Wren was in no mood to deal with them and had no desire to waste her breath. She grabbed Ho-ran Park by the arm and tried to leave.

Kaden Xavier blocked their path, his hand shooting out to grab Wren’s wrist. His eyes were ice-cold.

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

"What?" Wren was confused.

"Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to study under Elder Hawthorne? I can help you."

Wren let out a laugh. ’Does he really think Elder Hawthorne is that easy to see?’

"There’s no need." Wren moved around Kaden Xavier and walked straight toward the exit.

Nathaniel Quinn’s face filled with rage. Cole was just trying to help her, and she had the audacity to be so ungrateful.

"Wren, what’s with that attitude! Do you really think Cole wants to get involved in your business?"

He ignored Kaden Xavier’s attempts to stop him, rushing in front of Wren and sneering sarcastically.

"What is this, another one of your little tricks? Playing hard to get? Do you really think Cole will fall in love with you because of this? In your dreams!"

"Young Master Quinn, if you have this much time to meddle in other people’s private lives, you should take yourself to a hospital for a full check-up. With those dark circles under your eyes and that unsteady walk, I’m afraid you’ve been with too many women. Perhaps you’ve worn yourself out completely."

"You!"

Wren sneered, prying away the hand Nathaniel Quinn was pointing at her. Her words were merciless.

"No one’s stopping you from acting like a stud, but at least a stud can produce offspring. And you? You can’t even manage that. You’d better hurry to a hospital for a check-up, before you leave the Quinn Family without an heir."

Everyone present, except for Ho-ran Park, was stunned. They had never seen Wren be so sharp-tongued.

In fact, those weren’t words you would expect to hear from a quiet, well-behaved girl like Wren.

She had only been willing to suck up to them before because she was in love with Kaden Xavier. Now, she was no longer in the mood to cater to them.

Kaden Xavier stared blankly at Wren’s departing figure, an indescribable feeling rising in his heart. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Nathaniel Quinn’s face went from flushed to ashen. He stood dumbfounded, his body trembling with rage. He raised a finger to curse at her retreating back, but Kaden Xavier grabbed his hand the next second.

"Nathaniel Quinn, Wren is my wife. If you still consider me your brother, you will show her some respect. Otherwise, there’s no need for us to associate with each other anymore."

"Cole!"

"Kaden!" Seraphina Sutton spoke up at the opportune moment. "Nathaniel was just trying to help you, to stick up for you. Don’t hold it against him."

"I don’t need anyone to stick up for me. Wren and I are husband and wife. Disrespecting her is disrespecting me."

Only now did Kaden Xavier realize this was how the people around him had always treated Wren.

Even with him present today, the words Nathaniel Quinn had said were vile.

’So when he wasn’t around, what other vicious things did the people close to him say?’

He shot Nathaniel Quinn a cold glance, then shoved his hands in his pockets and walked straight to his car.

Seraphina Sutton was seething with jealousy, grinding her teeth in hatred.

She ran after him, trying to get into the car, but he stopped her.

"Let him drive you. And from now on, stay out of the passenger seat."

With that, Kaden Xavier drove off.

Leaving Seraphina Sutton standing there alone, stomping her foot in a fury.

’She was still pregnant with Asher Lynch’s child!’

’Was Kaden Xavier not going to care about that anymore?!’

​

As Kaden Xavier sat in his car, the image of Wren’s dim, heartbroken eyes flashed in his mind, and his heart clenched with an involuntary pang of pain.

’Did she really want to study under Elder Hawthorne that badly?’

’Why?’

’Was it for that man from the coffee shop?’

’Or was it for Ho-ran Park?’

He took out his phone and called his assistant.

"Look into someone for me."

Meanwhile, Seraphina Sutton sat in Nathaniel Quinn’s car, her eyes red-rimmed as large, fat tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I just don’t understand how Kaden could become like this. He’s never spoken to me in that tone before."

"Seraphina, don’t be sad. Cole didn’t mean it today. He still has you in his heart. Think about it, tickets for this medical conference were impossible to get. Cole must have gone to a lot of trouble to get one for you."

"Then why is he still mad at me? I was just worried about him..." Seraphina Sutton said, wiping her tears.

Although Nathaniel Quinn was a player, he was used to women fawning over him and throwing themselves at him. He’d never actually had to comfort one before.

He scratched his head in frustration and fumbled to turn on some music.

"Seraphina, you’re still pregnant. Don’t upset yourself and harm your body. Cole has liked you since way back, he definitely still has feelings for you. Don’t overthink it. Besides, Cole and Wren barely have any contact. Usually, the moment he hears you’re not feeling well, he drops everything to be with you, leaving her behind."

’That’s right. As long as she wasn’t feeling well, Kaden Xavier would drop whatever he was doing and come to her side immediately.’

’He definitely still had feelings for her. What he felt for Wren was just a sense of duty.’

Seraphina Sutton wiped away her tears and broke into a smile, her voice turning soft and delicate. "It’s alright. Dr. Wynter is Kaden’s wife. It’s only normal for him to defend her."

’As long as she was carrying Asher Lynch’s child, Kaden Xavier would never abandon her.’

’No matter how Wren fought against her, she could never win.’

’It was just that old hag from the Xavier family who was always getting in her way...’

’Perhaps she could...’

...

After returning to the villa, Wren grabbed her luggage and left immediately, heading straight for Crystal Nash’s house.

Crystal Nash wasn’t surprised to see her and immediately welcomed her inside.

"Sweetie, I’m afraid I’ll have to impose on you for a while. I’m not interrupting your private world with Hugh Hale, am I?" Wren asked, giving Crystal Nash a teasing look.

A flicker of awkwardness crossed Crystal Nash’s face, but she quickly hid it.

"Sisters before misters. Who cares about men?"

Wren smiled.

Crystal Nash showed Wren to a room. "You can stay here. Let me know if you’re missing anything and I’ll go get it for you."

"Don’t go to any trouble. I’ll find my own place and move out as soon as possible."

"What’s with the formalities between us?"

Wren said goodnight to her, then after unpacking, she opened her laptop and started writing a summary of that day’s conference.

「Meanwhile.」

When Kaden Xavier drove back to the villa and found it completely dark, he couldn’t help but frown.

’She’s not back yet?’

’That’s impossible. She left before I did.’

Kaden Xavier walked into the villa. Not a single light was on in the entire house.

He made his way upstairs in the dark and went to Wren’s room.

He hesitated, wondering whether to push the door open. After a long moment of deliberation, he finally knocked.

"Wren, are you asleep?"

After a long while, there was no response from the room.

He frowned and knocked again.

"Wren, I want to talk to you. Can I come in?"

Still no response.

Kaden Xavier couldn’t bear it any longer. He pushed the door open to find the room completely empty.

He rushed inside and threw open the closet. All the clothes inside were gone.

The entire room was as if no one had ever lived in it; even the air was cold.

’She was gone.’

’Gone, just like that, without a single word.’

He suddenly recalled what Wren had said last night—about meeting him at the Civil Affairs Bureau to get a divorce.

’She was serious!’

A wave of panic hit Kaden Xavier. He quickly pulled out his phone and called Wren.

"We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later..."