Chapter 7: Cut All Ties with Him

Zane paused, and his tone softened slightly, "Did you leave the Lawrence Mansion?"

Yanis nodded, "Yes, I did. What can I do for you?"

Zane didn't respond directly to her question but instead asked, "Did you see what's happening on the Internet?"

Yanis furrowed her brows, recalling Bonnie's words, and replied casually, "Yes, I'm aware."

Curiosity getting the better of her, Yanis logged into Twitter.

The top three trending topics were all about Neve and Zane:

#Zane, the President of the Lawrence Group, Picked up Neve at the Airport#

#Zane Kissed Neve#

#Neve Was Back to Marry Zane#

Reading those topics stirred mixed feelings in Yanis' heart.

She took a deep breath and tapped on one of the trending topics, and then she saw a photo taken the night before.

In the picture, Zane had left Yanis alone and gone to pick up Neve at the airport.

Seeing the photo, Yanis couldn't help but admire Zane's audacity to pick up Neve right after being intimate with her. The sight filled her with disgust.

Would Neve be bothered if she found out?

Well, it didn't matter; Yanis felt repulsed either way.

Keeping her composure, Yanis asked calmly, "When are you available today?"

"I have a project seminar in the morning and a business event in the afternoon."

Yanis clenched her phone, speaking in a hushed voice, "Then tell Albi to bring the papers over for me to sign. We can go through the rest of the formalities later when you're done."

Zane seemed agitated by her response, "Do you think I'm only calling you for that?"

"Then what else, Mr. Lawrence? Is there anything else you want to say to me?"

"You..."

"Zane, can you help me with my coat?"

Before Zane could reply, Neve's voice came through the phone, "That's all for now. Just tell Albi to call me when he arrives."

Yanis promptly hung up after that.

Once she ended the call, Bonnie looked at Yanis and suggested, "Why don't you sever all ties with him?"

Yanis nodded, her expression calm.

From that point on, Zane was never mentioned again between them.

Bonnie parked her car in front of Cooke Residence.

As they turned off the engine, Bonnie turned to Yanis, "Are you going to tell Travis about this? If he knows, he'll definitely go and confront Zane!"

"No, I don't think it's necessary to involve everyone. Let's not tell Travis; I don't want him to worry."

Bonnie sighed, "I understand, but really, it's not worth being upset over a man like him!"

Yanis insisted, "I'm not upset at all."

Bonnie leaned over and hugged Yanis, "No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you."

Yanis patted Bonnie's shoulder, reassuring her, "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Yanis then looked at the entrance of Cooke Residence and asked, "So, why did you bring me here?"

"Grandpa said Old Mr. Duncan wants to talk to you. He's been waiting for you since early in the morning."

"Alright, let's go inside then."

Yanis and Bonnie stepped out of the car together.

Travis Cooke, Bonnie's grandfather, was sitting in the middle of the couch in the living room.

Beside Travis sat Magnus Duncan, president of the Duncan Group.

As they heard the noise at the door, both men turned their faces to look.

Bonnie bent down to change her shoes and handed a pair of slippers to Yanis, saying, "Grandpa."

“Good morning, Old Mr. Duncan."

Magnus nodded and addressed Yanis, "Yanis, come here and sit down."

Yanis entered the living room and greeted Travis, "Good morning, Mr. Cooke."

After exchanging greetings with Travis, Yanis turned to Magnus, "Good morning, Magnus."

Magnus nodded and gestured towards the couch opposite him, "Take a seat."

Yanis nodded, turned, and sat down.

Travis then looked at Yanis and inquired, "Have you had breakfast?"

Yanis nodded, "Yes, I have."

Magnus handed an invitation to Yanis, "Yanis, I'm hosting a business event this afternoon, and I want you to paint live as a gift for my business partner."

"Painting on the spot?"

Magnus nodded, "My business partner appreciates fine art. Travis and I have purchased several of your paintings for him, so I want you to paint one in person."

At this point, Magnus paused, "And of course, I'll pay you for your work. Name your price."

Yanis smiled at his generosity, "Thank you, Magnus, but I'm available this afternoon, so I'll do it for free."

"No, I insist on paying you."

Travis chimed in, "Indeed, we can't have Yanis work for nothing. Magnus, Yanis' birthday is coming up, and that paint set you have is excellent. I think it's a fitting gift for her."

Upon hearing this, Magnus hesitated for a moment before agreeing, "Alright, I'll have someone send it over to Yanis later."

"The paint set is too expensive, Old Mr. Duncan..."

"Don't worry about it, Yanis. If I had known you earlier, you'd be my apprentice, and all my art collections would be yours!"

Magnus then turned to Travis and asked, "Will you come this afternoon?"

"What can I do for you?"

"You can come and give your opinion on Yanis' painting."

Travis paused for a moment before nodding, "Then I'll go with Yanis."

Magnus smiled, "Great, see you this afternoon."

After seeing Magnus off, Yanis returned to the living room.

Travis looked at her, "Did you go to the Lawrence Mansion last night?"

Yanis nodded, "Yes, the Lawrences have a family dinner once every two weeks."

Travis nodded, but he didn't say anything more.

By 2:00 p.m., the Cooke family's driver took Yanis and Travis to the event venue.

Travis got off ten minutes early to talk to Magnus.

Ten minutes later, Yanis also stepped out of the car.

"Hello, please show me your invitation!"

Yanis handed the invitation to the door attendant.

After checking, the attendant respectfully gestured, "This way, please."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Lawrence and Miss Bennett."

As Yanis took a few steps, she heard the attendant's greeting.

To her surprise, Neve called out her name.

"Miss Thompson?"

Yanis frowned at the sound of her voice and turned around.

Zane was dressed in a black suit, and Neve was in a beautiful dress. They looked like a perfect couple.

Yanis didn't expect the business event Zane mentioned was this one, nor did she expect him to bring Neve along.

Seeing them together in person hit Yanis even harder than the photo did.