Chapter 326 Likes to Scheme
The two of them left the coffee shop without saying a word.
Clara took a moment to calm herself down, frequently glancing at Desmond.
Seeing that Desmond's expression had improved a bit, she quietly asked, "Desmond, did you send the photos to Maximilian?"
Desmond suddenly snapped back to reality upon hearing Clara's words.
As long as Maximilian believed that Katniss had done something to betray him, their goal would be achieved.
"Desmond?" Clara tugged at Desmond's sleeve, bringing him back to the present.
"Don't worry, Maximilian hasn't replied yet. Once he does, everything will be fine."
Desmond was confident about handling this situation.
After all, Maximilian was far away in Luminous City, while he and Katniss were in Starhaven.
No one knew better than he what Katniss had been up to in Starhaven.
Even if Katniss tried to deny it, he could always set her up.
He didn't believe that Maximilian would continue to protect her after she had betrayed him.
Once Katniss returned to Luminous City, she would be at their mercy.
Desmond had everything planned out perfectly. With that in mind, he decided to take Clara home.
He didn't want his Clara to see too much of the dark side of things or get involved in any trouble.
He could handle these matters himself.
When Clara heard that Desmond wanted to take her back to the villa, she quietly said, "But Desmond, I don't want to stay at Johnson's place. Can you find me somewhere else to stay?"
Her voice was soft, and she leaned against Desmond. Her pleading melted his heart.
He remembered how Johnson had barged into the villa before and said, "Alright, let's find a place nearby to rent. You can stay there, and I'll stay at the dorms at Starhaven Medical University."
Desmond felt a bit embarrassed as he said this.
If they were in Luminous City, he could have asked Gabriel for a small apartment near the school.
But here in Starhaven, he was in hiding. He couldn't ask Gabriel for money and had to be careful with his allowance.
Clara felt a bit uncomfortable about renting a place, but thinking about Johnson's attitude, she nodded in agreement.
"Thank you, Desmond. Let's go look at some places now."
While they went house hunting, Katniss and Ethan moved to another café to continue discussing their project.
After their discussion, Ethan mentioned the welcome party.
"Here's the invitation. I almost forgot to give it to you," Katniss said, handing Ethan an invitation that Stella had given her earlier.
Ethan took it, glanced at it briefly, and then pushed it back to Katniss. "I might not be able to make it tomorrow."
Katniss was puzzled. "Is everything at your home not settled?"
Ethan thought for a moment before saying, "An elder in my family suddenly fell ill."
He didn't elaborate, but Katniss understood that it must be important.
"If I don't go, it shouldn't be a problem, right?" Katniss asked.
Although she had accepted the invitation, she wasn't interested in such lively events. She'd rather spend time in the library.
"It's up to you. We just need to focus on our project," Ethan said, suggesting they go back home.
As they got up to leave, Ethan offered to take Katniss to meet Maximilian.
She didn't refuse, guessing that Ethan wanted to meet Maximilian.
Once in the car, Ethan suddenly brought up Desmond. "The guy spreading rumors about you and me, isn't he Mr. Hamilton's illegitimate brother?"
Katniss was surprised. "You know him?"
Ethan replied, "I just remembered. I heard that woman call him Desmond, and I recalled that the Boleyn family's illegitimate son is named Desmond."
Being from Starhaven, Ethan didn't know much about Luminous City.
But his mentor, Brent, had connections with Maximilian, and through Brent, Ethan had come to admire Maximilian and learned a bit about the Boleyn family.
"Yeah, he's Maximilian's illegitimate brother," Katniss confirmed. "I didn't expect him to come to Starhaven and transfer to Starhaven Medical University."
The Boleyn family had some influence, managing to get Desmond into the university so quickly.
"He got into Starhaven Medical University?" Ethan frowned. "Have you met him before? Did he give you any trouble?"
Ethan's concern for Katniss stemmed from Brent's request to look after her and her relationship with Maximilian.
Katniss shook her head. "Tyler and Scarlett were there at the time. They helped me get rid of Desmond."
Thinking back to Desmond's furious expression, Katniss couldn't help but smile.
"Be careful. He didn't succeed this time, but he might try something else. Contact me if you need help," Ethan advised.
Katniss gratefully agreed, thanking him for his concern.
They didn't talk much more before the car stopped in front of an office building.
After getting out, Katniss said goodbye to Ethan and called Maximilian.
Maximilian answered quickly and came down shortly after.
"Are you done with work?" Katniss asked.
She had planned to go up to find him, but Maximilian had asked her to wait, so she complied.
Maximilian put his arm around her. "I'm done. How about you? Was everything smooth today?"
He had seen the message Desmond sent but ignored it, instead calling Gabriel to handle Desmond.
If he guessed correctly, Desmond was probably getting scolded by Gabriel right now.
After the Boleyn and Elise families' engagement fell apart, Gabriel had asked Maximilian for help, which he coldly refused.
When Desmond and Clara's scandal hit the newspapers, he also didn't intervene.
He hadn't expected Gabriel to send Desmond to Starhaven.
Gabriel's favoritism towards Desmond, as usual, and Maximilian had only laughed mockingly upon learning about it.
But Desmond had come to provoke him, even taking photos of Katniss and Ethan to stir up trouble.
Maximilian couldn't tolerate that. He had warned Gabriel to control Desmond, or he would step in, and the consequences would be unpredictable.
Katniss, holding Maximilian's hand, said, "The project is going well, but I ran into someone annoying."
She had no intention of hiding anything from Maximilian, including Desmond's attempts to cause trouble.
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