The Man Who Waited vs. The Man Who Wasted novel Chapter 358

"Furthermore, Audrey gave you such a beautiful son. Even if you don't appreciate her love, you should at least appreciate her sacrifice," Eleanor pressed.

Adrian forced down the turbulent emotions churning in his chest.

"I understand."

He scoffed internally.

Whether Audrey was truly Caleb's only precious daughter was highly debatable anyway.

Relieved that the lecture was finally over, Adrian exhaled quietly.

But then Eleanor suddenly changed her mind.

"Don't wait until tomorrow. Go right now. The sooner you show up, the more sincere you'll look."

"Alright," Adrian agreed.

Eleanor paused, thinking it over again.

"Actually, I'm coming with you. If I personally make an appearance, Mr. Preston and Audrey will have no choice but to show some respect."

"Okay."

"Carl!" Eleanor barked.

The family driver, Carl, immediately materialized.

"Yes, Ma'am. How can I help?"

"Go down to the wine cellar and grab two bottles of our finest vintage. Also grab a tin of premium tea, and oh, those traditional herbal supplements someone gifted me a while back. Load all of it up."

Carl packed the trunk to the brim with expensive apology gifts.

Upon arriving at the Preston residence, Carl rang the doorbell.

The maid opened the door and blinked in surprise when she saw Eleanor.

"Mrs. Lowell? What brings you here?"

All traces of Eleanor's previous fury had vanished, replaced by an impeccably warm smile.

"I've come to check on my future granddaughter-in-law."

The maid hurriedly went to inform the family.

Eleanor fully expected Caleb to come out and greet her personally.

Instead, the maid returned alone, wearing an awkward, strained smile.

"Mrs. Lowell, Mr. Preston says he's feeling a bit under the weather. He asked if you could please return home for now and visit another day."

A spark of irritation flared in Eleanor's chest.

But since the Lowells were the ones at fault, she forced herself to swallow her pride.

"I've already had the situation thoroughly investigated. The woman in the photo is simply one of Adrian's major clients. The two of them are completely innocent. We've all misunderstood the poor boy."

"Oh? Is that so," Caleb said flatly.

"Think about it," Eleanor urged smoothly. "If he were actually having an affair, would he really parade her around a massive robotics expo? There were thousands of people there—wouldn't he be terrified of getting caught?"

That logic was actually fairly solid.

Seeing Caleb's rigid posture soften slightly, Eleanor pushed her advantage.

"Even though Adrian didn't actually betray Audrey, I still tore him a new one. The fact that someone misunderstood his intentions means he was being too careless. It was just an innocent lack of boundaries that gave people the wrong idea."

"Besides, we absolutely cannot let one photograph manipulate us. It was obviously sent by someone vicious who wants to tear our families apart so they can sit back and laugh at the fallout!"

Caleb slowly nodded. "You make a fair point. A single photo doesn't exactly prove he was sleeping with her."

Eleanor shot Adrian a pointed look.

Adrian stepped forward immediately.

"Mr. Preston, I'm so sorry. I was wrong. I failed to maintain proper professional boundaries, which led to this misunderstanding and broke Audrey's heart."

Before Caleb could launch into a lecture, Eleanor interjected.

"To prove our absolute sincerity, my dear in-law, we've decided to move up the wedding. They'll be married on the fifteenth of next month."