Secretly Married for 4 Years, He Regrets to Tears After the Divorce-Chapter 25: No Sign of Divorce

At Ms. Sterling’s words, everyone except Wren Sutton turned to look at Adrian Lancaster’s face.

Grandma was the closest and had the clearest view.

Although the red marks weren’t very obvious, you could still see them if you looked closely.

"If you hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have noticed. There are indeed a few marks."

Concerned for her son, Ms. Sterling got up and walked over.

"So, what on earth happened? It looks like..."

"Like cat scratches," Lucia Lancaster added, leaning in for a closer look.

Ms. Sterling shook her head. "No, it doesn’t. To me, it looks more like he was hit."

"Mom, you must be confused. Who would dare hit my brother, especially on the face?"

Ms. Sterling came to her senses. "You’re right. Who would dare hit my son? They must have a death wish."

Wren Sutton kept her lips pressed together, not joining the discussion and trying to minimize her presence.

Still without an answer, Ms. Sterling grew impatient. "Adrian, say something! You’re going to worry us to death."

Wren stole a glance at Adrian from the corner of her eye, her lips tightening. She was worried he would retaliate by telling them the truth.

Adrian just smiled nonchalantly, lifted his arm, and draped it intimately over Wren’s shoulder, pulling her into his embrace.

Wren’s back stiffened. She caught the faint scent of antiseptic and figured, if she wasn’t mistaken, that he had just come from the hospital.

’So this was the "urgent matter" he had to attend to.’

’He’d cast aside a family dinner for Maya Marshall.’

Wren found the smell nauseating and struggled to get up, but Adrian pressed down hard on her waist.

She angrily turned her head and met his meaningful gaze. His eyes seemed to be warning her: if she cooperated and stayed still, he wouldn’t expose the fact that she had hit him. Otherwise, he would tell the truth.

"..." Wren was now in a passive position.

Knowing Ms. Sterling’s temper, she definitely wouldn’t let Wren off easily if she found out the truth.

’Better to avoid trouble. A wise person knows when to yield.’ She chose to cooperate with Adrian, remaining perfectly still and letting him hold her.

Sure enough, Adrian didn’t expose her, effectively getting her out of the predicament.

"Lucia was right. My face was scratched by a cat."

"What kind of cat has claws that big?" Ms. Sterling asked, her face full of doubt.

Adrian replied with a straight face, "A naughty little stray."

"..."

"Wren put some medicine on it for me. It’s almost healed."

Everyone believed him except for Ms. Sterling.

"Really? You’d better not be lying to your mother."

Adrian was perfectly composed. "It’s true. There’s no need to lie about something so trivial."

Ms. Sterling decided to believe him for the time being and didn’t press the matter further.

The matter was considered closed.

Wren silently breathed a sigh of relief.

After the brief interlude, Grandma went to her room for a nap, Theodore Lancaster went to the study to practice calligraphy, and Julian Lancaster and Lucia Lancaster were busy contacting their friends back home.

Seeing that Wren had nothing to do, Ms. Sterling ordered her to the kitchen to cook for Adrian.

Wren agreed without a word, broke free from Adrian’s embrace, and went to the kitchen.

She would rather cook than sit in his arms.

Watching Wren’s retreating figure, Adrian frowned. "Mom, have the maids do this sort of thing from now on."

Ms. Sterling was displeased to hear this.

"She’s your wife, so what’s wrong with her making you a meal? Besides, I didn’t ask her to prepare some grand feast, just a bowl of plain noodles and a few pan-fried shrimp. How tiring could that be?"

"She hasn’t been feeling well lately," Adrian said in a low voice.

Ms. Sterling misunderstood, assuming Wren was on her period, and didn’t think much of it.

"If she wasn’t feeling well, she shouldn’t have agreed just now. With so many people here, it’s not like I forced her. She went to the kitchen voluntarily."

Adrian was getting a headache. He knew he couldn’t win an argument with Ms. Sterling, so he simply gave up and headed for the kitchen.

Ms. Sterling’s nagging voice followed him. "The kitchen is full of cooking fumes, what are you going in there for? Goodness, you even have to keep her company while she cooks. You’re spoiling her too much."

Seeing how much her son seemed to care for Wren, Ms. Sterling felt a pang of displeasure.

It had been four years, and there was still no sign of them divorcing. If this continued, she’d have to wait until the cows came home to welcome Maya Marshall as her daughter-in-law.

Adrian stopped at the kitchen doorway, his gaze deep as he watched the woman’s busy figure.

She wore an apron, her hair pulled up high, revealing the fair skin from her neck to her earlobes, which looked like a piece of translucent, exquisite jade.

It had been a long time since he’d eaten her cooking.

Wren heard footsteps but assumed someone was just passing by, so she paid them no mind.

"Couldn’t come back earlier, couldn’t come back later. Shows up right after everyone’s finished eating, and now I have to cook for you separately. What a pain," she muttered, stirring the pot aimlessly with her chopsticks.

The moment the words left Wren’s mouth, Adrian pressed against her from behind, his firm, lean chest flush against her back, his chin resting just behind her ear.

"Not happy to have me back?"

"..." Wren froze, startled. She almost cried out in surprise.

She hadn’t expected the footsteps to be Adrian’s, nor that he had overheard her complaining.

It was no wonder Wren was shocked. In all these years, Adrian had never once set foot in the kitchen while she was cooking, let alone leaned on her shoulder like this.

"I’m cooking. Get off me."

Besides, there were still people in the living room. Anyone who glanced toward the kitchen would be able to see them.

Wren felt extremely uncomfortable.

"We’re in our own home. What’s there to be afraid of?" Adrian wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her even closer.

Wren gritted her teeth in frustration.

’This damn man is definitely doing this on purpose!’

Adrian whispered in her ear, "You just cook your noodles. I’ll just hold you like this, I promise I won’t do anything else."

Wren was internally repulsed.

’He just held Maya Marshall at the hospital, and now he’s holding me.’ The thought made her skin crawl.

"Go wait outside. The noodles will be ready in a minute."

Adrian didn’t move. "It’s the same if I wait here."

Wren’s brow furrowed. "Don’t you think this is childish?"

Adrian ignored her question and changed the subject. "It’s time you got a new car. Tell me which brand you want, and I’ll buy you one."

"..."

"The car Mrs. Lancaster drives needs to have some prestige."

Wren suddenly understood.

’The new car was just to uphold the Lancaster family’s image. It had nothing to do with her.’

"I understand." ’Might as well take it. It’s not my money, anyway.’

Adrian had more to say. "Last night..."

Wren didn’t want to hear it. She turned off the stove. "The noodles are done. Get me a bowl."

"They’re ready already?"

"They’ll get mushy if you cook them too long."

Adrian had no choice but to let go and turn to get a bowl.

Wren ladled the noodles into the bowl, added some simple seasoning and a bit of color for presentation, and the plain noodles were ready.

"Just have it with some sliced beef. I can’t be bothered to pan-fry the shrimp."

Adrian didn’t make things difficult for her. "That’s fine."

Soon, Wren had sliced a small plate of five-spice beef. She brought it out with the noodles and placed them on the dining table.

"Take your time. I’m going upstairs to rest."

"I’ll come up and join you after I’m done."

Wren said nothing, took off her apron, and went upstairs.

Adrian ate alone in silence.

He took a bite of beef first, then picked up some noodles with his chopsticks. The moment they entered his mouth, he spat them out, his expression pained.

The noodles were so salty they were completely inedible. Just how much salt had Wren put in them?!

His gut told him she had done it on purpose.

Adrian instantly lost his appetite. He was full from anger alone.

Just then, a maid walked over.

"Young Master, the Master wants to see you in the study."

"Understood."

Adrian drank a glass of water and went to the study, his face dark.

Father and son sat facing each other. Theodore Lancaster’s expression was stern and humorless, radiating the authority of a traditional family patriarch.

"Dad, what did you want to see me about?" Adrian broke the silence.

Theodore Lancaster got straight to the point. "I want Julian to report to the company next Monday. Arrange a management position for him."

Adrian didn’t refuse. "He can join the company, but he has to go through the proper channels. The first step is to have him apply through the HR department."

Theodore grew instantly furious. "Julian is your brother. Does he really need to apply to join the company?"

Adrian nonchalantly picked up a calligraphy copybook from the table. The first character he saw was "Patience."

He crumpled it in his hand, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

He lifted his gaze and looked coldly at his father.

"Even if he were my full-blooded brother, he would still have to apply, let alone him."