Chapter 251 Richard Disappears
Did the Windsor family arrange a company for their child this early!
Gabriella's mouth twitched as she felt the overwhelming impact of bourgeois privilege.
When she was in school, she also found many courses boring, but how come she didn't have a dozen companies to manage!
What a simple yet boastful reason!
Originally, Gabriella thought Catherine just didn't want to attend classes and had prepared many reasons to persuade Catherine to study hard. Now she realized that with her monthly salary, any persuasion would be pointless.
Before leaving the office, Catherine's gaze fell on a bouquet of flowers in the trash can beside Gabriella. The vibrant purple irises were full of life, with a card written in bold, powerful handwriting.
[Smooth start to the semester, may you rise all the way.]
No signature, but clearly Charles's handwriting!
The wrapping paper of this bouquet was identical to the one Charles gave Catherine yesterday, from the flower shop downstairs from Charles's company.
Charles sent flowers, and Gabriella just threw them in the trash?
Catherine stopped, "Gabriella, are these flowers from Charles?"
Gabriella didn't avoid the topic. She brushed her hair aside and smiled, "Yes, he sent them to ask me to look after you, but Charles didn't know I'm allergic to irises. Since your parents aren't in the country, just have Charles sign the course application."
"Okay, I'll let Charles know."
How did Gabriella know Brandon and Aurora went abroad?
Without asking more questions, Catherine nodded and left the office.
As soon as she opened the door, several people who had been eavesdropping fell to the ground, looking rather awkward as they faced Catherine.
Catherine's gaze swept over them—most were people close to Lyra.
They probably came to eavesdrop on whether Gabriella scolded her.
The scene became somewhat awkward.
Catherine didn't even glance at them and walked away, leaving the scene.
After telling Charles about coming to school to sign, Charles called Gabriella's phone.
Gabriella was silent for a moment, then added, "Thank you for your kindness, but you don't need to send me flowers next time. I'm allergic to all pollen."
Charles sending Gabriella flowers was probably just his assistant buying them casually.
"Sorry, I wasn't aware. Would you be free to have dinner? Consider it my apology, and we can also talk about Catherine."
"No need, I still have a lot of school matters to handle. Please come by as soon as possible."
Charles didn't insist and agreed before hanging up.
Gabriella received another call and hurriedly left the office.
The people around Lyra were somewhat surprised that Catherine wasn't scolded just now, and it seemed she wasn't even planning to attend classes. Why would the school agree?
"Rich people, really. This kind of person doesn't belong in school."
Her gaze fell on the design drafts Gabriella had left on the desk, and a flash of amazement crossed her eyes!
Were these drafts left by Catherine just now?
Just from the sketches, you could see the designer's talent and skill. How could these drafts possibly be drawn by Catherine, a college freshman?
Could it be that the Windsor family found someone to help her so she wouldn't have to attend classes?
After thinking it over, Lyra was convinced that must be it!
The Windsor family was too much.
But thinking about how the Windsor family surrounded Catherine when sending her to school, afraid she might get hurt.
When Catherine played the violin, everyone in the Windsor family had proud and pleased smiles on their faces.
Lyra even saw Aurora wiping tears, "My Catherine is so amazing, she must have suffered so much before!"
Brandon was flustered trying to comfort Aurora. They looked at Catherine with shining eyes, as if she were a treasure the whole family wanted to cherish.
Meanwhile, when she went to school, no one even came to see her off. Lyra was very jealous!
Looking at those design drafts, greed appeared in Lyra's eyes.
The Evergreen Group, CEO's office.
In the spacious office with ample lighting, the sound of a pen scratching across paper was particularly clear.
Philip sat casually in Charles's office wearing a flashy floral shirt, studying Catherine's leave application.
"Many courses are indeed boring. I also applied for exemptions when I was in school. Catherine just has time to learn something else."
Charles: "Catherine can learn whatever she wants. Can't our family afford to raise a daughter? Have you sued everyone who needs to be sued?"
Philip scrolled through his device and sent Charles a long list of names.
"All sued, including Esme and Clara, those two main culprits. They're all going to court. But Charles, should I help you sue someone too?"
Charles frowned, "Help me? I don't need legal services!"
Even if the Evergreen Group's legal team couldn't compare to Philip's own firm, they were still top-tier in the industry.
Philip shrugged.
"Didn't you almost get married back then? If someone hadn't spread rumors about you having an illegitimate child, I'd have a sister-in-law by now."
Charles hadn't married all these years, and the Windsor family hadn't pushed too hard, because the incident back then caused too much trouble.
Aurora was afraid Charles hadn't moved on, so she simply stopped mentioning it.
Recently, seeing how well Catherine and Alexander got along, Aurora felt relieved but also started worrying about Charles.
Charles's pen accidentally tore through the paper.
"It doesn't matter. What happened back then is in the past."
"Recently, the Evergreen Group got several plots of land, and some people are getting restless, starting to buy up those fake stories from the past again. Doesn't Charles care?"
Charles put away his things and straightened his suit.
"If it really comes to that, just sue according to the rules. Don't worry about anything else."
Philip smiled meaningfully, "You haven't married all these years—are you still waiting for that woman?"
"Nonsense!"
Charles looked at his flawless reflection in the mirror. His features were resolute, and days of work hadn't made him look too tired. His eyes carried an indescribable coldness and sharpness.
Philip commented, "That face of yours makes so many young women at your company swoon. If your mouth were sweeter, I'd have had a sister-in-law long ago. Why not go win back your ex?"
You know, there aren't many people who can stand Charles's sharp tongue!
Charles gave him a bland look, his tone flat.
"She's already married. Should I become a homewrecker?"
"Wait! Your ex is already married? That's too bad, definitely not appropriate."
The person who almost married Charles back then was supposedly Charles's schoolmate. The Windsor family never even met her before she got scared off by those rumors about Charles.
Philip felt somewhat regretful and was about to say something more when he saw Charles stride out of the office.
"Charles, where are you going?"
"To school to apply for Catherine's course exemptions."
Meanwhile, Catherine had just walked out of the academic building when she received a call from Venus.
"Boss, Richard was filming in the small mountain village and went to check on Cloudscape Villa. Now we can't reach him!"
Richard had recently been filming in the small mountain village where Catherine grew up, and it was almost finished.
Catherine frowned, "Isn't Sophia filming there too?"
As a member of Galactic Aurora Collective, Sophia wouldn't lose contact that easily.
"We can't reach Sophia either, and her tracking device is in a ditch!"
"Boss, come quick!"