Chapter 117 Recording

Chapter 117 Recording

Shawn's hand clutched Ruth's sleeve tightly, as if terrified she might leave the next second.

"Baby, you know what? That Vivian, I never took her seriously."

Ruth stood by the bed, head lowered, watching Shawn in his drunken state. Not a single ripple of emotion stirred inside her. Calmly, she pulled out her phone and started a voice recording.

Shawn continued his slurred rambling, the corner of his mouth twisting into a disdainful smirk. "That woman? She was just a fling. Playing along, nothing more. Compared to you, she's not worth a single hair on your head... Lately, just being around her makes me want to throw up."

Shawn pressed closer to Ruth, like some oversized dog leaning against her leg, his voice thick and nasal. "You're the only person I've ever cared about in my life. Don't leave me, okay? If you walk away, there's no point in living anymore..."

His voice grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared entirely. His breathing evened out—he'd fallen asleep.

Ruth looked down at him. After several long seconds, she slowly pulled her sleeve from his grip and calmly stopped the recording.

Once that was done, she grabbed a blanket and tossed it over Shawn's body, then turned and lay down on the other bed.

Love?

A man who betrayed her, who'd been sleeping around with another woman—how dare he even speak that word? Ridiculous.

The next day.

After washing up and changing clothes, Ruth headed alone to the cruise ship's third-floor dining room for breakfast.

She'd just settled into a window seat with her tray when someone uninvited sat down across from her.

Vivian looked radiant, a barely concealed smile playing on her lips. She was positively glowing with smugness.

She asked with a sweet smile, "Ruth, how did you sleep last night? Everything okay?"

Ruth didn't even look up. "Pretty well. Better than some people, at least."

Vivian acted as if she hadn't caught the barb, sipping her juice thoughtfully. "Oh, by the way, Ruth, you probably don't know this, but Shawn spent the rest of last night with me. He even introduced me to all his old friends. They all said I was beautiful and had a great personality."

Having said her piece, she straightened her back. "Ruth, looks like I matter way more to him than you do. Why keep clinging to that position so desperately?"

Ruth set down her milk glass and looked up at her.

"Is that so?"

Vivian felt unsettled by this reaction. Frowning, she asked, "Ruth, what's that supposed to mean?"

Ruth smiled without answering. She simply pulled out her phone and played an audio file.

Shawn's words from last night came through the recording word for word.

The recording was only about a minute long, but the content was enough to shatter Vivian's heart.

All color drained from her face. She shot to her feet. "Impossible. Shawn would never say something like that."

Vivian stared straight at Ruth, her voice shrill. "Shawn couldn't have said that. You're lying. This recording must be fake! You're just trying to drive a wedge between Shawn and me."

Ruth calmly locked her phone screen and placed it back on the table, her tone indifferent. "Whether it's fake or not, you know better than anyone."

Vivian stood there, shoulders trembling slightly.

If what Shawn said was true, then what did that make her? And to think she'd been working so hard to carry his child...

"No. I need to ask Shawn. He couldn't possibly be this heartless to me."

Ruth raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Go ahead and ask then. But once you do, everything will come out into the open. Think you'll have anywhere left to go?"

Vivian's body went rigid.

She understood perfectly well what Ruth was implying. If the recording was real and came from Ruth's phone, she and Shawn would break up—and she'd definitely be the one left behind.

Shawn really did care about Ruth...

As much as she hated to admit it, that was the truth.

It felt so unfair. Ruth couldn't even get pregnant, yet he still loved her this much.

Seeing Vivian's defeated expression, Ruth spoke slowly. "Stop showing off things that were never yours to begin with. To me, you're no different from trash."

Vivian bit her lip hard. Tears welled up in her eyes but never fell.

She wanted to say something cutting back, but remembering Ruth's earlier words, she realized it would be pointless. Finally, she turned and hurried out of the dining room, her retreating figure almost panicked.

Ruth withdrew her gaze and picked up her knife and fork again, methodically cutting into the sandwich on her plate.

After breakfast, Ruth returned to her room to grab the design sketches she'd finished last night, then headed to Mrs. Crompton's suite.

Mrs. Crompton was having tea on the terrace. Seeing Ruth arrive, she smiled and gestured for her to sit.

Ruth unfolded the design sketches and laid them on the table. "Mrs. Crompton, based on the overall style and period characteristics of this painting, I've designed three restoration approaches."

"The first aims to recreate the brushwork and color palette of the same period and school as closely as possible. The second incorporates slightly more modern aesthetics while maintaining overall harmony. The third..."

Mrs. Crompton listened attentively, nodding occasionally. Her gaze lingered on the drawings for a long while before she finally pointed to one. "This approach is best. It preserves the spirit of the original work without making the restored portions look jarring."

Looking up at Ruth with undisguised admiration, she added, "Mrs. Grey, your reputation is well-deserved. These design sketches are far more aligned with my vision than what any of the restoration specialists I've consulted have offered."

Ruth was about to respond modestly when she caught sight of someone standing in the suite's doorway.

Vivian had arrived at some point, clearly there to see Mrs. Crompton.

Her eyes fell on the design sketches on the table. Suddenly she remembered that Mrs. Crompton had been looking for someone to restore an antique painting these past few days...

She hadn't expected Mrs. Crompton to have turned to Ruth. Judging from their conversation just now, she seemed very pleased with Ruth's proposals.

"Ruth's just a fashion designer. How could she possibly understand antique paintings? These sketches must be something she found online or had someone else draw for her."

The smile on Mrs. Crompton's face, present just moments ago, vanished instantly.

"Vivian, I've seen Mrs. Grey's design work. Each of these sketches carries her distinctive touch. I can assure you—she designed these herself."

Her gaze turned sharp. "Vivian, you need evidence before you speak. Don't go throwing accusations around without proof."

Those words instantly deflated all of Vivian's bravado. She never imagined Ruth would be this capable—or that she'd already connected with Mrs. Crompton.

If the two of them had a good relationship, where did that leave her?