Chapter 9

Tiffany did not seem to have noticed Evelyn as she turned to Sophia and smiled warmly. "You can treat me however you want." On the other hand, Lucas looked up in annoyance, asking, "Why are you here?" Meeting his cold gaze, Evelyn immediately understood that he had misunderstood her intentions. Sure enough, Mason Cooper, who was sitting at the side, sneered. "Ms. Reed, you're capable. You've managed to track Lucas down to where we usually meet in private. We're all respectable people here. Don't you feel embarrassed by behaving like this?" Evelyn was here to catch Lucas in the act with Tiffany. Why else would she show up instead? Looking at Evelyn, Mason scoffed and shook his head. "Aren't you tired of it? It's damn obvious that Lucas doesn't like you." Considering how she had arranged for reporters to catch her sleeping with Lucas, the Grant family would have been humiliated if he had not suppressed the news in time. Hence, they all looked down on her for sacrificing her reputation and innocence—all for the sake of climbing up the social ladder. Evelyn was already used to their mockery. As Lucas' friends, they all despised her for being shameless. Tiffany sat beside Lucas, gently pouring a glass of juice for Sophia. Sitting there with confidence and elegance, she hadn't even looked up to shoot Evelyn a glance. She did not seem afraid of a confrontation either. However, Evelyn understood her. She knew that Tiffany was not afraid as she had Lucas' heart. "Tiffany, you're not upset, are you?" Sophia asked, looking at Tiffany nervously. She was afraid of Tiffany being disgusted by Evelyn, who had snatched Lucas. Smiling softly, Tiffany maintained her silence. Perhaps afraid that she would misunderstand him, Lucas had a cold expression, adding, "We can talk outside." Evelyn turned and left without sparing the people inside the room a second glance. Once they were in the corridor, Lucas looked at her indifferently, asking, "How did you know that I'm here?" His voice was calm, but he was certain that she had tracked him and followed him here. Evelyn met his gaze and felt her heart tightening. "You're overthinking things. I'm not here for you, and I don't care who you're with either." They were about to get a divorce, so she would not interfere with his relationship. "If you don't care about it, then why are you purposely taking sick leave just to avoid handling the task of clearing Tiffany's name? Don't you think you're being too emotional?" Lucas asked as he looked at her impassively. Evelyn had a sick uncle, so how could she possibly afford to resign from such a high-paying job? After all, she wasn't like Tiffany who had graduated from a prestigious university. Meeting his scrutinizing gaze, Evelyn had no desire to explain herself. She took a step back, mentioning instead, "Could you please make the divorce a priority in your schedule?" She did not want to affiliate herself with him anymore, and the fact that she was only here because Sophia had pulled a disappearing act was no longer important. Sophia was not surprised to see Evelyn, so it was clear that Sophia was just tormenting her on purpose. Since Sophia was dead set on not admitting it, there was no point for her to explain herself either. All she wanted was to be done with the divorce as soon as possible. Lucas paused, and there was a flicker of surprise as he looked at her coldly. She did not understand his confusion. Hadn't she sent him the divorce papers already? With that said, she turned around to leave. However, a waiter suddenly came rushing through the corridor, knocking Evelyn's shoulders in the process. She lost her balance and fell backward until she fell into Lucas' firm embrace. The scent of sandalwood waffled in the air around him. That smell had been imprinted into her mind after being intimate with each other countless times for three years. She looked up, apologizing, "I'm sorry. It was an acci…" Lucas caught the faint medicinal scent on her body and frowned. "Are you ill?" Her heart tightened. If Lucas found out about her diagnosis, he would not help her hide it given how heartless he was toward her. If Maria ended up asking him why they were getting a divorce, he might end up saying something along the lines of him not wanting to be burdened by Evelyn since she did not have long to live. "You should go to the hospital if you're sick. What's the use of you coming here?" His calm words made her freeze. Even if he did not care about her anymore, his words still stung. After seeing the stunt she had just pulled, he smirked. "You're doing a good job at feigning indifference." She froze. Knowing that Lucas had misunderstood her once again, she wanted to explain herself, only for him to suddenly frown. Then, he shoved her aside and returned to the room. A dull ache spread inside her chest. Since she had bitten her lips, her pale lips were evident due to her lipstick being smudged off. There was a sharp pain coming from her stomach too. Not wanting to look weak, she turned around to leave. Suddenly, a tall and slender man walked past her. The man looked at her with a faint smile, mocking, "You should read more books if you're that stupid." Evelyn frowned, but he entered the private room before she could say anything. That man was Jason Holt, one of Lucas' friends. It was clear to her that Jason had also misunderstood her and assumed that she had "thrown herself" at Lucas, only to be pushed away in disgust.