My CEO Husband Says I'm Irreplaceable

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: 19 Yellow Roses

"He passed away a long time ago," Jared Hawthorne answered coolly.

Vesper Grayson looked up at him in surprise, wondering how he could have known.

Years ago, after Clay Vance had cured her grandfather’s illness, he had retired to Mount Corvath. Her grandfather, having had a brush with death, saw through the vanity of the mortal world and became singularly focused on becoming his disciple. He had shamelessly pestered his master, wearing him down with relentless persistence and never leaving his side, until he finally moved the man to make an exception and accept him as a student.

When his master passed away, it was she and her grandfather who had arranged the funeral and saw him off on his final journey.

Noah Nash said with regret, "It seems there’s no hope for Miss Kensington, then."

If the Saint of Medicine were still alive, he would have been a centenarian by now.

No wonder there had been no news of him for so many years. So he had passed on.

On the way back, Vesper was still thinking about what he had said in the private room.

"Elias, how did you know the Saint of Medicine had passed away?"

That news had never been made public.

"I heard about it," Jared Hawthorne answered ambiguously. His gaze, dark and black, was like an unfathomable abyss as he looked at her.

Vesper wanted to ask who he had heard it from.

But on second thought, her grandfather’s master was gone. There was no point in pursuing the question.

A flicker of movement in Jared Hawthorne’s eyes, he asked in a low voice, "Have you finished packing your things?"

"I’m in the middle of it."

"I’ll come pick you up the day after tomorrow."

"..."

「The next day.」

Vesper Grayson went to Vaudin Headquarters.

"Vesper, why didn’t you message me before you came?"

Elena had been in an urgent morning meeting. When she heard Vesper had arrived, she quickly wrapped it up.

"It was a last-minute decision. Anyway, I’m not busy this morning, so it’s no problem to wait," Vesper Grayson replied with a smile.

Elena chuckled. "Coffee, tea?"

"Either is fine."

She made a latte and placed it in front of her.

"Try my handiwork."

Vesper took a small sip. "It’s smooth and creamy. Tastes great."

Getting down to business.

"Elena, based on my investigation and my interactions with her, I personally don’t think Roya Winters meets the basic requirements to be our brand ambassador."

"Why is that?"

"Her good deeds over the years are just an act, a show she puts on to build a good reputation. In reality, she has a terrible, arrogant, and domineering personality. Signing someone like her as Vaudin’s brand ambassador would be like signing a ticking time bomb, a disaster waiting to happen."

Vesper Grayson didn’t hide anything, recounting everything she had learned.

"Is that really true?" Elena was stunned. She had met Roya Winters privately twice. The actress had an innocent and pure look, a scandal-free reputation, and was widely recognized as an innocent starlet at the peak of her popularity.

"Yes. I have no personal grudge against her, so there’s no reason for me to slander her with something like this."

"It’s true what they say: you can know a person’s face, but not their heart," Elena said. "In that case, you can make the final decision on the brand ambassador."

She had only suggested Roya Winters in the first place because she thought she was a good candidate.

With the matter cleared up, Vesper Grayson didn’t stay long and rose to leave.

"Roya, that’s her."

Watching the woman emerge from the elevator, Finn Summers quickly alerted Roya Winters.

Finn Summers had looked into her last night. He knew she was the young lady of the Summers Family, had a close relationship with the head of the Hawthorne Family, and even seemed to have a marriage contract with him.

The Hawthorne Family was, naturally, someone Roya Winters couldn’t afford to provoke.

She had thought Vesper Grayson was just some woman who got by on her looks.

She never expected...

’I underestimated her!’

’But why would she come to Vaudin?’

"Miss Winters, I’m Alan, Elena’s assistant. Elena asked me to tell you that the final candidate for the brand ambassadorship has been decided. You can keep an eye out for the official announcement."

’What does that mean?’

She remembered that the last two times, Elena had said she really liked her image and asked if her schedule was free to take on the endorsement.

"Can I see Elena?" Roya Winters wanted to understand the situation face-to-face and fight for the Vaudin Asia-Pacific endorsement.

"I’m sorry, Elena is very busy and doesn’t have time to see you." Alan gave a slight nod and turned to leave.

"Roya, just a few days ago Elena was set on you being Vaudin’s brand ambassador. Why the sudden change of heart?" Finn Summers said. "Do you want to go ask President Rivers for help?"

Roya Winters frowned in thought. "Where would I find him? He was already unhappy last night. Am I supposed to go looking for trouble and make him despise me?"

The reason she had been able to stay by Zane Rivers’s side for two years was that she was more perceptive, sensible, and obedient than others.

Finn Summers didn’t dare offer any rash advice.

"As long as the brand ambassador hasn’t been officially announced, it means I still have a chance!" A smile touched Roya Winters’s lips. "We’ll come back to find Elena when she’s not busy."

...

Ever since Luke Lockwood was kicked out of Zephyr, he had been holed up in his Repulse Bay house, drinking all day.

He would wake up from a drunken stupor to an empty, cold home.

There was no one to cook for him anymore, no one to warmly remind him to drink less. Every little moment he had spent with Vesper Grayson flashed through his mind, and a persistent, tearing pain clenched his chest.

He never thought one mistake would make him lose Vesper completely.

But she had clearly said she would love him forever, that as long as he didn’t give up, she would never leave him.

’She’s so heartless.’

’Leaving without a shred of mercy.’

He had arrogantly assumed that Vesper wouldn’t be able to live without him.

But as it turned out, he was the one who couldn’t live without her.

Only now did he understand what it felt like to wait for someone all alone in an empty house.

In the past, when he was out socializing or fooling around with Ivy Joyce, Vesper waited alone for his return. She must have been filled with loneliness, her disappointment growing by the day.

Yet he had always taken it all for granted, foolishly thinking he could get away with it.

Just then, his phone buzzed with photos from a private investigator.

The scene in the photos stung his eyes.

Vesper Grayson was nestled gently against another man’s side, their fingers intertwined, necks entwined as they kissed. And perhaps, in places he couldn’t see, they were doing even more intimate things.

’All of that should have been his.’

The thought of Vesper Grayson getting over her psychological barrier only to be cherished so freely by another man made his eyes turn scarlet with jealousy, driving him to the brink of madness.

He couldn’t stand this torment any longer. No matter what, he had to go find her and win her back.

’Three years together. She can’t just give up on it, and she can’t give up on him!’

That very afternoon, he booked the first available flight to Northolme.

As evening fell, the sky filled with the sunset’s glow, blanketing the world in a gentle dusk.

As she walked out of the main hall, the receptionist approached her.

"Vice President Grayson, there’s a handsome man at the entrance looking for you. He’s been waiting for over an hour."

Vesper Grayson’s steps faltered, and she looked toward the company entrance.

From a distance, she saw Luke Lockwood dressed in a suit, holding a bouquet of vibrant, dew-kissed yellow roses.

’I can’t believe Luke Lockwood still hasn’t given up. He actually came all the way to Northolme to bother me again.’

Vesper Grayson slowly walked out.

When he saw her come out, a light ignited in Luke Lockwood’s dull, gray eyes, and he walked straight up to her.

He still had his deep-set features and handsome face, but it was now covered in stubble. Dark circles lay heavy under his eyes, and he carried an air of disheveled dejection.

"Vesper..."

He held the flowers out to her. "I’ve broken things off completely with Ivy Joyce. She hurt you, and now she’ll spend the rest of her days in prison. Can you... can you forgive me?"

The language of nineteen yellow roses: a plea for forgiveness and a wish for a lasting future together.

Sarcasm flickered in Vesper Grayson’s eyes. She reached out, took the bouquet, and, under his intensely bright gaze, mercilessly tossed it into the trash can.

Luke Lockwood’s handsome face froze.

"Affection that comes too late is cheaper than dirt! What makes you think I’d ever forgive you? Luke Lockwood, we are over."

She had already started over, yet he was naive enough to think they still had a chance to reconcile.

’How laughable!’

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