The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 138

Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

At 3:00 PM, the fierce African sun poured through the massive glass walls of the airport, reflecting blindingly bright light. The air was thick with a unique blend of aviation fuel, dry dust, and tropical vegetation. The chaotic noise of crowds, announcements, and rolling luggage carts wove into an unfamiliar symphony.

Evelyn Sullivan pushed her luggage cart, slowly stepping out of the arrivals hall with the crowd. The exhaustion of the long-haul flight still lingered on her brow, but it was overshadowed by a faint sense of surrealism—the sheer sensory overload of stepping onto an entirely different continent. She wore a simple off-white linen shirt and khaki trousers. Her hair was tied back in a loose bun, and her face was completely free of makeup. Oversized sunglasses hid her eyes, highlighting her sharp jawline and slightly pale lips.

Dr. Ashford had arranged for a local assistant to meet her. She was just reaching into her bag for her phone to contact him when the device, seemingly catching a signal, began vibrating violently. A flood of missed calls and message notifications instantly bombarded the screen.

The top notification read: 'Father'.

Evelyn's steps faltered imperceptibly. Behind the dark lenses, a complex emotion flashed through her eyes. She had originally planned to settle in first before dealing with this, but the call had chased her down like a death warrant.

She sighed softly and stepped aside to a relatively quiet spot by a pillar, answering the phone.

"Hello, Dad," she said. Her voice was perfectly flat, betraying zero emotion, carrying only a faint rasp from the long flight.

"Evelyn!" Stephen's voice was deafening, laced with obvious fury and anxiety, instantly exploding through the speaker. "Where the hell are you?! Do you have any idea that the entire country is flipping upside down right now?! What is going on between Christian and Lyra?! How could they get caught spending the night together in an apartment?! And Penelope Lancaster—she stood right in front of the reporters and said they're 'getting engaged'! What the hell is happening?!"

Evelyn gripped her phone, quietly listening to her father's rapid-fire interrogation. The chaotic background noise of the airport blurred out, making his shrill voice sound even more grating. She could picture him right now—standing in the Sullivan Manor's study or living room, likely yelling into the receiver, his brow furrowed, his face flushed with shock and the humiliation of being publicly slapped in the face.

"Say something!" Stephen demanded, his rage spiking at her silence. "What have you been doing for the last three years of your marriage?! You can't even keep your own man in check! That Lyra Langford comes back with some illegitimate kid, and suddenly there's a massive scandal! Look at the mess now! The whole city is treating the Sullivan family like a joke! They're laughing at my daughter because she couldn't keep her husband from letting another woman waltz right in! And who the hell does Lyra think she is?! If it weren't for..." He seemed to realize he was saying too much and abruptly stopped, though his anger didn't wane. "Get back here immediately! Do whatever it takes, but secure Christian! You aren't divorced yet! He is still your husband! The Sullivan family cannot lose our dignity like this!"

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