The Rose He Showed Off Is Putting Down Roots in a Garden of Her Own novel Chapter 29

Elara was terrified that Zane would find out her marriage was falling apart. The Vance family was already in sharp decline, and she feared that if she was no longer Mrs. Sterling, Zane wouldn't give her the time of day.

After all, the Sterlings were a massive powerhouse.

Elara forced a dry laugh. "My husband drinks too much and talks nonsense. Please don't mind him, Mr. Whitaker."

Elara had an inherently cold, aloof beauty. She didn't smile as easily as her sister Vivian, so this forced, strained smile instantly conveyed to Zane the sheer bitterness this woman was enduring.

When he didn't reply, Elara continued her explanation. "We've been married a long time. When my husband drinks, he tends to speak without a filter."

Seeing her like this made Zane’s heart ache. Her marriage had rotted to this extent, yet she still had to scramble to save face and keep up the facade.

Perhaps he had overestimated her. She never actually intended to divorce; that night at the club had probably just been a momentary lapse of impulse.

A sense of melancholy washed over Zane. He said evenly, "We're all men. We all drink. I understand."

Seeing his indifferent expression, Elara instantly regretted her actions.

She shouldn't have answered Julian's call and let Zane discover just how deeply fractured her marriage was.

She had overestimated Julian's decency. She always subconsciously remembered him as the gentle, refined man he used to be, briefly forgetting all his recent indignities.

Who was Zane? He was the CEO of the Whitaker Group.

When he wasn't smiling, he exuded the chilling, aristocratic detachment of a true upper-class heir.

Perhaps because he had taken the reins of power at such a young age, a man of his years carried the terrifying aura of an absolute authority figure, one that made her feel... suffocated by his presence.

She had never dared to let her guard down around him.

She deeply regretted her short-sightedness. Back in university, she should have made an effort to build a relationship with him.

Then she wouldn't be in such a passive position today.

Too intimidated to bring up the acquisition, Elara stuck to trivial topics, completely wasting the opportunity.

-

After dropping Zane off, Elara spotted a car with its hazard lights flashing near the Vance Estate.

It was Julian's car.

He hadn't parked right in front of the estate's gates.

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