Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 133

Seeing Summer standing beside Silas and chatting with various industry elites, Xavier's expression remained neutral. Lily, however, felt a sharp sting of displeasure.

What right did Summer have to stand next to Silas Sinclair?

She was just a country bumpkin stand-in who had hogged Xavier for seven years, and now she was already clinging to the wealthy Silas Sinclair.

The Sinclairs were the richest family around.

How could she have such insane luck!

Lily seethed with jealousy. She simply couldn't stand seeing Summer do better than her.

Julian Hawthorne walked over and voiced exactly what Lily was thinking. "She's not even divorced yet, and she's already flirting around. Who knew Summer was this loose?"

Lily felt a rush of secret delight, but she put on a mask of disapproval and glanced at Julian. "Julian, you shouldn't talk about a woman like that. Society is already biased enough against us."

Julian scoffed. "You're just too kind, Lily, defending her like that. Look at her, smiling like a butterfly desperate to attract bees. Absolutely shameless."

Lily acted as though she didn't know what to say, merely offering a soft smile, but the fleeting look of contempt in her eyes betrayed her true nature.

Xavier led Lily closer, and the crowd immediately began greeting them.

Given Xavier's immense influence and the fact that Lily genuinely was a rising star in the research world with an award-winning patent to her name, the dynamic quickly shifted.

Within moments, the exact same people who had been happily chatting with Summer flocked to Lily, eagerly striking up conversations.

The crowd surrounded Lily like stars orbiting the moon.

In the blink of an eye, Summer was left standing completely alone.

This was exactly what Lily wanted.

That pathetic understudy belonged in the dirt, hidden away in the shadows.

Summer, however, didn't feel the least bit disappointed.

It was entirely normal. The corporate world was always like this—people chased after whatever benefited them the most.

She hesitated. "But Silas was guiding her around earlier."

"What do you mean guiding her? She was definitely just being thick-skinned, forcing herself into his space. Everyone here is a respectable professional. Even if they all knew exactly what she was doing, they wouldn't openly kick her out. Silas probably just played along, tolerating her proximity to put on a show for Xavier." Julian's tone dripped with pure malice.

Xavier acted as though he hadn't heard a thing, or perhaps he believed the exact same theory.

Lily completely bought into Julian's logic. Her heart finally settled into a comfortable rhythm as she followed Xavier to take her seat in the front row.

Aside from the heavyweights of the academic world and government officials, the front row was reserved entirely for industry titans like Xavier.

Xavier led Lily down the line, introducing her to everyone, giving her his absolute, unwavering support.

Summer suddenly remembered the past seven years. Because the Sterling family refused to acknowledge her status, Summer had never once attended a formal event arm-in-arm with Xavier.

Even when she did attend, it was strictly as a regular employee.

To avoid any suspicion, Xavier never shared a car with her, nor did he ever use his connections to secure her a seat in the front row right beside him.