?<strong>Chapter 293:</strong>


    Camille, just climbing out of the car, let out a heartyugh. “Carrie, isn’t your cousin pushing forty by now?”


    The principal opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by the shrill ring of his phone. Answering it, he heard his wife’s impatient voice. “Why are you taking so long with the groceries? The other dishes are ready!”


    “I’ll be home soon,” he assured her, then turned back to Carrie with a polite smile. “Carrie, you should join us for dinner sometime.”


    Carrie responded with a warm smile of her own. “You should hurry back and finish cooking. I’ve got friends waiting here, so I won’t impose, but I’ll visit another time.”


    Nodding, the principal said a quick goodbye and headed off.


    Camille sidled up to Carrie, nudging her yfully. “I told you to find someone younger. Men age like milk, and after thirty, it’s all downhill from there.”


    She spoke with a tinge of guilt, avoiding Kristopher’s piercing gaze and instead fixating on the uneven steps by the roadside.


    Kristopher, however, wasn’t one to be overshadowed. Despite being three years older than Carrie, his appearance was nothing short of striking—better even than most men his age. Yet his aura was heavy, as if he’d weathered storms and conquered battles far beyond his years.


    The tension between them thickened. Kristopher’s voice sliced through the air, grim and unyielding. “Why didn’t you rify?”


    Carrie met his re with cool indifference. “What’s the point? If I exin now, what happens next time? Should I tell him we’re divorced then?”


    Kristopher’s deep-set eyes burned like a volcano on the brink of eruption. For a long moment, he stared at her before his lips curled into a frigid smile. “Fine. We’ll finalize the divorce as soon as you return to Orkset.”


    Without waiting for a response, he turned sharply, opened the car door, and barked at Oliver. “Let’s go back.”


    Oliver hesitated by the car, ncing nervously between Kristopher and Carrie. “Mrs. Norris…”


    Kristopher cut him off, his tone biting. “She’s perfectly capable of managing on her own. You don’t need to interfere.”


    “But this is a small town. It might not be entirely safe…” Oliver began, only to falter under Kristopher’s steely gaze.


    “Are you nning to stay here with her, then?” Kristopher asked, his voiceced with ice.


    Without another word, Oliver cast Carrie an apologetic look and slid back into the driver’s seat. The car engine roared, and in moments, it disappeared down the road.


    Camille, finally snapping out of her daze, let out a bitterugh. “Men really do flip the script once they’ve had their fun.”


    Her gaze flitted to the faint marks on Carrie’s skin, mirrored on her own. Carrie brushed off the implication and redirected the conversation. “What’s going on with you and Albin?”


    At the mention of her own predicament, Camille deted like a balloon. She hung her head, her toneden with resignation. “What do you think? You saw it. We slept together.”


    She rubbed her lower back with a wince. “That guy acted like he’d never seen a woman before. He was so rough, I’m still sore.”


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