Chapter 925: Audrey's Disheartenment
Half an hour later, Audrey walked out of the studio gate, still looking a bit angry. She didn't expect the photographer to be so despicable, taking advantage of the photo shoot to make advances. She ended up with semen on her buttocks. If it weren't for the studio manager stepping in to promise to fire the photographer, waive all the shooting fees, compensate her with $5,000 for mental distress, she would have called the police.
Thinking about the series of troubles she had faced since coming to Starhaven, Audrey felt mentally and physically exhausted. If it weren't for seeing Jason in such a bad state now, she would have wanted to go back to her hometown and never return to Starhaven.
Perhaps Audrey really shouldn't have come to Starhaven this time. Audrey sighed, feeling the weight of her decisions. She returned to the dormitory, only to smell a strong alcohol odor. She saw her husband lying drunk on the bed, surrounded by a mess of vomit on the floor. She didn't know how much he had drunk.
Seeing this scene in front of her, Audrey felt a nameless anger rising within her. She had endured humiliation to help him pay off his debts, but Jason spent his days drinking, without any fighting spirit. If she had known earlier, she wouldn't have borrowed money from Derek in the first place.
She wanted to turn away and let Jason face the consequences of his actions, but in the end, Audrey sighed, picked up a mop, and started cleaning the room. She cleared up all the vomit on the floor, washed her husband's dirty clothes in the laundry room, then opened the windows to let the room air out. She walked downstairs alone, tears silently falling, feeling like life had become unbearable.
"Mrs. Johnson." Suddenly, someone called out to her from behind. Audrey turned around to see George approaching, holding a piece of paper. "I passed the correspondence exam. This is the acceptance letter. I plan to study hard, get a diploma, and find a good job in the future."
"George, congratulations. I believe you will succeed," Audrey quickly wiped away her tears, forcing a smile.
"Mrs. Johnson, it's all thanks to your encouragement all this time. Otherwise, I wouldn't have persevered until now," George said gratefully. "I won't forget what you've done for me. Thank you."
"It's nothing. It's what I should do." Audrey watched George walk away, feeling a sense of melancholy. She would rather her husband be like George, steady and reliable, instead of chasing after big money. But Jason never listened to her, always acting recklessly. Now, they were back to square one after years of hard work, which was disheartening.
Just then, Audrey's phone rang. She checked the number, it was Derek calling. She answered coldly, "Derek, rest assured, I have signed up for the competition. I will fulfill my promise to you."
"Mrs. Johnson, the competition is just a small matter. How about having dinner together tonight? I'll treat you to the best Japanese cuisine in Starhaven."
"Not interested." Audrey hung up the phone directly, not wanting to engage with him any further. She just wanted to fulfill her commitment, get rid of his entanglement. With her qualifications, entering the finals wasn't difficult, but she didn't understand why Derek was giving her such lenient conditions. It didn't seem like he was intentionally making things easy for her.
But she didn't trust him to do a good deed. Last time, she could feel Derek's possessiveness towards her. How could someone like that willingly let go? Regardless, she was already in a difficult situation and had to take it one step at a time.
Meanwhile, in a villa in Starhaven, Derek hung up the phone and turned to Peter, who was embracing two blonde women. "Cousin, things are getting a bit tricky lately. You stay here and don't go anywhere. In a while, I'll arrange for someone to send you to Thailand by boat. There's a company there waiting for a partner, and they will arrange for you to go to Canada. I have a property in Toronto for you to stay in."
"What do you mean? Are you planning to exile your cousin to Canada?" Peter, with his hand on one of the women's thighs, complained, "Derek, back when your family needed funding for business, they borrowed money from my dad. Without hesitation, my dad gave up his savings. Now that your family's business has grown, and you've become the vice president of the group, is this how you treat me, afraid that my cousin will drag you down?"
"Cousin, what are you saying? We share the same last name, we're family, why create unnecessary divisions?" Derek sneered inwardly, but said, "If I were really afraid of you dragging me down, I wouldn't have specifically sent you here. No one dares to intrude into Starhaven. Rest assured, as long as the Venture Capital Group is around, I guarantee your prosperity every day. I have some matters to attend to, so I won't accompany you. If you need anything, just tell my men."
With that, he got up and left the villa hall.
Seeing Derek's departing figure, Peter felt frustrated but dared not act out. He saw the blonde woman's trembling breasts and reached out to squeeze them, causing the woman to scream.
Ever since the Aetheria police suddenly shut down his club, Peter knew things were not going well. He fled from Aetheria to Starhaven, staying at his cousin Derek's villa. Over the past few days, he had seen news reports about the entire drug trafficking ring in Starhaven being busted. He regretted getting involved in selling new drugs with Mr. Jacob to expand his business. Now, all his efforts over the years had gone to waste.
Through the channels of the Venture Capital Group, Peter knew that Starhaven's police were after him, specifically a cop named Harry, who was still investigating his whereabouts.
Peter harbored deep hatred towards Harry. If it weren't for him, Peter would still be enjoying a king-like life in Aetheria. He had no desire to go to Canada; he considered it a place beneath even a dog.
"Damn it, Harry, I'll kill you." Peter pushed down one of the blonde women next to him, making her arch her back, touched her wet lips, then grabbed his penis and thrust back and forth. However, the woman had been with many men, and her loose vagina made the experience unsatisfying. He longed for Valerie's tight and tender little hole and the beautiful woman with large breasts, who he was sure was also very responsive.
Two days later, Audrey successfully passed the preliminary round and became one of the five hundred contestants in the semi-finals. These contestants were selected from tens of thousands of applicants in the preliminary round, each one beautiful and with a hot figure, gathered from all over the country.
For most contestants, making it to the semi-finals was already a challenge, as the elimination rate in the finals was as high as ninety percent. Only fifty contestants could enter the finals, which not only demanded strict requirements for the contestants' overall qualities but also required covert support from behind.
With Audrey's qualifications, she naturally had the strength to enter the finals. She had been receiving calls from people claiming to be from entertainment companies, wanting to sign her. As long as Audrey agreed to become their contracted model, the company would spend money on public relations to ensure she could enter the finals and even compete for the top three places.
This was the plan of many entertainment companies: to find potential contestants in the preliminary or semi-finals, sign them at a relatively low cost in advance. Once the contestant became popular, the company would reap high profits. If the contestant breached the contract, they would have to pay a hefty penalty.
Many entertainment companies were vying for highly potential contestants, offering increasingly higher fees. Audrey had received many invitations, with the highest offering a salary of one million dollars per year for five years.
However, Audrey rejected them all. Although the salaries offered by these companies were tempting, she had no intention of entering the entertainment industry. Moreover, she had already signed a contract with Derek. Before entering the top ten, she couldn't sign with any other company, or she would have to pay Derek a hefty penalty.
Faced with this situation, Audrey actually felt some regret. If she had signed up for the competition earlier, she might have been able to raise ten thousand dollars and wouldn't have had to borrow money from Derek. But at the time, she was in a hurry and didn't think about it. Now it was too late to say anything.
Jason continued to drink heavily every day, and Audrey couldn't be bothered to deal with him. She was still preparing for the finals when Harry suddenly called to meet her.
Audrey was surprised but agreed to meet. They arranged to meet at a Western restaurant. Harry was dressed casually but still exuded a strong aura, a habit formed from his long career.
Audrey wore a pink dress, flesh-colored stockings on her legs, high-heeled sandals, long hair cascading down her back. Her full and perky breasts swayed slightly as she walked, her face lightly made up, her red lips alluring. Her stunning appearance and sexy figure left passersby in awe.
Even Harry was a bit distracted by Audrey's radiant beauty, his heart beating uncontrollably. He felt more nervous than when he used to chase fugitives alone.
"Mrs. Johnson, please sit. What would you like to drink?" Harry invited Audrey to sit down, looking at her watery eyes and speaking quickly.
"Lemon juice, please." Audrey didn't like coffee. "Officer, do you have something to discuss with me?"
"Oh, nothing much, just wanted to chat with you." Harry hesitated for a moment. "How's your husband been lately?"
"Not good. He's been hit hard and drinks every day." Audrey complained to Harry, feeling annoyed whenever she mentioned her husband. "How did he, a grown man, end up like this just because he lost a job? Is it necessary to be so downcast?"
Harry knew much more than Audrey did, so he was well aware of why Jason had turned out this way. Even if it were someone else, the situation wouldn't be much better. After all, he was about to be treated as a drug trafficker and face legal consequences.
"Mrs. Johnson, what are your plans for the future?" Harry asked. "Are you considering staying in Starhaven?"
Audrey thought for a moment but shook her head.
"Why?" Harry suddenly felt a bit disappointed and asked, "Is Starhaven not as good as your hometown?"
"It's not that." Audrey sighed. "Officer, Starhaven is great, more lively than our hometown, but it's not suitable for me. I prefer the life in a small town. The pace here is too fast."
"Yeah, it's more relaxing in small places. I want to go back to my hometown too." Harry thought about his years as a policeman here. Despite earning money every year, he couldn't afford a square meter of a house. Many people thought big cities were better, but the pressure of life in a big city was incomparable to that of a small town. Just the housing prices alone could suffocate a person.
The two chatted for over an hour before Audrey said she had to leave. Harry got up and walked out of the Western restaurant with her, hesitating about what to say. Recently, he had been organizing the data confiscated from Aetheria and Peter's club, and he found a lot of computer monitoring data. Among them, he discovered many videos of Jason from about two weeks ago, engaging in sexual activities with a girl in a room, who seemed to be one of the club's hostesses.
Seeing the videos, Harry felt a bit unsettled. Jason, with such a beautiful wife, still went to see prostitutes. It was simply shameless. He had asked Audrey out to give her these video materials, to expose Jason's true face. But seeing Audrey, he felt that his actions might seem low, and Audrey might think he was trying to sow discord in their marriage.
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