Revenge: Once His Wife, Now His Regret - Chapter 210: Chapter 210

"As for the second reason? Well, that's a bit more complicated," Connor suddenly trailed off.
Jaxon frowned. His voice carried a hint of impatience. "Spit it out."
Connor stopped beating around the bush and said carefully, "She might love him, but given their current situation, she's not ready to wake up beside him yet.
"To be precise, she still hasn't figured out how to acknowledge her feelings for him."
As the second explanation landed, the cigarette in Jaxon's hand gave an involuntary twitch.
'Does she really love me?' Jaxon wondered. The thought flashed through his mind, leaving him utterly perplexed. 'What does it even look like when a woman truly loves me?'
The way Sally acted was worlds apart from Kendall's, making it impossible for him to gauge her true feelings.
"Could it really be Ms. Smith? What's going on between you two? Didn't she already divorce her ex-husband? Right now would be the perfect time for you two to get together." Connor shot him a curious sideways glance, his eyes brimming with questions.
Jaxon stubbed out his cigarette in the crystal ashtray and stood up from the sofa without hesitation. "I have other work to do. You may leave now," he said coolly.
"I came here today to discuss the deal." Connor quickly grabbed the contract from the table and waved it toward Jaxon as he walked away.
But Jaxon didn't even spare it a glance. "Not in the mood today. We'll talk another time," he said coolly.
Connor watched Jaxon's retreating figure, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with helplessness. 'Fine. You're the boss. Your call,' Connor wondered, resigned.
The next few days at Sally's clinic were a whirlwind of activity.
Since leaving Longbay that morning, she hadn't contacted Jaxon, nor had he reached out to her. An unspoken understanding seemed to have formed between them, one that even surprised Sally herself.
On that Saturday evening, Sally was tidying up the treatment room in the clinic when a sudden knock came at the door.
The next moment, Carlos poked his head in and said, "Sally, there's a Mr. Shawn here to see you. He's waiting in the waiting area."
"Mr. Shawn?" Sally's hand holding the medical instruments froze for a moment.
Her mind raced through all her friends with the surname Shawn—then, suddenly, a handsome figure flashed before her eyes. 'Could it be Paden?' she wondered.
"That's right," Carlos replied. "He didn't mention his full name."
Sally gave a slight nod and set down her medical instruments. "Okay, it's getting late. Why don't you call it a day? If any more patients come in, I'll handle them myself."
"Got it, Sally." Carlos nodded.
Not long after Carlos left, Sally stepped out of the treatment room. The clinic was deserted except for a tall figure sitting alone in the waiting area.
The moment Sally saw him, she froze. It was really Paden.
Sally met Paden Shawn four years ago. Sally and Abigail were having dinner when they unexpectedly came across him suffering from severe food poisoning, a truly critical situation.
Relying on her exceptional medical skills, Sally managed to turn the tide and save his life. After that, the two became quite close friends.
But a year later, Sally was sent to prison, and they never saw each other again. She never expected he would come looking for her.
After all, he didn't have Abigail's contact information, nor did he know she was living at Windmere Estates.
"Sally, it's been ages." As soon as Paden saw her arrive, he quickly rose from the waiting chair and walked over to her with a spring in his step.
Sally's thoughts were interrupted. She looked up at him, her eyes unconsciously softening.
He wore an immaculate white suit, a bead bracelet on his wrist that accentuated his naturally refined elegance, every inch the distinguished young aristocrat. Every smile, every gesture radiated quiet gentleness.
Even after all these years, seeing him again felt like coming home.
"Paden, long time no see. How did you find me here? I don't think I ever told you I'd been released from prison," Sally said.
"Exactly. You've been out for so long and never told me. That's really heartbreaking," Paden said, his eyes clouded with faint melancholy. "If I hadn't come across your social media account, I wouldn't even have known you were free."
Sally asked, "Social media account? Are you talking about Hazel's video channel?"
Although she hadn't uploaded any new videos lately, her fan engagement had stayed strong. She hadn't lost followers; in fact, she had gained quite a few. Right now, she had already surpassed 500k followers.
"Yeah. This account has to be yours, right?" Paden quickly pulled out his phone and held it up to her. "The username matches your professional alias, and the hands in the videos look just like yours.
"So I guessed you must have been released, and after asking around, I found out you'd opened this clinic."
"Yes, this is my account. I only started running it after getting out and taking orders," Sally smiled.
Paden put down his phone and gave her a thumbs-up. "Sally, you are so great, still as amazing as ever."
At first, Paden only knew her as a traditional medicine practitioner. But as their relationship deepened, he was surprised to discover her other identity, a master artisan of crystalware.
He learned that she could not only carve crystalware, but was also an exceptionally talented crystalware restoration expert.
Sally couldn't help but smile at his praise, her lips curving slightly. "You flatter me," she said.
"Have you eaten yet? It's been ages since we last saw each other. How about I treat you to dinner tonight—just to catch up?" he offered.
Sally smiled and nodded without hesitation. "Sure, you pick the place."
As Sally and Paden walked shoulder to shoulder out of the clinic, she had no idea that Jaxon had caught their moment of getting into the car together, his eyes watchful and shadowed.
Jaxon had only meant to check on her, but to his utter surprise, he saw her emerge from the clinic side by side with another man.
Their easy familiarity made it clear this wasn't their first meeting. One thing was certain. That man was no patient of hers.
"Mr. Zale, isn't that Ms. Smith? Who's that guy with her? They're driving off—should we follow them?" Caleb, sitting in the driver's seat, quickly turned to look at the man behind him, his eyes widening in surprise.
Jaxon's gaze remained fixed on their receding figures. He took a slow drag from his freshly lit cigarette, then stubbed it out on the ground. He gritted out, "Follow them."