband as Dami, Claudine certainly isn’t short of money. Just now, she even bought a three–million–dollar evening dress for her mother.”
Audrey said this deliberately for Damian to hear.
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