Chapter 317
Chapter 317
“Okay,” he responded casually as if agreeing on an insignificant matter.
As Yuliana raised her head slightly, her eyes widened and quickly turned red with
tears.
She bit her lip firmly, forcing herself to blink back the tears in her eyes a little. Then, she took a few deep breaths, pulled open the door, and walked out.
When Yuliana walked out, Zayne was leaning against the wall and fiddling with his phone. He appeared distant, as though he was deeply engrossed in thought.
Yuliana approached him. “Mr. Zamora.”
Upon hearing Yuliana’s voice, Zayne finally came back to his senses and turned to face her.
His
gaze briefly paused when he saw her reddened eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked gentlemanly.
Yuliana shook her head lightly without saying anything.
Zayne also did not like to probe into matters between spouses.
But he did have some insider knowledge about this case. It was just that Christopher was not willing to disclose the actual situation, and no additional evidence had been found.
Zayne averted his gaze from Yuliana’s face and asked, “Has he told you yet?”
“No.”
Christopher’s attitude earlier was apparent. Even if she had asked him, he wouldn’t have answered either.
Although it was not yet certain whether Scarlett’s death had any direct relation to Annabelle, Annabelle definitely had something to do with Christopher becoming a suspect.
Christopher had, once again, put his own life on the line to ensure Annabelle’s well-being.
Hearing Yuliana’s response, Zayne knew he had come in vain again today. Nevertheless, if there were no evidence in favor of Christopher in the near future, the police’s evidence would basically be sufficient to convict him of the murder.
Zayne had also examined the scene. The evidence was solid, so much so that even he suspected Christopher had murdered that woman. However, Layla firmly believed that there was more to the story.
In fact, Zayne was not concerned whether Christopher was the perpetrator of that woman’s murder or not. His priority as a lawyer was, of course, to serve his
client’s interests.
But the situation wasn’t optimistic at present, not to mention that Layla was constantly doubting Zayne’s ability. This made him feel somewhat displeased.
Zayne retracted his gaze from afar, glanced at Yuliana, and said, “Wait here for a moment. I need to grab something from inside. I’ll give you a ride later. It’s not easy to hail a taxi in this area.”
Yuliana did not decline the offer and instead thanked him.
With that, Zayne went inside to retrieve his computer and hard copies of case-related documents. Yuliana waited outside for about ten minutes before he emerged from the building.
Zayne’s offer to give Yuliana a ride did not specify that he would take her home. Once they arrived at a convenient location to hail a taxi, he dropped her off, explaining apologetically that he had urgent matters to attend to in another direction.
Before they parted ways, Zayne handed one of his business cards to Yuliana and told her to contact him if necessary.
Yuliana did not think much of it when she accepted his business card. It was not until Zayne’s car had driven away that understanding dawned on her.
She couldn’t help but laugh self-deprecatingly.
“Look. Even people who aren’t well-acquainted with us know we’re going to get a divorce,” she thought.
It was still quite early right now, having not surpassed eleven o’clock.
At this juncture, she did not want to go home.
Yuliana walked aimlessly down the street without any particular thoughts in her mind. She absentmindedly scanned the cars and people coming and going.
The agonizing and suffocating sensation she had previously experienced while in the detention center had already faded as time passed. It seemed like she had gotten numb from the pain and was no longer feeling anything.
At that time, Yuliana had a strong urge to cry in front of Christopher but managed to control her tears forcefully. Now, with no familiar faces in sight that were aware of what had happened, there was no big deal, even if she were to burst into tears. Nevertheless, her eyes only felt as empty as her mind now, without a single tear inside.
Her phone started to ring before she walked for long.
The call was from Layla, who asked about Yuliana’s meeting with Christopher and if he had told the latter anything.
Yuliana replied succinctly, “No.”
Layla went silent for a while after hearing Yuliana’s response and then sighed.
Layla then comforted Yuliana, “Yuliana, don’t be anxious. I’ll come to Jeahron in person tomorrow and engage the best lawyer for Chris. He will definitely be fine.”
“Layla, I’d suggest you not put in so much effort.” In truth, Yuliana shouldn’t have said those words, but she couldn’t bear to see Layla being worried and anxious for Christopher. “Christopher is already an adult who has his own thoughts. He ought to be responsible for his actions.”
Layla probably did not like to hear these words.
If it were in the past, Yuliana would not have spoken up, as the truth could often be uncomfortable to hear.
She did not want to hurt anyone. Text content © NôvelDrama.Org.
But now, she felt sorry for Layla and perhaps more so for herself.
She had begged Christopher so abjectly, expressing her feelings for him, yet he simply dismissed her as though she were garbage.
No matter what unspeakable reasons Christopher might have had, it was evident his heart had always held other priorities that were more important than Yuliana and Rowan.
“What do you mean by that?” Layla questioned, sensing something off about Yuliana’s tone of voice.
The couple had previously argued about getting a divorce, but as soon as Christopher got into trouble and was detained in the detention center, Yuliana rushed to visit him. Thus, Layla had assumed that Yuliana’s visit indicated a possibility of reconciliation in the duo’s relationship.
However, Yuliana’s tone did not seem to reflect Layla’s sentiment.
Yuliana knew that her words earlier had been mixed with a lot of her personal emotions. Given Layla’s deep concern for her younger brother Christopher, Yuliana believed it would be impossible for Layla to simply stand by and do nothing.
Instead of answering Layla’s question, she responded plainly, “Lay… Ms. Solace, you don’t have to keep me updated on Christopher’s matters from now on. After this, I’ll make time to finalize our divorce, and once that’s done, I won’t have anything to do with him anymore.”
As soon as those words were uttered, the phone line went quiet once again.
The silence felt a little heavy and oppressive.
Layla was aware that Christopher was the one who had initiated the divorce, so she should not think negatively of Yuliana. However, with Christopher facing murder charges and being in a precarious situation now, she couldn’t help but feel
a little disheartened when she heard Yuliana’s words.
Regardless, she didn’t say anything and merely sneered. “Okay.”
Following that, the call was hung up.
With her phone in hand, Yuliana stood at the crossroads and watched the constant stream of passing vehicles. She remained there for quite some time, and it wasn’t until her legs had gone numb that she
finally regained her senses.
She first called Hailey, informing the latter that she would be returning home late and asking Hailey to look after Rowan.
Then, she placed another call to Xandria.
Since their last conversation on the phone yesterday, Xandria had made several attempts to call Yuliana in the afternoon. It was probable that she had received some legitimate news and was now concerned about Yuliana.
But Yuliana did not answer the phone.
Later on, Xandria sent a WhatsApp text to ask about the situation of Christopher’s
case.
To soothe Xandria’s nerves, Yuliana replied with two texts.
While Yuliana was in the detention center earlier, Xandria called the former again. At that time, Yuliana’s phone was on silent mode, so she only noticed the missed call after she left.
As soon as Yuliana made the call, Xandria picked up the phone.
“You finally are willing to call me back!” Xandria sounded immensely anxious. “What exactly is going on? How could Christopher possibly murder Scarlett? Is it possible that the police have gotten it wrong?”
In contrast to Yuliana’s composed demeanor, Xandria’s reaction appeared more normal.
Yuliana chose not to respond to Xandria’s query and instead asked in a low voice, “Xani, can you come and get me, please? I’m feeling quite exhausted and cannot walk anymore.”
After Xandria heard that, tears began to well up in her eyes. Thankfully, she managed to hold them back as she answered in a somewhat odd voice, “Sure, send me your location. I’ll be there in no time.”
“Okay.”
Yuliana hung up the phone and then sent her location to Xandria.
Xandria got there quickly.