Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 260

She wasn't on Langford Medical's VIP guest list, but her presence commanded attention regardless.

Dressed in a sharp silver-gray skirt suit and holding a champagne flute, she walked right up to Wren.

"Nice speech tonight."

Wren looked at her. "Thank you."

Clara cast a brief glance toward Lawrence, who was exchanging pleasantries with a group nearby. "Though the price you paid wasn't cheap."

Wren didn't try to deny it.

"He got the photos he wanted."

"And you got the guest list you needed." Clara lightly clinked her glass against Wren's. "That isn't losing. It's just paying the respective price of admission."

Wren let out a soft laugh at the analogy.

Clara studied her. "But let me warn you, after tonight, Lawrence will be even less willing to let go. He'll convince himself that since you were willing to share a stage, you're willing to negotiate."

The amusement faded from Wren's eyes.

"I know."

"Good." Clara lowered her glass. "Don't let him twist a single moment of public cooperation into a private concession."

Wren spoke softly. "I won't."

After Clara walked away, Lawrence gravitated back to her side.

He smelled faintly of alcohol, his true emotions securely locked away behind his composed exterior.

"You worked hard tonight."

Wren looked at him.

Hearing that phrase come out of his mouth felt absurdly foreign.

Throughout the years of endless banquets, when she had been so exhausted her ankles ached, the absolute most he would ever say was, "Let's go."

Tonight, he was acknowledging her effort.

But Wren felt zero comfort from it.

Belated consideration was like severely expired medicine.

The packaging might still look perfect, but the actual cure was completely dead.

"You worked hard as well, Mr. Langford," she replied.

Lawrence's expression frosted over. "Are you really going to keep calling me that all night?"

"This is a Langford Medical event."

"And in private?"

Wren stared at him.

The lights in the banquet hall had already dimmed. Guests were slowly filtering out, though a few stragglers were still snapping photos in the distance. The two of them stood near a floral backdrop. To anyone glancing over, it just looked like a married couple sharing a quiet, intimate moment.

Right at that exact second, his phone screen lit up.

Willow's name flashed across the display.

Followed by a message preview.

"Lawrence, I saw the photos. Wren looks gorgeous tonight. You two look... truly perfectly matched."

Wren saw the notification too.

She didn't react at all.

She didn't even bother offering a sarcastic remark.

Instead, she calmly pulled her own phone from her purse and checked the time.

"I should get back. I need to check on Leo."

Lawrence stood frozen in place, watching her turn and walk away.

Her black dress swept gracefully through the shifting lights. She never once looked back.

He looked down at Willow's message, suddenly finding the words "perfectly matched" sickeningly painful to look at.

Tonight, the whole world had seen exactly what he wanted them to see.

But the person standing right next to him had been completely detached, watching the entire charade with the cold clarity of a stranger.