At this moment.
Imperial View Manor.
Durrell Landon stepped out of the room and saw Quiana Sutton idly fiddling with the leaves of a potted plant. Although she wasn't smiling, it still felt like she was in a pretty good mood, inexplicably lifting his spirits too.
He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, just quietly watching her, momentarily forgetting the passage of time.
Sensing a gaze on her, Quiana returned to her senses and saw Durrell standing not far away, a faint smile at his lips, with a casual look as if everything was peacefully calm.
This thought lasted only for a moment; she knew very well that words like "peacefully calm" were not suited for the two of them.
She glanced at him and quickly looked away.
Her indifferent attitude, with eyes void of warmth, made him frown slightly. Suppressing his discomfort, he spoke:
"Do you have any plans today?"
Upon hearing Durrell's words, her hand paused from fiddling with the leaves, and after a moment, she replied, "No."
Durrell: "Then accompany me for a walk?"
Quiana continued without stopping: "Not interested."
As the words fell, a dark cloud seemed to cover Durrell's face, and a cold mist seemed to emanate from him: "You can accompany Alexander Skylane to an auction, so why can't you accompany me for a walk?"
Finally, she gave up torturing the leaf, looked up at Durrell, her eyes carrying a smile that was both light and inscrutable:
"Because Alexander is my childhood friend, whereas you are about to be my ex-husband."
Upon hearing these words, Durrell's already displeased face turned even darker, his tone unable to suppress his anger:
"Enough. I don't want to hear the word 'divorce' again."
His sudden temper caught Quiana by surprise; she looked up at him. At this moment, it seemed his emotions were out of control, spilling out completely.
Oliver Gale stepped out of the room, keenly sensing the smoldering tension between the two.
He lazily yawned, maintaining his usual smile as if nothing happened: "Are you two arguing so early in the morning?"
Quiana returned to her senses, glanced at Oliver, and replied faintly: "No."
Durrell straightened his clothes and walked towards Oliver, casually remarking as he passed: "Don't overthink; she's not capable of angering me."
Oliver helplessly spread his hands. These two were truly complicated, not straightforward at all. But the girl was sharp; Durrell was always good at hiding his emotions. It was the first time Oliver saw him that angry and yet still denying it. It'll be interesting in the future.
Durrell returned to the master bedroom, and the large living room was suddenly left with just Quiana and Oliver.
Oliver sat on the adjacent sofa, his gaze subtly shifting. Last night, he attended Alexander's welcoming party, and Alexander said something interesting—he came to take charge of the domestic branch for someone specifically.
Everyone present was curious about who that person could be, and Oliver immediately thought of Quiana.
He leaned back on the sofa, lazily watching Quiana.
Though she was used to being stared at, goosebumps rose on her skin. "If you have questions, just ask. Don't dawdle; it doesn't suit a man."
Oliver: "..."
This girl was pretty sharp-tongued too.
He wasn't too upset, merely asking:
"Quiana, what's your relationship with Alexander Skylane?"
"Childhood friends, I suppose."
"Childhood friends..." Oliver chuckled, "Not just anyone can be childhood friends with Alexander Skylane; are you some family heiress?"
Quiana paused, then found a seat for herself, sitting down softly with a hint of roguishness: "No. Have you seen a family heiress like me? Even if she's not favored, it's not likely she'd get married so casually."
Oliver thought about it and had to agree.
He could do anything recklessly, but if marriage was involved without his grandfather's permission, he might get disowned by the Windsor Family.
Durrell returned to the master bedroom and made a call to Charles Foote.
"Knight Tamworth, have you pulled up Quiana Sutton's background file?"
"Only the records from after the age of ten; it seems her earlier files were deliberately erased."
"Send them to me."
Charles quickly sent the entire file on Quiana Sutton to Durrell in less than a minute.
Durrell opened it and saw that before the age of ten, it was blank. After ten, she grew up in an orphanage.
From middle school, she often got into fights, several times nearly getting expelled. Her grades were fortunately good, and with pleas from the orphanage director, she graduated middle school in just a year with top marks, and the same for high school, taking just a year before getting into Imperial Polytechnic.
She graduated from Imperial Polytechnic in a year.
During that year, a major event occurred: a young master from an esteemed family confessed his love to her openly, which led to united suppression from all the schoolgirls, trying to force her out.
Not only did she stay in school, but she also graduated from Imperial Polytechnic within a year.
He couldn't imagine what was going through her mind during those times. After graduating, she returned to the orphanage for two years. In those two years, she sold paintings on the street, worked as a street performer, and used the money from painting and singing to support the orphanage. Later, she rescued Isabelle Somerville from a kidnapping and sent her back to the country, participated in a domestic variety show, and began to rise in the entertainment circle.
Even after gaining fame in the entertainment world, she occasionally sent money back to the orphanage.
Attached to the data, there were several of Quiana's old drawings.
They were just simple sketches but showed impressive skill.
They could even rival those of Master Yates, the current painting master.
If Master Yates discovered that such a brilliant talent had to sell paintings on the street, he might go as far as to burn down the gallery in anger.
Closing the file, he walked to the window, opened it, letting the breeze caress his face, the light softening his profile, his expression uncharacteristically gentle.
After enjoying the breeze for a while, he left the room and went downstairs, seeing Quiana seemingly having a pleasant conversation with Oliver.
At least, when facing Oliver, her expression wasn't marked with that profound indifference.
When facing Julian Haworth and Charles Foote, she wouldn't smile, but she was at least amiable. Not to mention when she faced Alexander Skylane, where occasionally, he could see tenderness in her eyes. It seemed she was only this cold when facing him, eager to draw a clear line between him and her.
Realizing this fact suddenly made him immensely agitated, even to the point of wanting to throw Oliver out, so her view would be filled only with him.
He didn't expect to have such thoughts, momentarily shocking himself.