Trick Him Into Divorce, Then Flee With His Unknow Kid

Chapter 181: Chapter 181 The Dinner of Deception

As soon as Rose arrived at the garage, she saw Ryan getting out of his car.

His gaze seemed especially intense in the darkness of the night.

Rose immediately turned and walked away.

She knew Ryan would surely hold her accountable for her "loose tongue"—for forcing his beloved "cinnabar mole" to become his sister-in-law and effectively tearing them apart.

Who knew? Ryan might settle the score with her later.

Or perhaps it wouldn’t even be a matter of settling scores later.

After all, she had practically delivered herself right into his hands.

Rose laughed bitterly to herself.

Just how far would her husband of seven years go?

In the eyes of Ryan and Samantha, she had maliciously and ruthlessly sabotaged them.

But Rose didn’t care what they thought.

Ryan’s long legs quickly closed the distance. In just a few strides, he caught up with her.

Staring straight ahead, he said in an unreadable tone, "Come to think of it, you’ve been quite hot-tempered lately."

His voice sounded particularly cold in the night air.

It was impossible to tell whether there was any sarcasm in it.

Rose didn’t look at him, but she knew he was referring to her publicly revealing that Samantha was her future sister-in-law.

"I didn’t go around telling everyone the two of you were having an affair—that would’ve been the easy way out. By keeping things under wraps, I’m actually doing you a favor. Why aren’t you thanking me?"

Rose had always been sharp-tongued.

Only then did Ryan lower his gaze and look at her.

By that time, they had already reached the entrance.

A servant stepped forward respectfully to take their coats.

Tonight was the monthly family dinner.

Nearly everyone was present.

Aside from Chairman Knight, Rowan, who was abroad, and Ethan, who had yet to arrive, the entire family was there.

The Knight family’s dining room was spacious enough that there was no need for separate tables.

Everyone sat together at the main table.

Rose no longer felt any need to curry favor with the elders as she once had.

She was too tired to even pretend.

After greeting Margaret and the others, she simply took her seat.

Isabella immediately shot her a displeased look.

"You’re dumping your problems on us to achieve your own goals. You’re quite the schemer, Rose."

In Isabella’s eyes, Rose had deliberately exposed Samantha’s relationship with the Knight family, thereby ruining Samantha’s prospects with Ethan.

But a woman like Samantha?

Her son would never marry someone else’s leftovers.

Rose calmly lifted her water glass without even raising her eyelids.

"Exactly. I’ve spent so much time dealing with people like you over the years that I’ve developed stress-related lumps. My doctor advised me to vent whenever necessary and never tolerate rotten people or rotten situations."

Isabella’s face twisted with fury.

She nearly exploded. "Are you insulting me? Ryan hasn’t even officially taken control of the Knight family yet. What gives you the right to act like the matriarch and challenge me?"

Ryan pulled out the chair beside Rose and sat down.

As he poured himself some juice, he casually asked, "Aunt Isabella, how has Ethan been doing lately?"

Isabella immediately stiffened.

She knew exactly what kind of man Ryan was.

Ruthless.

Merciless.

Back then, he had even arranged for Ethan’s legs to be broken while he was in prison.

She feared that if she pushed too hard, Ethan would suffer again.

In the end, she swallowed her anger.

Even her urge to slap Rose had to be suppressed.

When Margaret arrived, she acted as though she hadn’t heard Rose’s earlier remark.

Instead, she asked gently, "Rose, are you not feeling well?"

By now, Rose had learned how to tell the truth through carefully chosen lies.

"Thank you for your concern. I’ll be fine after some rest."

"You don’t need to work yourself so hard. New Hope is a large company. The more pressure you put on yourself, the more your health will suffer. In the future, I’ll arrange for some of our best people to help you."

Rose silently frowned.

Was this really help?

It sounded more like sending Knight family insiders into New Hope.

Sooner or later, they would strip away her authority and leave her powerless.

At that point, would New Hope still belong to her?

Ryan, however, spoke calmly. "Rose is strong-willed. If she needs help, she’ll ask for it herself. There’s no need to worry."

Margaret glanced at him and leaned back slightly.

"You’re right."

Isabella snorted.

In her view, Ryan simply didn’t care about Rose’s fate.

He probably knew she wasn’t capable of managing New Hope and was waiting for her to fail so he could take the company back with a clear conscience.

The meal continued amid everyone’s private thoughts.

Isabella seemed particularly pleased and suddenly remarked, "Ethan will be released next month."

When that happened, the Knight family would have no choice but to deal with this increasingly absurd situation.

Rose lowered her eyes to her bowl.

Ethan was getting out?

What would happen between him and Samantha?

And what about Ryan?

Things were about to become even more complicated.

Lost in thought, she instinctively reached for the bottle of juice on the rotating table.

Just as her fingers touched it, another hand moved faster.

The bottle of mango juice was lifted away.

Rose looked up.

Ryan had placed it on the serving cart behind him.

Leaning back in his chair, he asked calmly, "She’s been married into this family for seven years, yet all of you remember the Knight family’s preferences and forget that she’s allergic to mangoes?"

It sounded like an ordinary question.

Yet the nearby servants froze.

They exchanged uneasy glances.

Everyone knew Rose was allergic to mangoes.

But Rose had never held much importance within the family.

Her needs always came last.

Since Evan had requested mango juice today and no one objected, it had simply been prepared for everyone.

After all, Rose could just choose not to drink it.

The moment Ryan spoke, everyone at the table looked over.

Rose herself was startled.

When she looked at him, his profile remained calm and expressionless.

It seemed as though he had merely mentioned it in passing.

Ryan knew she was allergic to mangoes.

But that was all.

He was observant and intelligent. He had simply noticed it and spoken up.

There was no visible anger on his face regarding the family’s neglect of her.

Nor was there any obvious concern.

His tone was so calm and matter-of-fact that it felt as though he were discussing someone else’s situation.

Nothing more than an observation.

Nothing special.

And certainly not proof that he cared.

Rose had long since grown accustomed to being overlooked in the Knight family.

Selena curled her lips. "Ryan really dotes on his wife, doesn’t he?"

The moment her mother-in-law spoke, Rose recognized the sarcasm.

Everyone knew she didn’t have Ryan’s heart.

It was a subtle form of mockery.

For once, Rose found herself unable to respond.

Because it was true.

Ryan didn’t love her.

"Just have something else prepared," Margaret said with a wave of her hand, treating the matter as insignificant.

Ryan didn’t say anything further.

A glass of kiwi juice was brought over shortly afterward.

Rose glanced at it.

She didn’t touch it.

Ryan’s earlier behavior made her look at him again.

She found him staring down at his phone, replying to a message.

Even during a family dinner, he still found time to respond promptly.

As if he didn’t want the person on the other end waiting too long.

Rose couldn’t think of anyone else it could be.

After all, when she had messaged Ryan in the past, he had never treated her messages with such importance.

And messaging at a time like this...

Perhaps he was discussing Ethan and Samantha’s situation with Samantha herself.

Ryan had already locked his screen.

Then he turned and met her gaze.

Holding out his phone, he asked, "Want to take a look for yourself?"

He had noticed her staring.

Rose frowned.

Did he think she was secretly trying to read his messages?

"That’s your private business," she replied.

She had no intention of taking the phone.

She was certain Ryan was only trying to embarrass her, not genuinely offering to let her check it.

After dinner, everyone gathered in the reception room.

Some played cards while others chatted in small groups.

Just as Rose was preparing to leave, Margaret stopped her.

"You and Ryan need to meet someone."

Rose wanted nothing more than to go home.

But Margaret firmly held onto her, leaving her no choice but to follow.

They entered a side parlor.

An elderly woman with gray hair was sitting inside.

The moment she saw them, she stood up and smiled warmly.

"It’s been a long time, my dear."

Margaret smiled and nudged Rose forward.

"Go say hello to Grandma Alice."

Unsure of what was happening, Rose stepped forward.

"Hello, I’m—"

Before she could finish, Grandma Alice grabbed her wrist.

"I know," she said with a smile. "You’re the eldest grandson’s wife."

Only then did Rose realize that Grandma Alice was checking her pulse.

The method was unmistakable.

Many traditional physicians could assess a person’s condition through pulse diagnosis.

Although Rose was a modern doctor and researcher, she had never looked down on traditional medicine or its practitioners.

In fact, she was planning to build a medical database that combined both traditional and modern medical approaches from different countries.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Instinctively, she tried to pull her hand back.

But Grandma Alice tightened her grip.

Then her eyes widened.

"Your pulse..."

She paused.

Then she looked up sharply. "Have you given birth?"