Chapter 353

Feeling frustrated, she sat down and quickly placed her order.

"What would you like?" the stall owner's wife asked Lawrence, with sympathy in her eyes.

"The same as my wife."

The sympathy in the stall owner's wife's eyes increased, and she gave Alan a pointed look. "There are so many male mistresses nowadays, and they don't even look as good as the actual husband."

Alan was taken aback by the stranger's abrupt comment. While being labeled as a male mistress didn't bother him much, he took offense to having his appearance compared to Lawrence's. He scowled heavily.

Lawrence stood up and walked to the back of the barbecue stall. The owner was grilling their skewers, and Lawrence's brows furrowed. His obsession with cleanliness was triggered. "Did you wash the ones that my wife ordered?"

"If I didn't wash them, how could she eat them? I've been running this place for over ten years!" The owner was angry.

Lawrence threw down a stack of bills and instructed the stall owner's wife, "Wash hers again so she won't have any stomach trouble."

The stall owner's wife's gaze turned complex. "You still care about her. Should I wash this one as well?" She pointed to Alan's order.

Lawrence didn't say anything and reluctantly moved to the side. He sprinkled a pinch of ash on the skewers. "Grill them like this, the dirtier, the better."

Both the owner and his wife were dumbfounded.

As a result, Alan ended up eating a mouthful of ash with every bite. He felt extremely frustrated. "Winnie, does your skewer have sand on it?"

"No." Winnie innocently ate, her rosy lips turning red from the spicy food. As she chewed, her cheeks puffed out, and her face had a faint blush. Lawrence's gaze gradually deepened as he watched her-she looked just like she did three years ago when he took her to eat hot dogs.

She actually liked spicy food, and there was no trace of the debutante's pretentiousness at a street-side stall. Yet, those youthful looks had long gone. Perhaps time, or resentment, took away her sweetness and tenderness.

Three years later, she had transformed into someone stunning and cunning, possessing a cold heart that seemed beyond his influence. The innocent girl who had once quickened his heartbeat was nowhere to be found. Lawrence choked on the realization, feeling his heart race. He cursed inwardly as it dawned on him that he was getting married to another woman. Shifting his brooding gaze away, he couldn't escape the truth.

When he heard her cough, he handed over the warm water he had just received.

Winnie looked at the man and whispered, "Thank you." She observed that he wasn't eating; instead, he simply watched her. The atmosphere was inexplicably strange. Remembering how Darcy had betrayed him, Winnie sympathized with him for a few seconds before pursing her lips. "You really won't eat?"

"It's dirty."

After finishing the last skewer, the man handed her a wet wipe. Winnie's heart felt a strange sensation once more, but she accepted it without showing any emotion.

Next, it was Alan's turn to receive a wet wipe, but Lawrence threw the entire package into the trash can. Alan was perplexed by his action and said, "Lawrence, are you really that biased?"

"From now on, when she goes to the jewelry exhibition, you don't need to accompany her. Otherwise, I'll shut down Imperial and bankrupt you." Lawrence directly threatened Alan.

'Fuck, he's a bit scary.' Alan pondered to himself as he hesitantly nodded.

Lawrence turned his head and looked at Winnie sternly. "I'll take you home. Don't wander around the bar anymore, and take some time to look at kindergarten textbooks."

Winnie retorted, "So that you have time to pay more attention to Darcy? Yet, I cannot even go out and enjoy a roadside snack with Alan alone. Your jealousy is showing." She couldn't help but complain endlessly. She didn't bother with him.

At that moment, Lawrence's phone rang. "Bryan? Okay, I'll be back to the company right away." After he finished the call, he turned his head and looked deeply at her. "There's something important at Island Electronics Group. Sorry, I won't be able to send you back."

"I didn't ask my ex-husband for help. I'll go back by myself. Bye." Winnie waved gracefully.

Lawrence stood still, and soon Bryan arrived to pick him up. The man took off his suit jacket and coldly entered the car.

As the night grew darker, Winnie sat next to Alan in the taxi. Suddenly, Alan spoke mischievously, "Tsk, it seems that Lawrence is repeating his mistakes with you. Judging from the way he casually took care of you at the barbecue stall, he probably hates himself. He probably doesn't know that he's fallen for you again. Love is such a thing; it can reignite even from ashes."

Winnie froze for a moment, her heart felt like it was struck by a heavy hammer. She resisted the notion that Lawrence's love for her might be reigniting. The ripples of doubt hadn't even formed yet when her rationality quickly shattered them. He had hurt her deeply, and she refused to allow herself to believe in his love again.

She smiled mockingly and replied, "He's truly gentle and considerate toward Darcy, you just haven't seen it. His kind gestures tonight might just be a way to get a few moments with my body. What a jerk."

"Is that so?" Alan neither confirmed nor denied. Instead, he took out his phone and opened a news article. "Lawrence is indeed generous toward Darcy. Her wedding dress, which costed 400 million, was unprecedented in the country."

Winnie glanced at the news headlines briefly.

Alan continued provoking Winnie, "He loves her so much that Darcy personally designed the engagement ring for him. She even suggested they start trying for a baby right after the wedding, so she has been undergoing fertility tests recently."

The wind outside suddenly turned colder.

She found it hard to believe that Darcy had personally designed the diamond ring, and they were even attempting to conceive a baby right away. It seemed like he was putting on a show, joyfully marrying the bride he desired while secretly trying to placate her as a substitute for his true desires.

A chilly smirk graced her lips, suggesting that the frost in her heart could intensify, becoming even more piercing and painful.

Suddenly, her phone chimed and Winnie lowered her head in sudden realization. Mars had sent her a message: "Winnie, are you asleep? When are you willing to talk with me in detail?" It seemed like he and Darcy had finished their affair.

Winnie closed her eyes, remaining silent for a long time. When she reopened her eyes, her gaze had turned cold. She turned to Alan and said, "There's an opportunity now. With the help of someone, we can seek revenge against Lawrence. Will you do it?"

"What?" Alan was shocked by her sudden change of direction.

"His name is Mars. He wants to deal with Lawrence." Winnie spoke coldly. Even though her words seemed indifferent, her gaze was sharp. "You told me last time that your father doesn't like Lawrence and suspects something about his background, right? This Mars is from the Rodriguez family in Trento City, that massive Rodriguez family, which includes your uncle, right?"

"Yes, but my father and Bob have a terrible relationship. He operates in Lymington, much weaker than Bob."

Winnie guessed that Mars's plan to deal with Lawrence must be connected to the Rodriguez family in Trento City. But she didn't need to worry about it.

Reclining in her chair with an imposing posture, a chilling and malevolent smile slowly spread across her face. "It's time to settle the grievances between Lawrence and me from three years ago. I can't forgive him for causing me to fall into the sea three years ago, freezing my legs countless nights and almost taking Oscar's life several times due to his asthma attacks over the past three years.

"If he ends up defeated this time, does it count as repaying the debts he owes to me and my son? Once he no longer has such a tight grip on Sidney's custody, I can take Sidney away. Since he plans to have a child with Darcy, this is my chance to escape with my child and disappear from his sight forever."

Alan watched the woman, a mix of pain and determination evident on her gentle yet icy side profile. Taking a deep breath, he couldn't find the words to say. Winnie was truly resolute, to the point that it overwhelmed him. She could have been planning to seek revenge against Lawrence and run away with her son.

In that instant, Alan felt a twinge of sympathy for Lawrence. Trembling, he asked, "I know you want revenge against Darcy, but do you really have no love left, no trace of softness in your heart toward Lawrence?"

She had experienced moments of tenderness and fluctuating emotions before, but earlier, Lawrence had delivered an unexpected emotional blow.

Winnie clenched her phone in a self-mocking manner, staring at Mars's text.

Winnie accompanied her recently released and healed uncle to pay respects to her mother. Lena, who had never met her aunt, joined them, and George was there with them too. However, just as they arrived at the grave, they noticed that someone had already been there. There was a bouquet of chrysanthemums placed in front, and the grass around was carefully trimmed.

Elliott was taken aback. The Granger family had perished in Lymington over a decade ago, and no one even remembered his sister and father. "Could it be Matthew? It's even more unlikely." Elliott frowned.

Winnie was also puzzled. Besides her, no one else could possibly know the location of her mother's grave for these years.

"It's probably someone from the past," George said, lowering his head and gesturing toward the bouquet of chrysanthemums.

Winnie looked at him, puzzled.