Chapter 4

Julie Sanders was Liam’s childhood sweetheart, and she had gone to the same school as Audrey, so Audrey naturally knew her too.

Because of that, Liam did not think Audrey would mind.

Unfortunately for him, William had just come out of the study and heard every word.

Furious, William grabbed a vase from the side table and hurled it at him.

“How did the Caldwell family end up with an idiot like you? Do you realize what you’re doing? You’re humiliating Audrey! You’re supposed to be Audrey’s husband, not Julie Sanders’s husband. If she had so little self-respect that she got pregnant before marriage, what does that have to do with you? Why are you worrying about her?”

“Grandpa, that’s not how it works.” Liam turned his head aside and let the vase shatter all over the floor. He frowned. “Julie became a researcher at an overseas institute when she was still so young. The TSA competition is starting soon, and Caldwell Group needs researchers like her. If we don’t count on Julie, who else can we count on?”

He glanced at Audrey.

The emotion in his eyes flashed and disappeared almost instantly.

He knew this was unfair to Audrey.

But she was only an orphan. What right did she have to compare herself to Julie?

Letting her stand in for Julie was already generous enough.

At worst, when he married Julie in the future, he could keep Audrey somewhere outside the family as compensation.

After all, her face was still barely worth looking at.

William listened until his blood pressure nearly shot through the roof.

What brilliant female researcher?

As if he didn’t know exactly what kind of person Julie Sanders was.

Only his grandson was blind enough to treat her like some precious treasure.

Seeing this, Liam’s mother quickly stepped in. “Dad, Liam isn’t entirely wrong. Julie hasn’t had an easy life either. She’s been raising a four-year-old boy all by herself. Besides, she’s highly educated. It won’t hurt Audrey to feel a little wronged. At the end of the day, Audrey is the one who isn’t capable enough to help Liam. Audrey, don’t you agree?”

A subtle look flickered in Liam’s mother’s eyes. Margaret Caldwell’s contempt was almost impossible to hide.

Julie had given the Caldwell family a genius grandson.

If not for William, she never would have allowed her precious grandson to remain outside the family.

So what if Audrey had to suffer a little?

At that, a trace of mockery crossed Audrey’s eyes.

Margaret even knew how old Julie’s child was. It seemed she knew everything about Julie and Liam.

And Audrey had been foolish enough to devote herself to taking care of Margaret’s health all these years.

“Grandpa, Ms. Sanders is indeed quite pitiful,” Audrey said slowly. “She got pregnant before marriage after meeting a worthless man, and that man refused to take responsibility for the child. In my opinion, the child probably inherited that awful man’s genes too. He must be hard to raise.”

The moment Margaret heard that, she panicked and blurted out, “Who are you calling awful?”

“Margaret, of course I mean the man who abandoned Ms. Sanders,” Audrey said, pretending to be surprised. “He refused to take responsibility for his own child. If that isn’t a worthless, irresponsible man, then what is he? Did I say something wrong?”

Her expression was perfectly innocent.

Margaret could not simply tell Audrey that the so-called worthless man was her own son. Audrey’s words left her choking with anger.

After a moment, she barely managed to say, “There’s nothing wrong with what you said, but you’re about to marry Liam. Don’t speak so harshly. Don’t bring those country habits into this family.”

Audrey laughed coldly in her heart.

Yes, she had grown up in the countryside when she was young.

But even she had never done anything as shameless as this family.

“Harsh, maybe, but not wrong,” she said, smoothly changing the subject. “So, Grandpa, since Ms. Sanders has had such a hard time, why don’t we just listen to Liam and let her stay at the marital home for a while? I’ll be busy preparing for the wedding anyway, so I can move out first.”

The marital home was supposed to belong to her and Liam.

But whenever Audrey thought about what he and Julie had done there, she felt sick.

Besides, she had already decided to dump him.

Why would she stay there and let them disgust her further?

William had not wanted to agree at first.

But after frowning for a while and glancing at Audrey, he eventually relented.

People always said distance made the heart grow fonder. Maybe if Liam spent more time around Julie, he would get tired of her, and his taste would finally return to normal.

Then maybe he would stop obsessing over playing father to another woman’s child.

“Fine. Since Audrey has said so, we’ll do as she says.” William stared at his grandson and warned him coldly, “But as compensation, transfer the Hillside Villa to Audrey. Let her stay there for the time being.”

“Thank you, Grandpa.”

Margaret, standing off to the side, was so upset she nearly felt physical pain. She had just opened her mouth to object when Audrey smiled and thanked him first.

Her eyes curved beautifully, but there was no real emotion in them.

She was young.

She was shallow.

And she did not mind having more money.

She had spent so many years working herself to the bone for the Caldwell family.

A villa was the least she deserved.

Liam looked at Audrey, and something strange stirred in his chest.

For some reason, he felt as if she was different from before.

She had not even made a scene after he stood her up at the courthouse.

But Liam quickly brushed the thought aside.

Audrey had always loved him deeply. She would probably give in to anything just to make him happy.

In that case, giving her a villa was no big deal.

“We’ll do as Grandpa says.”

After William and Margaret left, Liam looked at Audrey again.

“Don’t misunderstand the situation with Julie. You know what your body is like. Julie gets pregnant easily. Maybe if you spend more time with her, you’ll be able to have a child one day too.”

“You seem to know a lot about her body.”

Audrey gave him a sarcastic glance.