Not only did Penelope look stunned, but Sydney froze as well. She raised her head and forced herself to speak in a calm tone. “Either explain things to them properly first, or just go with Penelope to pick up the car.”
She could accept that he had cheated. She could even accept being the one to explain it all. What she couldn’t accept was being dragged into a mess she never agreed to.
If he just left with her like this, everyone would assume Penelope was Mrs. Hampton. And her? The homewrecker. The
other woman. The mistress.
Caleb called out, “Sydney-”
Sydney had seen his hesitation, and that decided it for her. Her voice wasn’t loud, just clear enough for everyone nearby
to hear. “Mr. Hampton, I have other things to do. I’ll be going now.”
That one “Mr. Hampton” drew a sharp, cold line between them.
The sales director, a seasoned professional, caught on quickly and turned to Caleb with a smooth smile. “Ah, Mr. Hampton, so this young lady is a friend of yours? If you’d mentioned it earlier, I would’ve offered her a discount right
away.”
Caleb hummed absentmindedly.
At that moment, Sydney shut the car door and drove off without looking back.
Penelope, still smiling, slipped her arm through Caleb’s. “I almost thought you forgot–you promised to take me
shopping in Brimcrest City after we picked up the car.”
At the mention of it, Caleb finally looked away from where Sydney had disappeared. “I didn’t forget.”
His voice had lost its warmth, and Penelope noticed it. She tugged on his arm and pouted playfully. “That’s where we
first met. Why are you so distracted today?”
At a red light, just as Sydney tapped the brake, a WhatsApp message from Caleb appeared. She didn’t even open it.
A phone call came through at the same time, and she answered that instead.
“Alan?”
Alan’s warm voice came through. “Syd, there’s something I wanted your opinion on.”
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8:44 AM Sun 24 Aug
Chapter 59
“Go ahead.”
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+15 BONUS
“You remember when Julian came to our place?” Alan spoke too quickly and got a smack on the shoulder from Eliana
beside him.
He cleared his throat and went on, “He’s working on a new cancer treatment project. He needs a team of medical experts. I was planning to have Marc lead a team over. I didn’t mention it to you because I thought you’d want to stay out of anything involving Julian, but Eliana insisted we ask you first.”
The light turned green.
Sydney pressed the gas and answered without hesitation, “Alan, I’d love to join.”
She had gone into medicine for a simple reason–to save lives. Millions of patients were out there. Even if she worked at
the clinic every day, the number of people she could help would still be limited.
Now, she had a chance to help cancer patients.
Sterling Corp. owned some of the most advanced labs in the country. Their research institute attracted top–tier talent.
Working with them professionally was an obvious choice.
And personally? She wouldn’t let private matters get in the way of something that meaningful.
Alan sounded surprised. “You’re sure? Once you join, you’ll probably be visiting Sterling Corp. a lot. You’re bound to run
into Julian.”
“I’ve already thought it through,” Sydney said with a light laugh. “Don’t worry. Sterling Corp. is huge. What are the odds
I’d run into him every single time?”
“That’s true. And this is a good project. I’m glad you’re thinking clearly.” Alan sounded relieved, already planning ahead
for her. “If this drug is developed successfully, your name won’t stay under the radar for long. And once that happens,
even if Eloise wants to interfere again, it’ll be too late.”
Once Sydney became a key figure in cancer drug development, even Eloise would have to think twice before crossing her
again.
