Ignored When Chasing: Why Cry After I Got Engaged-Chapter 143: He Treated Me Better Back Then

Hugo Grant froze for a moment, looking up at his friend of so many years.

"Damian, I..."

"Hugo Grant, I don’t mind you choosing a woman over our friendship, but I despise deception." Damian Hawthorne shot him a sidelong glance, his mild tone laced with a clear warning. "I’m giving you a chance right now. Tell me everything you know. Because if I find something out on my own later, our friendship is over."

Hugo Grant’s fingers twitched. He lowered his gaze, his long lashes concealing the emotion in his eyes.

He hadn’t deceived Damian Hawthorne.

’It was just... he knew some things, but he had never taken it upon himself to tell him.’

Hugo Grant knew his relationship with Damian Hawthorne had been coming to an end from the moment he began pursuing Cecilia Nathan.

Damian Hawthorne was a proud and arrogant man. It would have been one thing if he didn’t like Cecilia, but he had feelings for her.

When he started pursuing Cecilia, Damian was bound to be enraged.

"Damian, let Cecilia go. And let yourself go, too," Hugo Grant sighed.

He used to think Damian could make Cecilia happy, so he never interfered in their relationship. But after all the time Cecilia had spent by Damian’s side, and after losing a child, the damage Damian had caused her was immeasurable.

’Of course, he didn’t like that Miles Sinclair fellow either.’

"Let Cecilia go, so you can chase after her?"

Damian’s tone was like a shard of ice, stabbing straight into Hugo’s heart.

Hearing the taunt in his voice, Hugo Grant gave a bitter smile. "I wish I could win her over."

’Unfortunately, Cecilia’s heart belonged to Miles Sinclair.’

"Hugo, give up on her. Now that I’ve decided to win her back, I have no intention of just handing her over to someone else."

Damian’s words carried an unshakeable conviction.

...

Downstairs at the Hawthorne Group building, May Rhodes walked into the lobby with her head held high, laden with shopping bags.

"Serena, hurry and come inside. Damian bought me so many things. You can pick out whatever you like."

May Rhodes glanced at Serena Hughes behind her, her tone dripping with saccharine sweetness.

Seeing May Rhodes’s triumphant expression, a surge of jealousy rose in Serena Hughes’s heart.

’Originally, everything May had should have been hers, but unfortunately, she’d been exposed.’

’She had handpicked this impostor, May Rhodes, a woman whose status was a world away from her own. To think she was now putting on airs in front of her.’

"He treats you so well."

Serena Hughes looked her up and down, unable to hide the resentment on her face.

’How dare this woman act so smug in front of her.’

’Back when Damian was courting her, he had given her an antique violin worth millions.’

’The memory of how Justin Bell had ultimately taken that violin away made Serena’s breath catch in her throat.’

May Rhodes watched her expression carefully. Seeing her seething with rage, May’s hand, which was holding the bags, trembled. She nervously thrust them at Serena. "Heh heh, Serena, my dear Serena, I was just thinking of you the moment I got all these nice things. You’re my great benefactor, after all. My ’future’ is all in your hands."

May Rhodes had never imagined she’d see a day like this.

She was just a nurse working at a small clinic in a little town when, one day, people from the Sinclair Family of Korsyth found her. They told her they were giving her a chance to marry into a wealthy family.

At first, she assumed they were scammers and yelled at them to leave. That was, until Serena Hughes showed up with designer bags and clothes.

From that moment on, her life was transformed.

She went from being May Rhodes of a small town to becoming the idealized love of Damian Hawthorne’s memory.

They shared the same name, May Rhodes, but were originally worlds apart. Yet, after Serena Hughes’s training, she could actually pass for the real thing in front of Damian.

She owed it all to the woman standing before her, Serena Hughes.

After so many days of being wined and dined by the Hawthorne family, May Rhodes had no desire to go back to her old life. To stay, she had no choice but to curry favor with the woman before her.

Serena Hughes glanced at the things she was handed and sneered in disdain. "You have no taste. These bags only cost a few tens of thousands. They’re the kind of thing I give to my maids. To me, they’re just a waste of space."

"Yes, of course, Miss Hughes. Just tell me what you like, and I’ll have Damian buy it for me next time." May Rhodes was all smiles, nodding and bowing obsequiously.

However, hearing the name "Damian" from her lips was as disgusting to Serena as swallowing a fly.

"Damian, Damian... Must you sound so intimate with him? Who are you trying to show off for?!"

’The thought that a woman like May Rhodes could "marry" Damian made the vexation hidden deep in Serena’s heart crawl out like an insect. It gnawed at her, a venomous mix of jealousy and regret.’

’This was all supposed to be hers...’

’If she weren’t afraid of Damian retaliating against her, she never would have given such a golden opportunity to someone else.’

And yet, watching this uncultured, classless, and plain-looking woman marry Damian just like that... the mere thought of it infuriated Serena.

But what was done was done. She couldn’t afford for anything else to go wrong.

She took a deep breath and looked at May Rhodes. "Don’t forget, after you marry into the family, you need to work hard to help our Sinclair Family. You’re the one I trained. If I find you have any ideas of your own, I’ll expose you on the spot. Everything you have now will vanish into thin air!"

"Yes, yes, of course, Miss Hughes. Don’t you worry. I know my place."

Serena Hughes’s words terrified May Rhodes.

This entire scene was witnessed by the young woman at the first-floor reception desk of the Hawthorne Group.

She had spotted May Rhodes the moment she appeared.

Ever since the last clueless receptionist was fired by Assistant Bell, all the new hires learned to be observant.

The first thing they learned during training was how to tell who the true "madam" was.

Miss Cecilia Nathan was to be treated as an honored guest. Miss Serena Hughes was worth less than a dog. As for everyone else... they were to play it by ear.

The news of May Rhodes marrying Damian was causing a huge stir, so of course, the receptionist knew about it.

This woman was their future boss’s wife.

But what was she seeing now? She was actually watching her future boss’s wife bowing and scraping before Serena Hughes.

’This world is insane!’

As May Rhodes and Serena Hughes headed for the security gates, the young receptionist hurried to stop them. "Miss Dog— I mean, Miss Hughes, I’m sorry, but you’re not an employee. You can’t enter the group’s offices."

Being stopped like this, the memory of her previous humiliation came rushing back to Serena.

’She was being blocked again!’

"Oh, miss, it’s alright. She’s my friend." May Rhodes, seeing that Serena was about to fly into a rage, quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "She’s with me, she’s with me."

"But Assistant Bell said that dogs and Miss Hughes are not allowed inside." The receptionist was new and spoke bluntly.

"Pfft..." May Rhodes almost burst out laughing.

"He actually compared me to a dog?!" Serena Hughes pointed at her own nose, her face turning pale with rage.

’Justin Bell was just a chief assistant. Who the hell did he think he was, daring to say something like that about her!’

Just then, a woman in a business suit, holding a dog, brazenly swiped her card and walked through the gate.

May Rhodes feigned outrage. "What is the meaning of this? Why is a dog allowed in, but my Serena isn’t? Don’t tell me she’s worth less than a dog?"