Trick Him Into Divorce, Then Flee With His Unknow Kid

Chapter 164: Chapter 164 A Celebration Before the Storm

Caleb understood Samantha’s intentions immediately.

She had come charging in so quickly that her motives were impossible to miss.

Rose let out a soft scoff. “G.S. is G.S., and the database is the database. What makes you think Aster would do you a favor like that?”

Samantha couldn’t help but laugh. “Rose, what does this have to do with you?”

Was it Rose’s place to speak here?

With that, she stood and looked at Caleb with a hint of regret.

“Mr. Byrne, you know how it is. I manage a large team, and I can’t make decisions based solely on personal relationships. Otherwise, my people wouldn’t respect me.”

Rose narrowed her eyes.

Samantha continued, “Let me put it this way. My team genuinely wants to renegotiate the royalty fees. But if we can’t reach an agreement, we’ll have to look out for ourselves. That means we’ll have no choice but to terminate the contract.”

The announcement caught Rose slightly off guard.

She knew exactly how badly Samantha needed the database.

Terminating the contract over something like this?

Caleb waited calmly for her to continue.

Samantha straightened her posture.

“We signed a contract earlier. If either party breaches it, the copyright fee is nonrefundable. As it happens, I’ve only paid for the first year. G.S. seems to be dealing with some negative publicity lately, so consider that payment a small gesture of goodwill. We’ll still be working together in the future.”

She had dressed up her words nicely.

Rose could tell Samantha had intended to terminate the agreement from the very beginning.

The request to lower the royalties had likely been nothing more than a pretext.

Caleb glanced at Rose. Seeing that she showed no reaction, he finally spoke.

“Then I suppose it simply wasn’t meant to be. Miss Hill, don’t worry. We at G.S. won’t force the issue.”

Only then did Samantha smile. “I’m glad you understand, Mr. Byrne.”

“Sofia, please see Miss Hill out.”

Caleb had no intention of continuing the conversation.

Samantha was in a fairly good mood.

As she headed for the door, she glanced at Rose as though she had suddenly remembered something.

“Sunday is Grandpa’s memorial service. Will you be attending? Ryan and I will arrive a little later.”

Rose hadn’t expected that.

As far as she was concerned, Logan had long since ceased to matter to her, much less his grandfather’s memorial service. The bond between father and daughter had been severed years ago.

Besides, she now knew a secret.

She wasn’t a child of either the Bennett family or the Hill family.

But the important part of Samantha’s statement was something else entirely.

Ryan and I will arrive a little later.

The way Samantha said it made them sound like a married couple.

Arrogant. Triumphant.

And Ryan had already reached the point of attending the Hill family patriarch’s memorial service.

He might as well have publicly announced his intention to become the Hill family’s son-in-law.

Rose let out a cold laugh. “I never met your grandfather, and I don’t know him. But if it’s your memorial service someday, feel free to send me an invitation.”

Without waiting to see Samantha’s reaction, she turned and walked away.

Samantha did feel a flash of irritation.

Rose never backed down.

In Samantha’s eyes, however, Rose was simply refusing to face reality and using her sharp tongue to preserve what little dignity she had left.

Still, Samantha didn’t care.

There was no point arguing with a frog at the bottom of a well.

She had far more important things to focus on.

*****

A few days later, Caleb visited the hospital.

He checked on both the woman and her husband.

Thanks to Rose’s timely intervention, the man’s treatment had begun during the critical window.

He was now out of danger.

However, they still hadn’t determined exactly what had happened.

Rose seemed unconcerned. “Whether it was intentional or not, and regardless of Samantha suddenly terminating the contract at such a critical moment, we haven’t suffered any losses. It’s just a canceled agreement. We effectively earned a year’s worth of royalties for free, and Samantha never got access to my database. There’s nothing bad about that.”

She knew none of this was a coincidence.

But it didn’t matter.

She had too many important things on her mind to waste energy worrying about it.

Soon, Caleb brought her more news. “Samantha’s team has hired a new member—some expert they recruited from outside. Since the database deal fell through, they’re building one from scratch. They’re sparing no expense. I heard they’ve already filed for patents, and everything is progressing smoothly. They’ve even started testing.”

“That fast?”

Rose was genuinely surprised.

What kind of expert could work that efficiently?

Caleb shrugged. “Diana ran into them during an outdoor shoot today. Ryan was there too. They seemed to be celebrating over dinner. I’m guessing the project’s first phase has already passed review. Samantha must be pretty confident to celebrate this early.”

Rose found that somewhat unexpected.

Then again, the project team was based at New Hope, and New Hope was backed by Ryan.

Money opened doors.

Ryan could secure the best resources available.

Naturally, there would be fewer obstacles, and their progress would outpace most companies.

Lowering her head, Rose continued updating Ariel on the day’s events.

“Well, congratulations to her, then.”

Caleb studied her expressionless face.

A quiet sigh escaped him.

It was easy to say she had moved on.

Easy to claim she no longer cared.

But could anyone truly remain unaffected after such a short time?

Watching her husband pour his money, influence, affection, and resources into supporting another woman—

Seven years.

How many seven-year Chapters does a person get in a lifetime?

All Rose could do was grit her teeth, swallow her pain, and keep moving forward.

Rose genuinely didn’t want to hear about anything else Ryan was doing for Samantha.

It was obvious that Ryan’s involvement had given Samantha more leverage during the recent negotiations.

Fortunately, their projects had nothing to do with each other.

They operated in different worlds.

Soon afterward, Rose received a call from Margaret.

“Rose, the nineteenth is the Knight family’s anniversary celebration. It also happens to be Ryan’s birthday. Make sure you clear your schedule and keep that day open.”

The tone sounded gentle enough.

But Rose felt a chill run all the way through her.

Once, she had thought too highly of the Knight family.

That was precisely why she felt so uneasy now.

As for Ryan’s birthday—

Of course she remembered.

Every year in the past, she had gone out of her way to prepare for it.

If he was overseas, she would request time off and fly halfway around the world just to spend a few hours celebrating with him.

Even when Ryan treated her coldly, she had still considered it sweet.

A single meal together had been enough.

Then she would fly home overnight, exhausted and miserable, yet somehow happy.

Not anymore.

Now she needed to learn how to love herself a little more.

“I might be busy.”

“What could possibly keep you busy?” Margaret replied. “According to Selena, you don’t even hold an important position at your company. Nothing should be more important than family matters.”

Rose had no desire to argue.

She knew exactly what Margaret was capable of.

The Knight family never made empty threats.

“All right. I’m just reminding you. Make sure you arrive on time.”

After a brief pause, Margaret added her usual lecture. “How are things with Ryan? Martha said neither of you has been coming home lately. How are you supposed to have a child like this? Rose, you need to put in some effort. Men only care about one thing. If you take the initiative, how could Ryan possibly refuse to sleep with you?”

“And don’t forget—if there’s no good news within three months, the divorce decree will be revoked.”

Rose’s temples throbbed.

Being controlled by someone else never felt good.

If Ariel’s existence weren’t a secret she absolutely had to protect, she would have cut ties with the Knight family long ago.

Even if retaliation followed, she would have accepted the consequences.

Taking a slow breath, she replied, “All right.”

“Good girl.”

Margaret hung up.

Rose silently counted the days.

Three months wasn’t far away.

The growing sense of urgency told her she needed more contingency plans.

If it came down to it, she would simply drag Ryan back to file for divorce again.

****

The Knight family’s anniversary celebration was as grand as ever.

And with it coinciding with Ryan’s birthday, Rose could already imagine the scale of the event.

Early that morning, a car arrived at Moon Lake Villa to pick her up.

She had little choice but to go.

With so many guests attending, she could simply blend into the crowd.

She didn’t own much jewelry.

After some thought, she took out the brooch Trevor had given her and pinned it to her outfit once again.

When she arrived at the venue, she received a message from Caleb before she had even entered the building.

Caleb: [Rose, something’s happened.]