The Year She Stopped Being Crazy for Him novel Chapter 240

“You must be Ms. Sutton,” a man said, walking right up to Gardenia with a beaming smile. “To be leading a core project team at the Carlson Group at such a young age—your future is incredibly bright. I'd easily call you a true pioneer for women in our country's robotics industry.”

Gardenia offered a flawlessly modest smile. “Thank you, but there are plenty of people much younger and far more brilliant than I am. I wouldn't dare call myself a pioneer.”

“You're far too humble! When you say 'younger and more brilliant,' you must be talking about H, right? The one who made a huge splash and then completely vanished.” He shook his head. “Honestly, that genius probably completely burned out. Otherwise, why wouldn't we have heard a single thing about them?”

Jude was walking just a step ahead, with Natalie following right behind. She heard every single word of the exchange.

“H is a true visionary,” Gardenia replied. “If they ever decided to make a comeback, they'd undoubtedly be right at the top of the industry again.”

Hassan lowered his gaze to look at her, his tone perfectly even. “With your abilities, you'll reach the top soon enough. There's no need to sell yourself short.”

The smile on Gardenia's face grew even brighter. She looked up at him, her voice softening into something sweet and helpless. “Stop flattering me. My confidence is entirely built on your compliments.”

“Mr. Carlson only praises you because you're genuinely brilliant, Ms. Sutton!” the man laughed heartily. “I really envy Mr. Carlson for having such a formidable partner by his side. Not like the women in my circles—nothing but pretty faces. Finding someone like you, who has both beauty and real substance, is incredibly rare.”

The smile on Gardenia's face wavered.

Beside her, Hassan casually shut the comment down. “She is not anyone's partner. She is her own person. I simply value her talent, which is why I invest in her.”

Gardenia's eyes shimmered with overwhelming gratitude. Pressing her lips together, she murmured a soft, “Thank you.”

Realizing he had made things weird, the man awkwardly rubbed his nose and quickly excused himself.

Gardenia turned back to Hassan. “Whenever I see how incredible you are, I can't help but feel it's such a tragedy you ended up marrying Natalie. Haha, if you hadn't, I definitely would have locked you down myself.”

Hassan's gaze drifted lazily toward the stage. “It is a tragedy...”

Assuming he meant it was a tragedy they had missed their chance together, Gardenia let out a soft, wistful sigh.

Jude glanced over at Natalie, genuinely surprised by how completely indifferent she looked.

He strolled forward, throwing an arm casually over Hassan's shoulder with a sharp grin. “Hassan, when did you turn into such a smooth talker? I had no idea.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify