Divorce Failed! My Wife's Secret Identities Shock the World novel Chapter 247

Maeve teased him for a while before turning serious. "Signing the contract isn't the point. Showing up is."

"And about pulling funding from Aethelburg University—think it through carefully."

"Mr. Yates might not like me, but I still have to show Sterling some respect."

"If he finds out Orca Group is cutting ties because of me, do you really think he won't come all the way to Azure Bay to make a scene?"

Andres didn't say yes. He didn't say no.

Whether they withdrew the funding depended entirely on one thing: whether Maeve stayed at Aethelburg University.

As for that ungrateful Renfield—he needed a lesson.

During breakfast, Hans sent several messages in a row.

Renfield had heard Orca Group was about to pull out and was desperate to meet Hans, demanding to know why they'd made that decision.

Andres replied with only a few words: "Ignore him."

Hans went quiet immediately.

At the table, Andres deliberately served Maeve a few dishes he knew she liked.

"Since you don't need to go to campus lately, do you want to meet up with friends? Grab lunch, do some shopping?"

Andres didn't know much about Maeve's social circle. He only knew she had a few solid friends in Aethelburg.

One of them was Naomi Lowell—rumored to be Declan Fulton's girlfriend.

After everything that had happened, Andres genuinely didn't want Maeve stuck at home.

Get out. Change the scenery. Change the mood.

Maeve dragged her attention away from the trending news and, sipping her soup, said, "In their minds, I'm still locked up in detention."

Andres frowned. "They think you're being held and they're just… not doing anything about it?"

He'd heard of Jasper Jett.

A legal shark—one of those attorneys who never seemed to lose.

And someone like that was just letting Maeve rot in custody?

Maeve realized what he was thinking and corrected him. "I told them in advance I was going to bait my dad with a whole 'poor me' act. I also told them if anyone messed up my plan, I'd cut them off for good. So they behaved."

"…Yeah. Come with me."

They were both the type to act fast. Breakfast wasn't even finished before they were dressed and headed straight for White Manor.

On the drive, Andres gave her a quick primer on his family.

"The estate has a lot of people. A lot of rules. It's not as comfortable as Azure Bay."

"If you see anything that rubs you the wrong way—ignore it."

"We came back too suddenly. There wasn't time for them to prepare."

He'd delayed bringing Maeve home to meet his mother for a reason: the atmosphere there.

The Whites were old money—generations deep—with traditions that hadn't loosened their grip even in modern times.

He'd grown up in it, so it felt normal to him.

But Maeve? He worried she'd clash with the rigid hierarchy on instinct.

At least their marriage wasn't public yet.