" But today , when I was at Prof. Nixon's , I saw Claudine . " Damian stopped writing and looked up at Audrey . " What was she doing there ? " Audrey had assumed Damian knew about Claudine's abilities , and that she had once been Adriana's student . But judging by Damian's reaction now , he clearly had no idea . Of course , Dami never liked her , so why would he care about Claudine's affairs ! " She was … cooking for Prof. Nixon … " Damian frowned . " Cooking ? " Audrey nodded . " Prof. Nixon told me that Claudine is also preparing to apply for her PhD . Dami , did she ever mention this plan to you before ? " Damian put down the pen in his hand . " Why would she suddenly want to pursue a doctorate ? " Seeing that Damian truly knew nothing about Claudine's plans , Audrey realized he genuinely didn't care about that woman . Her earlier annoyance over the evening dress completely vanished . " She never had this idea before ? It seems it's really because of me . Dami , your wife seems to mind me quite a lot … " Audrey bit her lower lip , looking aggrieved . She watched Damian out of the corner of her eye and continued . " Before I knew her identity , I thought since we were neighbors , maybe we could be friends , so I told her I was prepar- ing for my PhD . " I never expected she would even compete with me over this . " Actually , if she truly wanted to work in this field , I wouldn't mind at all , and I'd be happy to help her study . " But she's never worked in cultural relic restoration , and I doubt she's published many papers . She probably knows her professional knowledge can't compare to mine , so she's trying to take a roundabout approach 00 % 08.56 chapter45 288 Vouchers and build a good relationship with Prof. Nixon . " But after all , she's your wife . If outsiders find out about this … " Audrey didn't finish her sentence , but Damian's expression had already darkened . She stepped forward and poured Damian a glass of water . " Don't be too upset . I'm not afraid of her competing with me , I'm just worried that if this gets out , it could affect you and Darla . " Thinking about Claudine's recent actions , Damian's frown deepened . That woman was always jealous . He found it petty , but since she was usually attentive to the family , he hadn't minded much . Besides , she hadn't done anything truly outrageous . But now , with Audrey back , Claudine had first thrown a tantrum and left home , then deliberately moved in down- stairs from Audrey to cause trouble , and now she was trying to interfere with Audrey's PhD plans . She was getting more and more out of line ! If this isn't dealt with soon , she'll really make a fool of herself . Just as he was thinking this , the office door was knocked . Lindsay entered from outside . She glanced at Audrey , then walked up to the desk . " Mr. Barrette , there's news about the Willow Creek Villas property . " She paused , not continuing . Damian noticed her hesitation . " Audrey isn't an outsider , go on ! " Lindsay was surprised ; she hadn't expected Mr. Barrette to truly care more about Audrey now . Does that mean he's going to divorce Claudine ? Seeing Lindsay remain silent , Damian looked up and frowned , " Ms. Powell ? " Lindsay snapped back to attention . " The house Mrs. Barrette is living in now is registered in her own name . But when I contacted the owner , it was a man named Roberto who answered the phone . " According to my investigation , Mr. Gregory was Mrs. Barrette's classmate in high school . Before the SAT , Roberto chose to go abroad , and lost contact with Mrs. Barrette . " 34.3 % 08:56 chapter45 Before Damian could speak , Audrey interjected . " You contacted the owner and reached Mr. Gregory ? Could it be that Mr. Gregory bought the house ? " Lindsay frowned at Audrey upon hearing this . That was a rather malicious thing to say ! Wasn't she implying that Claudine had an unusual relationship with another man! After all , what man would casually buy a house for a woman he wasn't involved with ! 288 Vouchers Lindsay looked at Damian , but his face betrayed no emotion , so she couldn't tell if he believed Audrey's insinuations . She hadn't liked Claudine at first because she mistakenly thought Claudine was an ignorant woman who had married above her station with Damian . But after seeing Claudine at the auction , she even felt that Damian wasn't good enough for Claudine . As for the woman stirring up trouble before her now , she truly looked down on her . She really couldn't understand why Mr. Barrette had been so taken with her , even now ! " Mrs. Barrette shouldn't need another man to pay for her ! " Lindsay couldn't help but say this . Audrey glanced at her and smiled . " Of course , with such an outstanding husband as Dami , Claudine certainly isn't short of money . Just now , she even bought a three - million - dollar evening dress for her mother . " Audrey said this deliberately for Damian to hear . 72.9 % 08:56 chapter46 chapter46