Chapter 2

After doing all that, Audrey didn’t alert the two people inside.

She simply turned and left the marital house.

Liam had always told the outside world he was single.

Perfect.

She would love to see how he planned to explain this.

After leaving the house, Audrey went to Sophie Shaw’s clinic.

Once the checkup was done, she soon received the report.

Sophie, standing beside her, looked curious. “Audrey, why are you getting a checkup?”

“It’s nothing.”

Audrey’s tone was calm.

But when she saw that everything on the report was normal, the ache in her chest nearly broke through.

Back then, Liam had deceived her into believing she couldn’t have children.

So when he had comforted her and told her that not having children wouldn’t affect their relationship, she had been deeply moved.

Now she realized it had all been part of his scheme.

As for children, of course he didn’t care.

After all, he and Julie already had their own child.

“We keep a close eye on your health, you know,” Sophie said, completely unaware of what had happened. She teased, “You’re my family's lucky charm, after all. That little gadget you casually made last time earned MindTech almost three hundred million. It’s just a shame you’ve been busy getting married lately. Otherwise…”

She grinned as she joked, her tone both affectionate and a little flattering.

MindTech was owned by the Shaw family. It specialized in robotics and artificial intelligence.

Outsiders had no idea, but Sophie, Audrey’s die-hard fan, knew exactly what Audrey was capable of.

If that damn research institute hadn’t been blown up years ago, and if Sophie hadn’t accidentally saved Audrey, no one would have known that countless scientific breakthroughs admired around the world had actually come from one woman.

A woman known only by the code name “AJ.”

Even now, years after the institute had been destroyed, there were still people searching for Audrey.

And the truth was, scientific research was only a small part of Audrey’s life.

So no matter who got into trouble, Sophie would never let anything happen to Audrey.

Audrey held the report in her hand, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes stinging faintly.

That was right.

A lie so full of holes, and she had believed it.

She had not even bothered to verify it.

All because she had trusted Liam.

Because he was the man who had once risked his life to pull her out of a fire.

And that same man had lied to her for five whole years.

Just then, Sophie was scrolling through the latest gossip on her social feed and saw photos someone had posted of the police catching a prostitution case in progress.

At first, she was only enjoying the drama.

But when she got a clear look at the woman in the photo, Sophie froze.

“Huh?”

A second later, she cried out, “Holy crap, Audrey, look at this. Isn’t the woman in this photo Julie Sanders? And the man beside her... why does he look like Liam? Wasn’t he supposed to be getting married to you today?”

Audrey glanced at the photo Sophie handed her.

It looked like someone had taken it secretly. The door to the marital house was slightly open. Julie was wrapped in a bath towel, as if she had just come out of the bathroom, looking humiliated and flustered.

Liam, on the other hand, had already gotten dressed. The photo only captured part of his profile.

Even so, his expression looked awful.

While Sophie was still wondering if she had recognized him correctly, Audrey gave her answer in two calm, certain words.

“It’s him.”

Sophie was stunned. She stared at the photo in disbelief.

“So he skipped your marriage registration to hook up with his first love, who already has a kid? Did he get his brain from a clearance bin?”

“Probably.”

Audrey lowered her eyes and answered carelessly.

Liam wasn’t the only one whose brain had apparently been on clearance.

So had hers.

After all, she had believed all this time that Liam loved her.

Sophie frowned. “Audrey, what about Silver Ridge Estates? Old Mrs. Jensen’s will clearly states that you can only inherit it after you’re married. And your wedding with Liam is only a month away. If the Jensen family finds out about this…”

The 'Old Mrs. Jensen' she was referring to was the late matriarch of the Jensen family, Lucy Jensen.

After Lucy passed away, she had left Audrey an inheritance and asked her to take over Silver Ridge Estates.

But there was one condition.

Audrey had to be married.

Audrey did not actually care about the assets, but Silver Ridge Estates was Lucy’s life’s work.

Over all these years of her being the Jensen family’s adopted daughter, Lucy had been the only person who had treated her with genuine kindness.

No matter what, Audrey had to take over Silver Ridge Estates in one month.

That was why she had taken the initiative to bring up marriage registration with Liam.

They had even set the wedding date.

She just had not expected things to turn out like this.

At that moment, Liam’s text finally popped up on her phone.

'Audrey, I got a little busy today. Can we wait a few more days to get the marriage license?'

Busy?

Busy sleeping with his first love?

Or busy getting caught in bed?

Audrey tightened her grip on her phone.

She did not expose him.

She only replied with one word.

Okay.

After closing her chat with Liam, Audrey thought of Sophie’s question and opened another message thread.

'Mr. Lowe, I accept your proposal regarding marriage. Let’s meet in three days and discuss the details.'