Janessa kept calling Rayan all the way to the Lu Group.As usual, the man still rejected her calls.
"Atlas, lend me your phone.Dial Rayan Lu's number for me."
Confused, Atlas called Rayan and immediately passed the phone to Janessa.Soon, a deep voice was
heard from the other end.
"What's the matter?" As expected, Rayan picked up.
Sure enough, it was only Janessa's calls that he wanted to avoid.
A bitter smile crossed Janessa’s lips.
"When will the press conference begin?" she asked, getting straight to the point.
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds when Rayan heard her voice, then he replied
emotionlessly,
"2 o'clock."
"Okay. I'll be right there.Let's clarify this to the media, and we'll have nothing to do with each other after
this."
After that parting shot, Janessa ended the call and handed the phone back to Atlas.
Their marriage had come to an end, but was the story between them really over? The press conference
scheduled at 2 o'clock was ready.
As they sat in front of the sea of cameras, Janessa turned her head to look at the calm look on Rayan's
face.There wasn't a trace of nervousness in his demeanor.
Today's sudden news caused the stock of the Lu Group to fall by ten points, but he seemed unfazed.
Upon hearing Corbin's voice, Janessa quickly pushed her wayward thoughts at the back of her mind.
"Thank you for attending today's press conference.Again, I'd like to express my gratitude to the
members of the press for coming.Today, we would like to clarify the news about Mr.Rayan Lu and
Ms.Janessa Qiu, so I hope that you can listen carefully.We will be allotting twenty minutes for your
questions later.Now, Mr.Lu would like to say something first."
Rayan sat up with confidence and firmly looked at the reporters.
"Ms.Qiu and I had ended our relationship peacefully a month ago."
This statement caused an uproar among the audience.
Rumors on the Internet had speculated about a divorce, but neither of the two parties involved had
responded to them.
Maybe it was because Janessa still worked in the Lu Group.
"That's correct.We have been divorced for more than a month now, but it was an amicable
parting.There was no third party involved."
Janessa only echoed what Rayan's words.
Apparently, there was nothing more to be said.
Neither of them spoke again after that, so Corbin took the microphone once more and concluded their
statements.
"Next, you can ask questions freely, but you only have twenty minutes to ask them.I hope that you can
use the time wisely."
The reporters were raring to move to the next part. They rushed to the front, their microphones thrust
close to Janessa's and Rayan's faces.
"Ms.Qiu, now that you're divorced, will you still be working for the Lu Group? Could it be that you mean
to stay close to Mr.Lu to rekindle old feelings and then remarry him later?"
The direct question was completely unexpected.
It was the last thing Janessa wanted to explain.
In their divorce agreement, Rayan allowed to let her work in the Lu Group without any questions asked.
He must have wanted to ask her this question for a long time though.
"I work in the Lu Group for my own personal growth, and Mr.Lu is willing to give me a chance for self-
improvement.Of course, I won't waste such an opportunity."
Janessa had prepared the answer beforehand, but she couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt.
"Ms.Qiu, since you have mentioned that you're not staying in the Lu Group for Mr.Lu, how do you
explain why you got drunk out on the streets last night?"
As always, the reporter's words hit the nail on the head.
"I was meeting a friend in that particular bar, and somebody took photos of me while I was drunk for
some reason."
lt was like all of the reporters had made a deal to deliberately make things difficult for Janessa.
They fielded all of the questions her way, while none of them asked Rayan anything.
"Mr.Lu, someone said that the woman who was with you last night looked like your first girlfriend.Is this
true?"
Many of those in attendance were dying to ask that question, but no one dared.
The reporter who asked was from an unidentified newspaper office.Even Janessa herself was curious
about how Rayan would answer this question.Would he actually admit it?
"It's not true.She doesn't look like my first girlfriend because she's my first girlfriend,"
Rayan admitted frankly.
The next stream of questions were about when they would get back together and whether they would
get married.
Just then, Corbin announced that the press conference was over.The matter was resolved, and
everyone's worries were allayed.
In contrast, Rayan paced the length of the lounge with a frown on his face.No one answered the call,
and then a message sent from Gracie’s number came through.
The message said, "Rayan, we can't go back to the past.I hope that you and Janessa will be happy
together."
Ryan held Janessa's arm in a vise-like grip and pressed her hard against her chair.
"Janessa, what do you want?" he growled out.
Janessa looked up at him in a daze.
They had just finished a battle side by side.Why was he suddenly treating her like this?
"What's wrong with you, Rayan? Go home and take something if you're sick! Don't take it out on me!"
"Where did you hide Gracie? What did you say to her? She gave up on me again!"
‘’Gave up on him again?’ Janessa furiously glared at him and said through gritted teeth
"Your sweetheart is missing? What does that have anything to do with me?"
"Where on earth have you hidden Gracie? If you dare hurt one hair on her head, I will make you pay!"
After uttering the threat, he whirled around and hurried out, slamming the door behind him.Just then,
Janessa noticed that her hands were clammy with sweat.
Rayan took Gracie back to the old house today.
How could she disappear just like that? Who took her away? Janessa had a hunch, but she didn't want
to ask or help Rayan to find Gracie.
She would never forgive what Gracie had done to her in the hospital.
Maybe it was a bad thing to wish ill of another person, but she was actually glad to hear that Gracie
was missing.
That meant that there was one less cruel person in the world.
Inside the attic of the old house was a small black room that was totally enclosed except for a palm
sized window.
However, the room was soundproof, and not a single sound could be heard from outside and from
within the walls.
Sarah brought the dinner to the attic, opening the small door to see a mess on the ground and a
woman huddled in the corner.
"It's useless to break everything in this room, but go ahead.You gave your word that you would not
contact my son, but you broke your promise."
The woman's voice was low and calm, but her words made the woman in the corner tremble.Gracie
raised her head and looked at her captor.
Sarah had always been very good to her, but now she was treating her with such cruelty.
Last time in her room, Sarah forced her to break up with Rayan.
Back then, she was only a servant's daughter with no education background.
She worked hard to be deemed worthy to become a member of the Lu family.
However, all of her efforts were for nothing.Even after she finished her study, Sarah still didn't like her.
To Sarah, the fact that Gracie had servants for parents was shameful and unacceptable.
She pleaded, "Ma'am, Rayan and I really love each other.Why can't we be together?"
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