Chapter 71 Tracking
"So verbose. I just washed my face with cold water in the morning, you're making a big deal out of it," Lauren said plaintively to Ethan.
Ethan sighed, genuinely worried about Lauren.
"Why don't you go back home? I believe Uncle and Aunt won't make things difficult for you, they love you," Ethan suggested.
Lauren found a towel, wiped her face, and said, "I know my parents love me, but divorce isn't a glorious thing. Although I don't mind, my parents care a lot about their reputation. I don't want them to be laughed at because of me."
Ethan understood Lauren's concerns about saving face among the older generation. Seeing Lauren wandering around like this made him ache inside.
"Lauren, if you're willing, why not stay at my mansion? It's just me and a few servants there. I rarely go back, so you can consider it your own home. Someone will take care of you on my behalf, and I can be at ease," Ethan proposed.
Upon hearing this, Lauren immediately declined.
"Ethan, thank you. But I can't go to your mansion. For the past two years, I've been living like a parasite in the Robinson Family. If I now go to live in your mansion, wouldn't it be like changing the place but still being a parasite? That's not the life I want. It's not about being proud; I've come to realize that I want to live my own life," Lauren spoke sincerely.
Quentin looked at Lauren with admiration. She hadn't changed; she was still the strong, independent, and thoughtful Lauren he knew before.
"Alright, I respect your decision. I'll head home now, contact some friends, and then help you find a place, okay?"
Lauren blinked, "Sure, no problem, you go ahead."
After Ethan left, Lauren started searching online for rental properties. Her requirements were simple: affordable and reasonably clean. After browsing for a while, Lauren went out to personally inspect a few listings.
In the office, Quentin had no desire to work. He glanced at his watch several times, but time seemed to drag on slowly.
The morning passed, and Quentin's stack of papers remained untouched on the first page.
Seeing Quentin's irritable demeanor, Cecilia didn't dare to speak up. She was puzzled. What was wrong with Quentin? Was he also experiencing low productivity?
"Cecilia!" Quentin suddenly shouted.
"Ah!" Cecilia reflexively walked over, "Quentin, do you need something?"
"Noah's phone is unreachable. Find him for me!" Quentin said coldly.
He was frustrated. Just when he was in a bad mood, Noah decided to skip work. His phone was off during breaks, and even his personal phone couldn't be reached. This made Quentin feel like he was going crazy.
Noah was rudely pulled out of bed by Cecilia upon hearing that Quentin was looking for him. He quickly arrived at the office.
"I rarely take a break. What's so urgent that you had to summon me?" Noah teased, sitting on the edge of Quentin's desk.
The next words Quentin uttered almost made Noah fall off.
"I'm getting a divorce."
"No way!" Noah staggered back from the desk, looking at Quentin in disbelief, "Seriously? Weren't you two doing well recently? Besides, you already have a child, what more do you want?"
Out of his own dignity, Quentin couldn't reveal the true reason. He only mentioned to Noah about Lauren chatting with another man. He wanted to hear Noah's opinion before making a decision.
"Are you really going to divorce Lauren over this? Quentin, I never thought you were so petty. Don't forget, your behavior in the past was a thousand times worse than Lauren's. Think about how she treated you. Wasn't she always waiting for you? And now, just because she got close to another man, you want a divorce. Oh... I feel sorry for her. How could she fall in love with a domineering man like you!" Noah said indignantly, unable to hold back his defense of Lauren.
Upon hearing Noah's last words, Quentin shot him a sharp look, causing Noah to shut his mouth obediently.
"I'm serious, Lauren is a good person. Don't lose your temper over a trivial matter. With your bad temper, there are few women besides her who can tolerate you."
"You can leave now," Quentin's pent-up frustration dissipated, and he no longer needed Noah's assistance.
"Burn your bridges why don’t you, I've done you a big favor, you should at least treat me to a meal, right?" Noah leaned in with a charming face.
Quentin pushed Noah away, "We can eat, but your holiday ends here today."
"No, no, I'm leaving!" Noah said, fleeing.
After Noah left, Quentin found it hard to focus on work. Noah was right; he had been too petty. But he wasn't usually like this. He didn't know what had come over him yesterday, but seeing that scene had made him angry on the spot.
Grabbing his coat, Quentin decided to go to the hotel to find Lauren. He didn't want to overthink it; he just knew he really wanted to see her now.
At that moment, Lauren had just walked out of the hotel's entrance. Quentin was curious about where she was going, so he followed her from a distance in his car.
Lauren boarded a bus, already having arranged to view a house with the landlord. She didn't notice a black car following the bus without overtaking.
Unsteady, Lauren got off after a few stops and walked a few minutes to a residential area. The neighborhood seemed to have been around for many years, showing signs of age, but Lauren still had a good impression of the place.
Quentin parked his car at a distance, pretending to be a passerby observing the situation over at Lauren's side of the street.
Soon, a middle-aged woman emerged from the neighborhood. Lauren greeted her with a smile, "Hello! Are you the landlady? I'm Lauren, whom you've been in contact with."
The landlady nodded with a smile, "Hello, Lauren, I didn't expect you to be such a young girl. Come with me, I'll show you around the house."
Lauren warmly followed the landlady into the neighborhood, while Quentin stayed outside. He hadn't expected Lauren to run so far just to find a house. Was she really determined to get a divorce? Has she decided to never return to the Robinson Family?
Once again, Quentin felt a sense of defeat, this time coming from Lauren. Why was Lauren striving so hard? Why was she so strong? How could she live normally after leaving him, showing no signs of heartbreak over the divorce?
