Chapter 231
The black Rolls-Royce roared down the street, leaving Barnard coughing in its wake, the bitter taste of exhaust lingering in his mouth.
He wiped his lips, noticing the smear of fresh red on his fingertips. His eyes glinted with spiteful anger.
Camilla. So eager to cut ties, as if the divorce was just a ticket for her to run off with some other man. She really thought it would be that easy? Not if he had anything to say about it.
The vengeful thought barely left his mind before he pulled out his phone and dialed an international number.
Davina rushed outside just as Barnard was still speaking, his voice quick and confident in flawless English. She stood by awkwardly, waiting for him to hang up because she couldn’t understand a single word. When he finally finished, she asked softly, “Barnard, who were you calling? What were you talking about p>
“Just work. Nothing you’d understand,” he replied, a little too sharply.
She had been standing at his side, but now he turned to look straight at her. Davina caught a full view of his face, and the sight made her gasp. There was an angry red handprint on his cheek and a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.
“Barnard, what happened?” she cried, grabbing tissues and fussing over him. “You’re bleeding! Are you alright p>
Her high-pitched worry only made his head throb. He was already irritated, and Davina’s traffic-stopping red dress on the sidewalk wasn’t helping. He could feel strangers’ eyes lingering, curious about the scene.
He shrugged her off, stepping slightly away from her. “It’s fine. Don’t make a big deal out of nothing p>
Davina’s worried gaze dropped to his swollen cheek. Still, she had her priorities. “So… do you think we can still take the engagement photos p>
Calvin had given strict orders about the photos. No excuses.
Barnard clenched his jaw and followed Davina back into the studio.
The makeup artist got to work, layering thick foundation to hide the swelling, but it didn’t help much. The photographer had to carefully choose angles that hid the worst of it. Davina, to be honest, didn’t photograph well either.
They spent the whole afternoon snapping picture after picture—hundreds of shots, but when they looked through them, it was almost impossible to find a single one that worked.
Calvin had told them to post the photos online as soon as they were done. Davina picked through the pictures with the photographer, increasingly frustrated. She finally tugged at Barnard’s sleeve. “Barnard, which one do you think we should post p>
He barely spared a glance. His mind was miles away. “You pick. Whatever you want p>
Davina frowned. “But none of them look good. Should we take a few more p>
Barnard’s patience was gone. He snapped, “We’ve already taken hundreds. More isn’t going to help. Just pick something and be done with it p>
His tone stung. Davina’s eyes filled with unshed tears. “Barnard, these are our engagement photos. Don’t you care at all? I saw your wedding photos with Camilla. They were gorgeous. You must have spent forever taking those, right? You could take perfect pictures with Camilla, but not with me? I just want them to be nice. Is that really too much to ask p>
Camilla, again. Barnard’s mind flashed back to the day he’d taken those wedding photos with Camilla. He hadn’t cared about her or about the shoot. He’d just gone through the motions, wanting to get things over with. But Camilla was just naturally beautiful. She could sit still, giving him that gentle look, and every picture turned out breathtaking.
They hadn’t spent much time. Maybe not even an hour. Just a few simple poses, yet each photo was stunning in its own way.
He looked at Davina’s wounded face. His voice was cold. “Davina, you should face reality. The camera shows what’s there. If you don’t like how you look, just have the photographer fix them however you want. I’ve got things to do, so you handle this. Call the driver when you’re finished p>
Suddenly, he felt exhausted, too tired to argue or pretend to care. He just wanted to leave. If only he’d known what mess would follow after he walked away, he might have thought twice.
That night, around eight, their engagement photos exploded all over the internet.
Everyone saw Barnard and Davina together in those pictures. But this time, people weren’t gossiping about Barnard’s weird taste for marrying his crude ex-housekeeper. The real story was The Carter Group’s embarrassing lack of style. The “android engagement photos” were everywhere.
Davina and Barnard’s faces had been photoshopped to oblivion. Both of them now boasted chiseled V-shaped chins, skin so smooth it looked plastic, and impossibly huge eyes. All the whitening and slimming filters had left them looking like aliens straight out of a sci-fi movie.
The photos went up on both Barnard and Davina’s social media pages at the same time, tagging The Carter Group’s official account. Davina added a dramatic paragraph gushing about their deep, forever love.
The internet jumped on it instantly. In minutes, the whole thing was getting roasted, and it even spawned a brand new meme.