Free Web NovelChapter 242: Chapter 242 Ryan Plans to Marry Samantha
After settling Ariel in, Rose returned to her apartment.
Just to be safe, she blocked every phone number associated with the Knight family’s old mansion.
She didn’t want to be disturbed while the Knight household descended into chaos following Ethan’s release from prison.
That night, Rose slept poorly.
In her dreams, she saw the expression on Ryan’s face when he had confronted her about the child.
It made her break out in a cold sweat.
Although they had already obtained their divorce certificate and everything should have been settled, the fact that Ryan now knew she had given birth to a child left her feeling inexplicably uneasy.
In her dream, Ryan suddenly found Ariel.
His eyes were red as he confronted her.
“Is she my child? Why did you lie to me, Rose? The blood of the Knight family cannot be left wandering outside.”
Rose woke up in a panic.
Her heart was still racing.
She quickly sent Dr. Nathan a message, asking how Ariel was doing.
Dr. Nathan snorted. “My little treasure has already gotten up and gone to school. How could she possibly get lost?”
Only then did Rose relax.
She had been tense these past few days. Fear and anxiety had quietly taken root in her subconscious.
She didn’t know exactly what had happened at the Knight household the previous night.
But one thing was certain—it couldn’t have been peaceful.
It wouldn’t be easy for Ryan to deal with the situation.
She had originally thought that once Ryan discovered she had supposedly given birth to another man’s child during their marriage, he would immediately confront her and tear everything apart.
Yet judging from what happened yesterday, they had merely had a massive argument—the biggest one in seven years.
She had witnessed the coldness and ruthlessness hidden deep inside Ryan.
His words were like a blade that killed without drawing blood.
Poisonous.
But she didn’t care.
As long as she achieved her goal, nothing else mattered.
After getting up and freshening herself up, Rose headed to the research laboratory at NYU.
Once she officially assumed her position, she would need to participate in the research team’s work.
There was also a general meeting scheduled for today.
When Rose arrived, she saw only the doctoral students of the other professors.
Samantha was nowhere to be seen.
Through Ryan’s arrangements, Samantha had been reassigned to work under Professor Black.
She was absent today.
Rose actually felt relieved.
Fortunately, she had already obtained her divorce certificate before everything exploded.
Otherwise, if Ryan discovered that she had given birth to a child during their marriage while Ethan had just been released from prison, Margaret would undoubtedly use the situation as an excuse to detain her and refuse to let her leave.
To preserve the Knight family’s appearance of harmony and prosperity and maintain the illusion of brotherly affection, she would be trapped in a cage with no possibility of escape.
That was exactly the kind of thing the Knight family would do.
Another student was absent as well, having taken leave.
Rose wasn’t curious.
During a break, she found time to call Trevor.
He answered almost immediately.
“Rose? How’s your foot?”
Rose looked down at her ankle.
“I iced it and had acupuncture treatment after I got home yesterday. It doesn’t affect my walking anymore.”
“That’s good. I’m sorry. I was busy until late last night and didn’t want to disturb your rest, so I didn’t call.”
Rose quickly replied, “It’s fine. It wasn’t a big deal.”
Trevor was the kind of man who handled everything carefully.
He might appear somewhat old-fashioned, but his reliability was reassuring.
“I wanted to ask when you’ll be free so we can handle Ariel’s paperwork.”
Trevor understood that Ariel was Rose’s greatest priority.
His voice remained calm and reassuring.
“Anytime. Ariel wasn’t originally registered under your custody, and when you gave birth, you used the identity ‘Aster’ through a special channel. The review process will be much stricter. A birth certificate alone won’t be enough. You’ll need a paternity test as strong supporting evidence.”
Rose hadn’t expected Trevor to understand the process even better than she did.
Ariel’s circumstances were indeed complicated.
There were numerous documents required, and because of the complicated family relationships, the review process involved additional procedures.
“Alright. I’ll take care of it today.”
“Once the results are available, we’ll go together. Don’t worry—I’ll be staying in the country for the time being.”
Rose felt relieved.
During a break, she stopped by Dr. Nathan’s house, took Ariel’s toothbrush, and headed directly to the hospital.
Paternity test results were available fairly quickly these days.
The report would be ready in three days.
After taking care of the matter, Rose finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Perhaps because of the incident at the Knight family estate, she remained undisturbed.
Neither Ryan nor Samantha appeared.
Ryan was likely occupied with dealing with the situation involving Samantha and Ethan.
Even regarding her supposed betrayal—concealing the fact that she had given birth—he probably didn’t have the time to investigate further.
This gave Rose time to think about how to handle the situation.
Two days later, the NYU research team was conducting a project evaluation.
A restaurant had been reserved to host research teams from other cities and provinces.
That was when Rose saw Samantha again.
She had arrived alongside Professor Black.
As Rose approached, she noticed that Samantha looked rather unhappy.
The side of her face Ethan had slapped was still slightly swollen, although she had tried her best to conceal it.
Rose guessed that a great deal had happened over the past few days.
The moment Samantha saw Rose, her eyes turned cold.
Over the past two days, she had done everything possible to keep Ethan under control.
If he lost control publicly, the image she had carefully built would be destroyed, along with her future.
This included repeatedly trying to contact Rose.
Whether it was Samantha herself or her father and associates calling, Rose had blocked every number.
Rose was probably waiting to see her become a laughingstock.
Samantha greeted every professor present, including the visiting research teams.
Only Rose was deliberately ignored.
Rose didn’t seem to care.
She simply sat beside Leo.
Knowing that everyone present was highly respected in the field, Samantha tried her best to stand out.
She raised her glass repeatedly to toast the professors.
However, the professors nearby were busy discussing research progress with Leo and Rose.
It was as though they hadn’t noticed Samantha at all.
Samantha froze.
She looked around.
Everyone else was engaged in conversation.
Yet no one invited her to join.
She felt completely ignored.
Her expression darkened.
In the end, she could only bite her lip and sit quietly.
She couldn’t understand it.
If Rose could participate in the academic discussions, why couldn’t she?
Didn’t she have more experience than Rose?
Aside from that inexplicably obtained professorship, what else did Rose have?
Leo noticed Samantha’s displeased expression.
Shaking his head, he quietly told Rose, “She skipped work for two days immediately after joining the research team. Everyone’s unhappy about it. Researchers are stubborn people. Unless she proves her abilities, no one will take her seriously.”
Rose had noticed it as well.
Samantha was being deliberately excluded.
Everyone present was among the best in the field.
They were proud and highly accomplished.
Samantha simply hadn’t reached their level yet.
The conversation continued for some time.
Suddenly, the private room door opened.
When Rose looked up, she saw Ryan.
The moment Samantha saw him, she immediately stood.
Ryan nodded slightly.
“Everyone, sorry I’m late.”
Rose instinctively clenched her fingers.
After the confrontation regarding Ariel, she couldn’t remain completely calm around him.
Seeing Ryan, Leo quietly said to Rose, “Mr. Knight is willing to invest in our laboratory.”
Rose immediately understood why he had come.
But arriving halfway through the dinner—
It was clearly a last-minute decision.
And the reason for that sudden visit...
Everyone noticed the two empty seats.
One beside Rose.
The other beside Samantha.
Ryan seemed not to notice Rose at all.
His expression remained cold as he walked over and took the seat beside Samantha.
Instantly, the researchers who had previously ignored Samantha all turned toward her and began greeting her one after another.
In the blink of an eye, Samantha became the center of attention.
The woman who had looked embarrassed and isolated moments earlier suddenly seemed radiant again, a smile spreading across her face.
It took Rose only seconds to understand Ryan’s purpose.
He had come to support Samantha.
He would not allow her to be excluded.
With Ryan present, everyone naturally became willing to give Samantha some respect and include her in the conversation.
Rose silently laughed at the situation.
She quietly stood and went to the restroom.
As she washed her hands, she heard Samantha’s cheerful voice outside the door.
“Ryan plans to marry me,” Samantha said happily over the phone. “Ethan won’t dare do anything anymore.”
