Beatrice returned to her room and kept trying to calm herself down.
There were still five days left before the divorce officially became valid. As long as she got her research data within those five days, she could completely leave this place.
After some time had passed, Hendrix finally calmed Liora down and asked the servants to call Beatrice to the study to talk.
Only after Beatrice entered the study did she notice that, at some point, it had become full of signs left behind by Liora.
There were her paintings, the jewelry she wore, along with different snacks and ripped wrappers.
Even menstrual products were left scattered around.
But when Liora was not there, it was not like this.
Hendrix always believed the study was the most important place for discussing work, and nobody was allowed to disturb it. Even Beatrice, as Mrs. Hawkins, was never allowed to touch the study carelessly.
Back then, Beatrice only placed a small doll inside the study because she wanted the room to feel less cold and hoped to warm Hendrix a little, yet Hendrix still warned her about it.
“This is a place for discussing important work. Are we supposed to put childish things here and weaken our image? Beatrice, you really are too immature!”
But when it came to Liora, all of this became acceptable.
Seeing Beatrice standing there in a daze, Hendrix angrily threw a stack of confessions at her.
The papers were scattered everywhere. Beatrice only managed to catch one page.
Written on it was the doctor’s confession.
[Mrs. Hawkins ordered me to teach Miss Liora a lesson. She wanted Miss Liora to leave this house. I truly had no choice. I am powerless and unimportant, so I could only obey Mrs. Hawkins’s orders.]
Beatrice became so angry that her face turned red.
“This is a false accusation! Hendrix, is this the interrogation method you were once so proud of?”
Hendrix tapped the wooden box on the table, signaling for Beatrice to open it.
Beatrice opened the box. Inside was one of the doctor’s cut fingers.
Caught off guard, she became so scared that she screamed.
“No matter what, this finger touched Liora first, so I punished him. This matter ends here!”
After saying that, Hendrix paused and looked at Beatrice again.
“I will not take away your position as Mrs. Hawkins, but I still need to comfort Liora about this matter.”
“If you want to keep your place as Mrs. Hawkins, then from now on, get rid of those cruel thoughts!”
Beatrice no longer even had the energy to defend herself. She forced herself to stay calm.
She wanted to leave this place, to leave completely!
She could hardly wait to get the data from the laboratory.
She held back her fear and tried her best to stop her voice from shaking.
“About going to the laboratory tomorrow...”
Hendrix cut off her words.
“Move it back by another two days. Anyway, even if these research projects lose all profit, or mistakes cause huge compensation, the Hawkins family can still cover the losses for you.”
“Liora’s mood has become very bad. I want to bring her to the auction house so she can relax.”
Beatrice clenched her teeth, not wanting Hendrix to notice anything strange.
Hendrix, who once respected her work, now spoke about her career so casually because of Liora.
“Okay.”
Beatrice did not know how she managed to walk out of the study.
What happened today quickly spread through the servants.
Many people saw Hendrix harshly scold Beatrice just to comfort Liora. Before leaving, he even stayed in the room to act closely with Liora. Because of this, everyone mocked the image Beatrice had worked so hard to protect.
“A fake young lady will always be fake. How can a man like President Hawkins choose a replacement?”
“In the past, she always gave us orders and made us do things for her. Soon, she probably won’t even remain the lady of this house anymore!”
Hendrix did not defend Beatrice, nor did he stop the servants from gossiping.
Instead, Beatrice’s adoptive mother, the madam of the Elliott family, called her.
“Beatrice, if you really cannot keep Mr. Hawkins by your side, then why not give him back to your younger sister?”
“Since your last miscarriage, you still haven’t shown any signs of becoming pregnant again. If you cannot give birth to the oldest son, then even if you continue keeping this title in name only, you still cannot protect the long-term cooperation between the two families.”
Beatrice silently held the phone tighter.
That previous miscarriage was not caused naturally by her body. Liora had done something to the food.
But later, she failed to find evidence and could only let the matter end like that.
Instead, Hendrix accused her of always imagining Liora as a terrible person, saying it reflected the darkness inside her own heart.
“Beatrice, are you listening to me or not? Return Mr. Hawkins to your younger sister!”
Her mother’s voice from the other end of the call still kept stressing those words.
She answered with an “hmm,” and hung up the phone.
From the start until the end, she was only a piece in the marriage arrangement between the two powerful families. Her body and ability to have children were her greatest worth. Sadly, she realized it too late and foolishly believed that she could find real love.
Still, her adoptive mother’s words matched exactly with what she already planned to do. She could finally do it openly, then leave this place!
During these past few days, Hendrix stayed beside Liora to comfort her, while Beatrice packed away the things she no longer wished to keep.
Many expensive luxury bags would become useless to her after she joined the confidential medical project.
Most importantly, Hendrix had given all of them to her. She no longer wanted to look at them.
The servant thought Beatrice was going to be chased out, so they assumed she was nervously selling her valuables to raise money. In private, they laughed at how sad her situation looked.
The matter slowly reached Hendrix.
“What are you doing?”
Beatrice did not bother looking up.
“I only feel I won’t be using them anymore, so I decided to sell them.”
Hendrix was unhappy with how she acted and insisted on fixing her behavior.
Since she was his wife, looking rich and eye-catching also represented his image.
So the auction that was originally for accompanying Liora now had Beatrice attending too.
“This is one of the events for the family. Wear the most luxurious clothes possible.”
He especially reminded her and ordered the butler to bring a gown created by a famous designer.
The gems added to the dress were all real. It looked extremely gorgeous!
The nearby servants who secretly watched all quickly changed their earlier attitude and showed jealous looks.
Beatrice also paused for a moment. Her heart became a little soft.
Did Hendrix hear the gossip from the servants, so he purposely came to help her?
“Okay, I’ll wear it and attend.”
