Chapter 22 Shame

As Albert left, the door closed automatically, leaving the room eerily quiet, where even the faintest sounds became grating.

Yvette felt utterly drained as if her very soul had been sucked dry, leaving behind an empty shell.

She sat on the sofa alone for a while, sensing a lingering warmth where Albert had sat, only to dismiss the notion. It had been too long for any warmth to remain; it was merely her imagination.

Upon leaving the old mansion, she immediately received a call from Lassie. Yvette took a moment to compose herself before answering in her usual tone, "Mom."

Not entirely reassured, Lassie pressed from the other end of the line, "Have you finished your business? Don't get too close to male colleagues. Finish up whatever you're doing and come back for dinner right away."

Yvette responded, "I'll be home soon."

Yvette took the subway back, her mind blank, lost in the crowd. The rain outside fell on her face, cool and salty, almost like tears.

Upon her timely return home, Lassie breathed a sigh of relief, urging Yvette, "Quickly have your dinner. As a pregnant woman coming back home so late, you should at least grab some food on the way back. Even if you're not hungry, the child is."

With a weary nod, Yvette agreed, preparing to head back to her room to put away her bag.

However, recalling Albert's message, she turned back and stated, "The time and place for your meeting have been set. It's on Saturday evening at 6 o'clock at The Royal Taste."

Finally settling the matter of her worries, Lassie relaxed a bit but remained discontented, muttering, "After all this time, I finally get to meet your enigmatic husband. Clearly, I am his elder!"

Yvette replied, "Save those sarcastic remarks for when you meet him. Spare me."

Annoyed, Lassie playfully tapped Yvette's head, saying, "I wouldn't dare mock him! Your getting pregnant before marriage has tarnished my reputation, too. I dare not say a word.

"You bring this trouble upon us by not protecting yourself. If you had pursued a proper courtship, introduced families properly, and had a wedding before having a child, I wouldn't be in such a predicament."

Yvette clutched her bag tightly without saying a word.

Glancing up at Yvette, Lassie sneered, "There's no need to say anything. It's clear to me: your husband doesn't even like you, yet you insist on marrying him. I'm truly pitiful.

"Both my children are so foolish. Your brother defied all my objections to elope and marry, and now you're repeating history."

Blushing with shame, Yvette chose not to engage further, heading straight back to her room.

Lassie followed and shouted, "You haven't eaten yet!"

Yvette entered the room, intending to put her bag down first, but as soon as she walked in, she noticed that the room was in disarray.

Yvette furrowed her brow, and as she turned around, she noticed that the innermost cabinet had been opened. Instantly alarmed, she rushed over and flung open the cabinet, only to find the clothes out of their usual arrangement.

"Did you go through my cabinet?" Yvette asked urgently.

Lassie replied, "Kyle's and your business insurance were placed together. Someone asked me for the contract number today. I couldn't find it, so I went through your cabinet."

Yvette lost all composure in an instant, frantically rummaging through the cabinet, asking, "Where are the things I had placed in here?"

Confused, Lassie inquired, "Which things?"

"It's that..." Yvette's sentence was interrupted as her hand reached the stiff, yellow diary at the very bottom of the clothes. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief, tidied up the cabinet, and closed it shut.

"Nothing. You can go out first, and I'll come out to eat in a moment," Yvette said.

Lassie noticed Yvette's subtle actions and looked at her deeply, teasing, "I didn't take your diary. I took a peek at it when you were in high school. You wanted to kill me, so I didn't dare to look at it again."

Yvette blushed and retorted, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Lassie remained silent, but as she was about to leave, she turned her head, and in a low voice, she said, "You may seem smart, but you're actually quite stubborn. You liked that boy so much in high school, and your diary was full of him, but he didn't even like you back.

"Be more rational about the current situation. A man who doesn't like you won't change his mind no matter what you do. Over time, what you have between you is familiarity, not love.

"Now that you have a child, focus on getting more financial support for the child, and don't dwell on love."

Lassie left, and Yvette tightly held the diary filled with her teenage thoughts.

A strong sense of shame made her want to destroy it immediately, burn it to ashes with the fiercest fire.

But the next moment, she put the diary back in the farthest corner of the cabinet.

Just like before, she secretly hid it as if it didn't exist.

Yvette slept at home for a day, not doing anything, and went back to work the next day.

During the morning meeting, the leaders started promising illusory things again, saying they would hire more people, that each doctor would only be responsible for a hundred patients in the future, and that they wouldn't let the medical staff do administrative work.

After the meeting, Yvette and Sylvia rushed to change the medical kit on the plane.

Sylvia continued to complain, "I've heard the promises from the leaders hundreds of times, but we still haven't hired anyone. If this continues, I'll resign and go back to the hospital. It's tiring to work anywhere, but you can earn more money at the hospital."

Yvette said, "The hospital's recruitment time is also coming soon. Let's take a look together."

When they discussed this topic in the past, Yvette didn't express her own opinion, but today, she actually participated in the discussion, which felt a bit strange to Sylvia.

"You're also looking at the hospital's recruitment? Every time I complain, you defend North Airlines, and I think you will sacrifice everything for North Airlines. I didn't expect you to want to leave, too. What's wrong with you?" Sylvia said.

"The work here is so demanding, but the pay is so little. I also want to leave," Yvette said.

"But you've found a captain to be your husband, and he's also the grandson of the president of North Airlines. It doesn't matter whether you continue to work or not. You can have a wealthy life in the future with your child!" Sylvia said.

Yvette forced a smile and urged Sylvia, "Let's do our best while we haven't resigned yet. Let's go."

Just as Sylvia was about to speak, she looked up and saw Albert, and she was immediately excited. She nudged Yvette with her shoulder and said, "Your husband."

Yvette turned her head, and her gaze fell on the maintenance department not far away. Albert was talking to an engineer from the engineering department. He was tall, and he listened with a serious expression, nodding occasionally.

Perhaps sensing something, Albert suddenly looked up, and his eyes met Yvette's.

His expression was cold, and he glanced at her before looking away. He felt neutral about her, and he didn't spare another moment to look at Yvette as if... he was looking at a stranger.

Yvette pursed her lips, her hand holding the medical kit tightening slightly, her knuckles gradually turning white from the force.

"Let's go," she said to Sylvia.