Trick Him Into Divorce, Then Flee With His Unknow Kid

Chapter 82: Chapter 82 An Unexpected Visitor

Rose detected the commanding tone in Samantha’s voice.

She had to admit that the other woman was putting on an even greater show of superiority than she, the rightful wife, ever did.

Diana chuckled, folded her arms, and leaned back in her chair.

"Ms. Hill, why are you meddling in our editing department? Why don’t you tell me how to film it, too?"

Samantha knew Diana was simply protecting Rose.

She was deliberately trying to provoke her.

Softening her tone, Samantha replied, "After all, the documentary’s theme is pharmaceutical research. What purpose does that shot serve? I’m only reminding you not to stray from the theme."

Diana nodded thoughtfully.

"Have we strayed from the theme? Aren’t we simply documenting the hard work of the researchers behind the scenes? It’s full of meaningful moments. Rose, as one of the researchers, works day and night and continues pushing forward despite being unwell. President Knight, as the lab’s investor, personally visits the front lines to show his support. It could even serve as positive publicity for New Hope. Sounds pretty meaningful to me. What a great theme."

"..."

Samantha’s expression darkened.

That was pure sophistry.

Rose knew Diana was exceptionally good at provoking people.

She always knew exactly where to strike.

"But shouldn’t we ask Mr. Knight for his opinion first?" the woman sitting beside Samantha asked, immediately backing her up.

At that, everyone’s attention shifted to Ryan, who was lounging lazily in his chair.

Rose remained silent.

Then—

Ryan set down his teacup and spoke calmly.

"I won’t interfere too much with the production team’s decisions. Ms. Robinson is right. It’s a good opportunity to contribute to New Hope’s public image."

Rose was slightly surprised.

He wasn’t insisting on having the footage removed?

However—

"That said, twenty seconds is excessive. To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, Ms. Robinson, please reduce it to three to five seconds."

Rose tightened her grip on her water glass and finally looked at the man across from her.

The "unnecessary misunderstandings" he referred to were clearly any speculation about the relationship between the two of them.

He didn’t want to be associated with her.

Samantha understood that immediately, and her previously gloomy mood brightened at once.

She knew it.

If it weren’t for New Hope’s reputation, Ryan would never have tolerated Diana’s little stunt.

In fact, she felt even better now.

Having Ryan state his position personally was far more effective than her demanding the footage be deleted.

She shot Rose a faint, smug smile.

No matter how much Diana tried to help, Ryan simply wasn’t willing to cooperate.

Diana didn’t look pleased, either.

She realized she had no way to argue against Ryan’s reasoning.

The man had boxed her in from every angle.

After Ryan made his position clear, the atmosphere at the table quickly became lively again.

Everyone joined the conversation.

"Mr. Knight really considered both New Hope’s image and Ms. Hill’s feelings. It’s such a blessing to have a boyfriend who shuts down rumors for your sake."

Samantha turned to Ryan, her eyes filled with affection.

Seeing that he had no intention of speaking further, she smiled softly.

"Everyone, please stop teasing me."

Rose had long since grown accustomed to situations like this.

With a single sentence, Ryan had effectively cut down her screen time.

If not for the documentary schedule and New Hope’s corporate image, he probably would’ve removed every scene involving the two of them.

She didn’t bother joining the conversation.

She only wanted dinner to end so she could go home and rest.

Ding.

Her phone lit up.

Trevor: [I booked a flight for the 15th of next month. Let’s meet then. There’s something I want to tell you.]

Rose leaned closer to Diana and lowered her voice.

"Is the baby’s father coming back soon?"

At the nickname, Diana raised an eyebrow knowingly.

"He told you? He probably won’t be leaving again. I heard my uncle and the others are already pressuring him to get married."

Rose looked surprised.

"So your brother’s coming back to get married?"

"I’m not sure. As you know, my brother has a marriage contract with the Taylor family, but their daughter is still missing. Even with an engagement agreement, he can’t wait forever for her to return."

Rose thought that made sense.

No one could spend their entire life waiting because of an arrangement made by the previous generation.

Trevor probably didn’t like the engagement in the first place.

Becoming Ariel’s father on paper was likely just his way of silencing the Taylor family.

After all, if he already had a child, even if the Taylor family’s daughter were eventually found, she probably wouldn’t be eager to become a stepmother.

At that point, the engagement would naturally fall apart.

*****

Dinner ended.

Diana still had footage to review, so Rose headed downstairs alone.

She’d grown tired of listening to the endless discussion about Samantha and Ryan.

All she wanted was a little peace and quiet.

The moment she stepped outside, a spring rain began to fall.

Ryan was standing near the entrance.

Looking up at the rain, he appeared calm and distant.

Dressed in a crisp black suit, he stood tall beneath the dim lights, his sharp profile framed against the night.

Hearing footsteps, he turned toward her.

"Did you drive here?"

Rose hadn’t intended to speak to him.

Caught off guard, she replied politely, "No."

"Do you need a ride home?"

Rose found the question oddly amusing.

If he genuinely wanted to give her a ride, would he really have asked?

"No, thank you."

"Alright."

He didn’t even bother with further politeness, as though simply asking fulfilled his obligation.

"Ryan, we should get going."

A Bentley pulled up.

The window rolled down, revealing Samantha in the back seat.

She glanced at Rose before speaking to Ryan.

Without hesitation, Ryan strode over and got into the car.

Rose became even more certain that his offer had merely been a formality.

There was no way he would’ve actually driven her home.

He certainly wasn’t going to let her interrupt his private time with Samantha.

Rose looked away.

She had long since become accustomed to being the one left behind.

It no longer affected her.

Flagging down a taxi, she headed back to her apartment.

*****

The next day, the research collaboration continued.

During lunch break, Rose brought her boxed lunch to the production team’s monitoring room to eat with Diana.

Filming never stopped.

Rose was also curious about what it looked like behind the scenes.

As she sat in front of a wall of monitors, she was stunned.

"Everything is captured so clearly. Just how many cameras did you install?"

Diana grinned proudly.

"Do you know what I do for a living? Whether someone’s picking their nose, scratching their butt, or secretly digging their underwear out of their crack, I see everything."

Rose: "..."

It really didn’t need to be that detailed.

Watching footage from so many angles felt like watching a live drama unfold in real time.

Rose took a few bites of her lunch.

Then she glanced up.

One of the monitors suddenly caught her attention.

It showed a secluded corner of the Western Medicine Raw Materials Analysis Laboratory.

Ryan was standing there, talking on the phone.

Samantha stood directly in front of him.

She rose onto her tiptoes and whispered something in his ear.

Then her cheeks flushed.

Tilting her head back, she gazed up at his handsome face with obvious affection and slowly lifted her chin toward his—

Click.

Diana immediately switched the feed at the last possible second.

She turned to look at Rose, who was still holding her fork, her expression complicated.

"That shameless woman knew there were cameras there, and she still put on that little performance..."

Diana wanted to curse.

But she was more worried about how Rose felt after witnessing that scene.

There was no way Samantha didn’t know a camera was there.

Rose froze for several seconds.

A piece of cilantro slipped from her fork and landed back in her lunch box.

Only then did she lower her head and continue picking out the cilantro.

One piece at a time.

And tossing it into the trash.

"It’s fine. I stopped caring a long time ago."

As for whether the footage Diana had cut away actually showed a kiss...

She didn’t care.

The divorce was imminent.

What Ryan did had nothing to do with her anymore.

Diana hesitated, as though she wanted to say something.

In the end, she simply gritted her teeth.

"She’s obviously trying to compete with you. Yesterday she saw the footage of you and Ryan, and today she immediately pulled this stunt. Her intentions couldn’t be more obvious."

You want to keep that footage?

Keep dreaming.

*****

That evening, filming wrapped up for the day.

The Columbia University team returned to campus to prepare their reports.

As Rose headed toward the elevators, she happened to run into Samantha.

Samantha glanced at her before coldly looking away.

Rose found it oddly amusing.

Why did Samantha always act as though Rose were the other woman?

Impressed by her confidence, Rose simply joined the crowd waiting for the elevator.

Just as she turned around—

The elevator doors opened.

Isabella stormed out, her face filled with fury.

She walked straight past Rose and headed directly for Samantha.

Before anyone could react, she raised her hand and slapped her.

Smack!

Then she grabbed Samantha by the collar and snarled, "You want to marry into the Knight family that badly? Dream on!"