Chapter 5: Chapter 5: As If Nothing Happened

A week had passed since she finished handling her grandmother’s funeral arrangements.

The Croft family was now entirely supported by her older sister, so as soon as the funeral was over, she rushed back to Karthus without delay.

Her sister had given her a few words of warning before she left.

Face pale, Cecilia Croft told her sister she would be back on time and would make a clean break.

Returning to the villa from the airport, she found the purple roses in the yard had withered after a week of neglect.

The language of purple roses is ’protecting love’.

Jude Sheridan had planted them with his own hands when they first bought the villa.

Gazing at the withered, yellowing roses, a flicker of mockery crossed Cecilia Croft’s eyes. She strode over, pulled all the rose bushes up by the roots, and tossed them into the trash can before taking out her phone to make a call.

"Hello, I accept the price you offered last time. If possible, I’d like to sign the contract and transfer the property as soon as possible."

The other party agreed, and they set a time.

Cecilia Croft hung up and went upstairs to pack.

She packed all her valuables and moved them back to her grandmother’s cottage, treating the remaining items related to Jude Sheridan as trash.

When Jude Sheridan’s assistant arrived at the villa, the trash cans by the gate were already overflowing.

A hint of confusion in his eyes, he glanced again at the trash cans.

’Why do all these clothes look so familiar?’

Seeing Cecilia Croft, he called out.

"Mrs. Sheridan..."

Cecilia Croft held up a hand, cutting him off. "My surname is Croft."

"President Croft, President Sheridan has a banquet to attend tonight. He sent me to pick up a suit and asked if you could please help put an outfit together."

Cecilia Croft’s expression was blank.

"Why didn’t he come back to get it himself?"

The assistant lowered his head, looking a bit guilty. "President Sheridan just got back from a business trip to the neighboring city and went straight to the office to handle work."

Cecilia Croft: "Is that so? I thought he was having too much fun to return."

The assistant didn’t dare to look up at her.

Not intending to make things difficult for him, Cecilia Croft glanced at the trash cans and said coolly, "Go look in there."

The assistant followed her gaze to see the property management staff already starting to haul away the full trash cans.

"Huh?"

He was confused and bewildered.

Cecilia Croft said nonchalantly, "You’d better hurry. Otherwise, someone else will pick out all the good stuff."

With that, she walked past the assistant, and a moment later, started her car and drove away.

The assistant’s expression twitched. To complete the task Jude Sheridan had given him, he had no choice but to chase after the trash cans being hauled away.

「Vantage」

The assistant entered Jude Sheridan’s office, clutching the suit he had snatched back from the hands of a scavenger.

All the items Cecilia Croft had thrown out were valuable, and the scavengers were frantic.

In the ensuing struggle, he’d been elbowed a few times by someone—he wasn’t sure who—right in the corner of his eye, leaving it badly swollen and red.

"President Sheridan..."

He looked at Jude Sheridan and Jessica Keller in the office, their heads so close they were almost touching, and resentment flared in his heart.

’President Sheridan is the one having the affair, but I’m the one who suffers for it.’

Hearing the voice, Jude Sheridan, who had been explaining project details to Jessica Keller, looked up. He paused when he saw his assistant’s sorry state.

"Did Cecilia Croft hit you?"

Jessica Keller looked surprised, then regarded him with a hint of pity.

’Cecilia Croft is a psycho. She threw coffee on me for no reason at the bridal shop before.’

The assistant sighed inwardly. He almost wished Cecilia Croft had hit him. Before he started working for Jude Sheridan, he had been Cecilia Croft’s assistant. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Half a year ago, when Cecilia Croft’s health took a turn, he was reassigned to Jude Sheridan’s side.

For the past six months, he had been forced to watch as Jude Sheridan and Jessica Keller’s relationship developed to its current state.

He felt he had failed to repay Cecilia Croft for her past kindness and recognition.

"No, I just accidentally bumped into something."

A trace of disappointment showed in Jessica Keller’s eyes, but she knew her place and didn’t say anything.

Jude Sheridan gave a slight nod, offering a terse, "Be careful."

The assistant’s lips moved, debating whether he should tell Jude Sheridan what he had seen.

Just then, representatives from several clothing brands walked in from outside the office, carrying evening gowns.

The representatives lined up in front of Jude Sheridan and Jessica Keller, holding the latest custom-designed gowns.

Jessica Keller’s disappointed expression instantly turned to one of delighted surprise.

Pleased by her reaction, Jude Sheridan raised an eyebrow at her, his deep eyes filled with amusement.

"Pick one. You’re accompanying me to a party tonight."

Jessica Keller’s eyes lit up, and she gazed at Jude Sheridan with a look of infatuated adoration.

"Really...? Can I?"

Jude Sheridan reached out and ruffled her hair.

"Yes."

Having received his clear permission, Jessica Keller rose from her seat to choose a gown.

The assistant swallowed the words that had been on the tip of his tongue and silently exited Jude Sheridan’s office.

That evening, her best friend, a corporate M&A broker, invited her to an auction banquet.

Coincidentally, Cecilia Croft wanted to consult her about the value of her Vantage shares.

She wanted to sell all her shares in Vantage, and since her friend was an expert in the field, entrusting the sale to her would yield a much higher amount than if she sold them herself.

「At the banquet hall.」

Cecilia Croft headed straight for the private room on the second floor that her friend had indicated.

She opened the door and went inside to find her friend sitting alone, a grim look on her face.

"Who pissed you..."

The auction’s private rooms weren’t very soundproof. Before she could finish her sentence, she heard the sound of conversation from the next room.

"Brother Jude really knows how to live. Getting married next month, and you still have a beauty like Ms. Keller by your side. I’m not surprised Ms. Keller is willing to stay with you without a title—she’s so gentle and kind. I just don’t know how you manage to balance things with the one at home, Brother Jude. You should teach us brothers a few tricks."

Jude Sheridan didn’t speak, but there were plenty of others beside him eager to flatter.

"Even if Brother Jude were willing to teach you, you don’t have his charm. Cecilia Croft is head over heels in love with him, terrified he’ll abandon her. How would she ever dare to cause him any trouble?"

"A man should be just like Brother Jude: the red flag at home doesn’t fall, while colorful flags flutter outside."

Her friend, Jasmine Vance, turned green with rage and shot up from her seat.

Cecilia Croft quickly grabbed her. The hem of her dress knocked a porcelain cup off the table, which shattered with a crisp sound.

Jude Sheridan’s deep voice cut in. "Enough of this nonsense. Let’s appreciate the auction items."

Jasmine Vance was furious. Seeing Cecilia Croft’s calm and detached expression, she realized she must have known all along.

Her face hardened. "You’re just going to take this?"

Cecilia Croft replied in an unhurried tone, her voice loud enough for the next room to hear.

"In life, you sometimes find yourself in a situation that feels like you’ve eaten shit. If you don’t pretend it’s nothing and deal with it quickly, are you supposed to announce to the world that you’ve just eaten shit?"

The next room: "..."

The air went completely still.