Chapter 88
Arthur remained silent, but the contempt in his eyes spoke volumes.
He clearly thought Caroline's lies were clumsy—that she had somehow convinced Gabriel to play along, even making people believe she had cancer.
No matter what truth stood before him, Arthur saw only deception.
Caroline was exhausted. "Think whatever you want, Mr. Windsor. I have nothing more to say." She turned to leave, every word feeling suffocating.
Arthur initially moved to stop her, but his phone rang, halting him.
Hearing his unusually gentle tone behind her, Caroline's lips twisted into a cold smile. That was the difference between love and indifference.
After parting from Arthur, Caroline drove home alone.
Passing a weekend antique market, she found a 20th-century watercolor of wild birds—exactly her grandmother's favorite style. She bought it without hesitation.
On her way home, Becky called to cancel their evening shopping plans. Caroline mentioned she had already purchased a birthday gift, so Becky needn't worry.
"Really? That's great," Becky replied, sounding surprised. "If I could reschedule this work, I'd come right over."
"Don't worry about it. Take care of your business," Caroline said with a soft smile before returning to her old apartment.
For the next few days, Caroline maintained her busy routine, developing new projects and overseeing existing ones.
At noon, as Alton was leaving, he reminded her, "Caroline, don't forget about the professor's lecture tonight."
Caroline certainly wouldn't forget; she'd been preparing for it these days.
She had attended many lectures with Gabriel during her school days and had benefited greatly from them, but Gabriel would often pose challenging questions, so she couldn't afford to be unprepared.
At two in the afternoon, Caroline changed clothes and arrived at the hotel lobby. It was still early, and there weren't many attendees yet.
As she entered, an attendant stopped her. "Excuse me, ma'am, but I need to see your invitation."
"Of course, just a moment." She searched through her bag, then suddenly realized she had left the invitation in a file with her experimental data back at the office.
"I'm sorry, I forgot my invitation. But I'm an acquaintance of Mr. Barnes. Could you please make an exception?"
The attendant hesitated, clearly unsure whether to believe her.
Just then, a scornful laugh came from behind. "You're making up such obvious lies? Caroline, you've become increasingly shameless."
Caroline's expression cooled as she turned to see Clinton, with Heidi and Arthur not far behind.
Arthur was gazing tenderly at Heidi, seemingly oblivious to Caroline's presence.
Not wanting to create a scene at her professor's event, Caroline turned back to the attendant. "I truly do have an invitation, but I forgot to bring it. Mr. Barnes knows me—could you please inform him I'm at the entrance?"
She had tried calling Gabriel, but couldn't reach him. The lecture was about to begin, and her professor was likely busy without his phone.
The attendant looked uncomfortable.
Clinton let out another cold laugh. "Everyone here knows Mr. Barnes. You think saying you forgot your invitation entitles you to have someone fetch him for you? Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to demand Mr. Barnes come to see you?"
"I bet you didn't forget your invitation—you never had one. You probably have some ulterior motive for trying to sneak into the lecture. Who knows what you're planning?"
The attendant's expression changed, his gaze toward Caroline becoming wary. "Ma'am, please show your invitation if you have one. If not, I must ask you to leave. Please don't make this difficult."
Caroline's face turned ashen, her thin frame trembling slightly as she bit her lip, forcing herself to stay calm. "I can call Mr. Barnes."
She dialed Gabriel again. Just as the call was about to connect, someone walked past her and deliberately knocked the phone from her hand. The phone hit the ground, shattering into pieces.
"You!" Caroline glared.
Heidi covered her mouth in feigned surprise. "Caroline, I'm so sorry about your phone. I didn't realize you couldn't hold it securely. Should I buy you a new one?"
Clinton sneered from the side. "What do you mean she couldn't hold it? She clearly did it on purpose! Who knows who this 'Mr. Barnes' she was contacting really is? She probably feared we'd discover she wasn't actually calling Mr. Barnes, so she deliberately dropped her phone and blamed you."
"Caroline, what a malicious mind you have."
Heidi curled her lips, her tone sympathetic. "Clinton, don't say that. Maybe Caroline really does have an invitation? Last time at the auction, she asked Arthur to get her two invitations. Perhaps she asked someone else this time and simply forgot to bring it."
Clinton scoffed contemptuously. "What connections could she possibly have? You're just too kind-hearted, Heidi. When she asked, you spoke up for her and even had Mr. Windsor get her auction invitations. If it were me, I'd have crushed her hopes immediately!"
Caroline's eyes widened, her gaze involuntarily shifting to Arthur, a bitter smile playing at her lips.
So that was it. As Arthur's wife, she needed Heidi's approval even to ask him for something as simple as auction invitations.
Had she known this would be the outcome, she would never have asked in the first place.
Heidi watched her distress with cold eyes. "Caroline, if you really want to attend this lecture, there's no need to lie about having an invitation. You could have asked me, and I could have had Arthur arrange one for you."
"Rushing in like this only to be stopped and claiming you forgot your invitation... it's rather embarrassing—for you, and your family."
Caroline could feel that hawk-like gaze falling on her again—scrutinizing, disapproving.
But she would never ask Arthur for anything again. She refused to make every request feel like forcing Arthur into charity, nor would she accept his reluctant pity.
"That won't be necessary," Caroline said coolly. She turned to someone nearby. "Excuse me, could I borrow your phone for a moment?"
She remembered her professor's number, but not wanting to disturb Gabriel at this crucial moment, she planned to call Alton instead and have him come get her.