Dear Billionaire, I'm Not Your Wife Anymore! - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Leo looked at me with admiration, his tone full of surprise and curiosity: "Charlotte, when exactly did you learn all this medical knowledge? I think you speak more professionally than I do!"
I smiled, "After I took a leave of absence, I actually never gave up on my major. Dad left many professional books, and I've been self-studying."
"Excellent, excellent. People who come out of school aren't necessarily the only ones called talents," Leo nodded in praise, then added with a smile, "Professor Avery's daughter is indeed wonderful."
After Leo left, Cole came over, his eyes also carrying a measure of assessment as he looked at me: "Charlotte, why didn't you mention your achievements in the German laboratory?"
I shook my head without much explanation: "I didn't graduate from university and have no real academic credentials. Mentioning those things would only make people think I'm bragging, which wouldn't be good."
Cole nodded, obviously understanding my concerns.
He had also read my speech draft. I knew that like Leo, he was both surprised and approving.
I was about to ask Leo which companies were participating in today's meeting, but he had already gone off to busy himself with preparations.
Cole and I simply went for a walk in the park downstairs, chatting about the details of establishing the laboratory. The sunlight was beautiful, and quite a few business people had already begun entering through the main gate, and the atmosphere was gradually becoming more solemn.
I was gripping the water bottle in my hand, about to take a sip, when my gaze swept across and my pupils suddenly contracted.
Walking from the parking lot direction was a team of men in sharp suits, more than ten people arranged in a line with extraordinary presence. What made my heart stop was the man surrounded by the crowd in the center—
Braden.
He was still so outstanding in the crowd, with his upright posture, handsome features, composed expression, and that inherently calm and distant aura that made him almost impossible to ignore.
I instinctively hid behind Cole, my chest tightening.
Cole noticed and squinted in that direction. After Braden and his group turned toward the conference room entrance, he said to me in a low voice: "Come out, he's gone."
I slowly emerged from behind him, but my gaze still followed Braden's retreating figure, my heart filled with mixed emotions.
"What's wrong?" Cole turned his head to look at me. "Doesn't your husband know about your participation in the experimental project?"
I shook my head.
The preparation of this experimental project was to fulfill my father's wish, and more importantly, to prepare for fighting for Mia's custody in the future. Before the project was fully implemented, I didn't want Braden to know too much.
"Senior Cole," I looked at him, my tone suddenly becoming serious, "I want to ask you for a favor."
He was slightly stunned, obviously having guessed my intention: "You want me to replace you and give the speech on stage?"
I nodded: "With your status, going on stage would be more persuasive than me."
Cole had already memorized the speech I had written, and with his expressive ability, going on stage wouldn't be a problem. But I also knew that every word and sentence of that draft, from logic to language, was written by me.
"How could such an excellent and beautiful girl like you not be cherished by him?" he said, a trace of heartache that I dared not respond to flickering in his gaze.
I lowered my head and didn't respond.
The conference room gradually filled with people. Many business leaders arrived one after another, some even CEOs and chairmen attending in person. The scene was more grand than I had anticipated.
Leo took the stage for a brief and powerful opening introduction, then handed the speech task to Cole.
Today he wore a black turtleneck sweater with a gray casual suit jacket over it. Standing on stage, his temperament was steady and capable, his speech concise and powerful. His tone carried rationality yet didn't lack passion. In his gestures and movements, he naturally carried the confidence and composure of a medical genius.
I sat low-key in the last row of the conference hall, like an auditing student, quietly watching Cole on stage.
The content of his speech was the text I had typed out over countless sleepless nights, and it was also a continuation of my father's philosophy. He stood in the position that I should have stood in.
But I didn't regret it.
Just as I was listening intently, two voices from the front row suddenly intruded into my ears.
"It really has to be Senior Cole! I heard it was a last-minute substitution. So many business bigwigs came today—if that Charlotte had gone on stage, she probably would have scared people away."
"Exactly. I saw in the email that she was originally supposed to go on stage. I felt embarrassed at the time. Someone who didn't even graduate from university daring to represent the experimental group? What a joke."
"Even Vivian going on stage would be more persuasive than her!"
In the seats ahead, two colleagues chatted casually, unaware that I was sitting right behind them.