Chapter 60 Hard to Explain

The good news brought by Hannah didn't make Yvonne feel any easier.

After all, her affair with Anthony had already been widely publicized online. Even if Anthony spent money to remove all the news, her reputation had already been tarnished.

In everyone's eyes, she was the "mistress" who destroyed Anthony's marriage.

A jarring phone call from Anthony interrupted her thoughts. She didn't answer, but he persisted and kept calling.

Finally, she answered and Anthony's voice came through, "Yvonne, are you okay?"

Yvonne fell silent in frustration.

Anthony continued, "Now, there's no trace of information about you and me online."

"This kind of excuse is just self-delusion." An overwhelming sense of powerlessness welled up in Yvonne's heart.

"Even if it can't be found online, those who have seen it will remember!" Yvonne cried, "Anthony, why did you switch seats with the person beside me? Why did you bring me to the hotel? And why did you insist on staying next door to me?"

Anthony's heart was in disarray from her crying.

Words of consolation, in comparison to the hurt she had endured, felt feeble and pale.

"I'm sorry," Anthony finally said after a long silence. "Yvonne, I'll repay you twice what I owe you one day."

"Anthony, listen carefully, you don't owe me anything! It was my own fault for falling in love with you back then! It has nothing to do with you! From now on, no matter how far you go, I never want to see you again in my lifetime!"

Yvonne hung up the phone while crying and blocked Anthony's number.

Feeling exhausted from crying, she took a shower.

As long as she was alive, she would muster the courage to keep living.

The next day, Yvonne went to the training room for the class, and everyone looked at her strangely.

Yvonne turned a deaf ear to their whispers.

After enduring a week of studying, Yvonne's flight was scheduled to land in Winslow on Wednesday evening.

While looking for her car in the parking lot and preparing to load her luggage, she ran into Philippe.

Philippe was accompanied by Elijah.

Philippe's car was parked next to Yvonne's.

Neither of them had any luggage or handbags. They seemed to be at the airport to see someone off.

Philippe greeted her with a smile: "Yvonne, finished your business trip?"

"Just got back." Yvonne's mood was very low, and lacking strength, she couldn't lift her suitcase into the car.

Philippe reached out to help, and her suitcase smoothly made its way into the car.

"Thanks." Yvonne had no plans to linger, and opened the car door.

"I booked a room at Zero Club tonight. Want to come and have some fun?" Philippe asked mischievously, stealing a glance at Elijah.

Elijah calmly got into the car and fastened his seatbelt.

"Not today. Maybe next time." Yvonne waved goodbye to Philippe with a weary expression.

The white Volkswagen quickly drove away.

After Philippe settled into the driver's seat, he started the engine and asked Elijah, "Are you really planning to break it off?"

"I already have." Elijah leaned back and pressed his forehead with his hand.

Philippe teased, "Yvonne has an exceptional figure and appearance. Even if you don't want a relationship, being friends with benefits isn't a bad idea."

"Being friends with benefits, but developing feelings that shouldn't exist?" Elijah said self-mockingly, "If I don't hit the brakes in time, I'll regret it forever."

"Your reputation is ruined, Elijah," Philippe said with a smile. "It's not your fault. It's natural for any man to develop feelings for a beauty like her. As a man, I can understand Anthony."

Upon hearing the name "Anthony," Elijah's gaze shifted directly to the window.

"I have insider information about the Collins family, would you like to hear it?" Philippe hesitated.

Elijah, who was rarely interested in gossips, replied, "Stop beating around the bush."

"Anthony returned from Seattle and didn't wait for Abigail to cause trouble before he confronted her. If she dares to provoke Yvonne again, he will leave the Collins family and end his marriage with Abigail."

Philippe continued, offering his commentary, "Anthony is the only son of the Collins family. If he insists on his decision, the Collins family won't be able to do anything about it. In order to save his marriage, they will have to compromise."

"It seems Anthony truly loves Yvonne." Elijah's tone seemed off.

"If Anthony had this courage back then, he and Yvonne wouldn't have ended up like this." Philippe shook his head with regret. "A missed chance hurts forever. Talking about true love now seems pretentious."

Elijah's phone rang. He glanced at it but didn't answer.

Philippe curiously took a glance and smirked: "Mason is still up to his tricks, trying to set you up with his cousin, huh!"

Elijah remained silent.

"Emily has established a dance studio, and she's actively recruiting. It seems she doesn't plan on returning to Norway," Philippe prodded. "Who would have thought Emily would marry an abusive man?"

"Speak less. Nobody sees you as a mute," Elijah retorted, frowning.

"I heard Emily had two pregnancies, both terminated by her ex-husband. The last one resulted in massive bleeding, and she had to have her uterus removed at the hospital. Otherwise, she wouldn't have given up her thriving career abroad and chosen to divorce and return home." Philippe's words grew more energetic.

"Elijah, let me remind you, rekindling an old flame is fine, but don't take it too seriously. After all, marrying a woman who can't bear children is quite a challenge."

"What's done is done," Elijah said in a deep voice. "There won't be any rekindling of old flames."

Yvonne returned to Sunshine Community and received a notice from the hospital, reminding her to pay the fees.

She called George without exchanging pleasantries and spoke directly, "As long as you clarify my origins, I will pay off your next round of hospital expenses."

"You are my biological daughter, there's nothing to discuss!" George had a bad temper. He hung up the phone without any explanation.

Yvonne stood by the window, an unprecedented sense of powerlessness washing over her.

She lost her mother's love at the age of six, but even if George was biased, their blood tie still existed, giving her a sense of belonging.

But since hearing the words of the two young nurses, the blood tie between her and George had suddenly disappeared.

She felt as if she were a drifting waterweed without roots, floating in an endless lake, without any support.

The sound of Michael's call instantly brought her back to reality.

"Mr. Watson." Considering his previous favor, she politely responded.

"Yvonne, as Abigail's older brother, I had to make this call." Michael's tone made Yvonne anticipate what he would say next.

She softly murmured, "Hmm."

"I don't care about your past with Anthony. Now that he and Abigail are legally married, and Abigail is four months pregnant, I hope you won't destroy their marriage." Michael's words were sharp, lacking his previous warmth.

Yvonne held back the words she wanted to defend herself with, knowing they would only make matters worse.

She and Anthony had a history together, and such things would only be twisted to appear worse!

"I got it, Mr. Watson." She bit her lip firmly.

"I don't know what your relationship with Elijah is. But let me tell you, for Elijah to ask me to get you into the FA Center Company, it means you hold weight in his heart." Michael's voice was deep. "Cherish what you have now. Don't complain when it's too late."

Before Yvonne could say anything, Michael ended the call.

She holds weight in Elijah's heart?

They were just friends with benefits, and Elijah only had a predefined sense of superiority toward her!

Thinking of Elijah, she opened WhatsApp to check if she was temporarily blocked by him.

The next day was Thursday, and as Yvonne clocked out, she overheard a few colleagues whispering in the pantry.

She faintly caught a few phrases, discussing her affair with Anthony.

She purposely coughed, and her colleagues immediately dispersed.

Back at the design department, she could clearly feel that everyone's gaze toward her had changed.

Even the usually amiable Susie seemed cold when talking to her.

If she could explain and clarify that there was nothing between her and Anthony, maybe this whole thing would be over.

But she couldn't.

Even if everyone had their own opinions about her, they still followed the principle of mutual assistance and cooperation in their work, making it somewhat pleasant.

Over a month had gone by.

Without Elijah's interference, Yvonne devoted herself to work and felt fulfilled.

Joseph would chat with her every few days, complaining about how busy Elijah was and how he had no time to spend with him.

Her aunt had invited her to Bird Hills for dinner several times, but she had politely declined.

What surprised and pleased her the most was that the results of the RD competition were out and she had secured eighth position!

Grace was eliminated.

When she saw this result, the first person that came to her mind was Elijah. She wanted to share the good news with Elijah, so she opened WhatsApp on her phone.

However, when she saw that their chat history was from over a month ago, she hesitated.

Forget it, it was better not to bother him!

Hannah somehow heard that Yvonne had won an award and called her to treat her. After discussing for a while, they decided to have a French meal together that night.

Yvonne's eighth place in the RD competition caused quite a stir at FA Center Company. Getting the golden invitation card alone was enough to make people jealous. Making it into the top ten meant she had surpassed many experienced designers.

Just two hours after the competition results were announced, the director of the design department called Yvonne and transferred her to Design Group A at FA Center Company.

Design Group A gathered the most outstanding designers at FA Center Company and undertook almost all of the top-tier designs in the country. It had always been regarded by the outside world as the "nuclear weapon" of FA Center Company.

Yvonne found herself in the luxurious and bright office, feeling relaxed and finally able to catch her breath. After work, instead of going back to Sunshine Community, she drove to the French restaurant where she had agreed to meet Hannah.

To her surprise, Elijah and Philippe showed up without an invitation. It seemed like they had been here for quite a while, chatting and laughing with Hannah.

"Yvonne, long time no see. Your complexion is getting better!" Philippe said with a smile.

"Only you would say that! I wonder how many girls you've fooled with that mouth!" While greeting Philippe, Yvonne glanced at Elijah.

They hadn't seen each other in over a month. Elijah had lost weight, but he still looked as elegant as ever. His attention was on his phone. He didn’t even look at her.

Yvonne secretly gave Hannah a glare, and Hannah hurriedly defended herself, "I just walked into the restaurant and bumped into Mr. Harper and Mr. Jones."

"I heard about your award, so Elijah and I wanted to congratulate you personally." Philippe stood up, offering Yvonne his seat.

Yvonne, not one to be pretentious, sat opposite Elijah. "I owe my award to Mr. Harper," she deliberately tried to get closer to Elijah.

"Me?" Elijah chuckled. "How come you didn't remember to tell me the good news when you won?"

Yvonne was speechless. Thankfully, Philippe and Hannah were there, instantly defusing the awkwardness.

The waiter brought the food to the table. Yvonne hadn't even touched her plate when she felt a wave of nausea in her stomach...