Before I had realized it, Queenie was already standing in front of me. Holding her champagne glass in one hand, she silently judged my simple attire before her lips curved up into a subtle smirk.

"Well, this is unexpected."

She wasn't being very loud, but the people around us managed to hear her anyway.

"How did you manage to get into such an upscale event?" she spat.

Before I could respond, a man in gold glasses laughed. "Who is this man, Ms. Lloyd?"

Queenie gently swirled her champagne and announced coolly, "This is James Lawrence—my ex-husband."

Upon hearing the words "ex-husband", the entire group fell silent. Then, some of them began eyeing me up and down.

"Oh! Is he the man who used up his life's savings to hold his wedding?" the man in gold glasses exclaimed in realization.

Then, he dragged out his words and continued, "Judging by your attire and the fact that we've never met, I think it's safe to assume that your career is mediocre at best."

"You kind of look like Mr. Manson, though," a middle-aged man in a blue suit chimed in.

"No, he doesn't. He hardly measures up to Mr. Manson. You're giving him far too much credit."

I hadn't even opened my mouth when a young woman chuckled. "What a horrible thing to say, Mr. Wayne. Look at how embarrassed Mr. Lawrence is. For all we know, he could just be a stand-in Ms. Lloyd had picked up during one of her little spats. You shouldn't have said that."

"I was just calling it like I saw it," the man replied.

Subsequently, he walked over and patted my shoulder. "So what if you were a temporary stand-in for Mr. Manson? I think you ought to be grateful for the experience."

Upon hearing this, the rest of the group burst into laughter as well.

Queenie took a sip of her champagne. She didn't take part in ridiculing me, but she made no effort to stop everyone else from doing so either. Instead, she just quietly watched me with a triumphant and derisive look on her face.

Emboldened by what he saw, the man in gold glasses grew even more brazen.

"The way I see it, Mr. Lawrence shouldn't have come here at all. Look at Queenie's current social status! Don't you think you've made a fool of yourself by coming here?" he mocked.

"That's a bit harsh, Mr. Smith," said the man in the blue suit. "But since Mr. Lawrence is already here, he might as well get a drink before he leaves. But I'll have to say, the drinks here might be a bit more extravagant compared to what you usually enjoy."

Once some of them let out stifled laughs, Queenie finally decided to speak.

"Cut it out, everyone. Mr. Lawrence was a stand-in, but that's all in the past now," she said. "Our relationship was just a fling. There's no need to pay any attention to it."

She looked at me emotionlessly and continued, "If you're here to congratulate me, I'll accept your good wishes. However, if you have other intentions…"

She paused. Everyone around her was waiting for her to finish her sentence.

"We're no longer the people we were eight years ago. You should've moved on by now," she said. "Dressing up as a waiter to approach me won't convince me to get back together with you."

Her remarks made everyone cackle. The people who were once friendly and supportive at our wedding were now standing alongside her. Every single one of them was staring at me with pity and disdain.

I stayed silent until they had finished talking. While they eagerly waited for me to become flustered, I nodded and asked calmly, "Are you done?"

Then, I glanced at all of them before finally turning to look at Queenie. "Can I go now, Ms. Lloyd?"

A notification popped up on my phone—Suzanne was urging me to come get her. This hotel actually belonged to me, but I couldn't be bothered to explain that to them.

Queenie froze for a moment before she started to frown. "Don't you know how to seize an opportunity when it's presented to you? I can't believe you're trying to run away instead. It's been years. Did you not strive to be better after you left me?"

"Don't say that, Queenie. Maybe Mr. Lawrence needs to meet up with a business partner," Liam said softly.

Then, he turned toward me and added, "Please feel free to reach out to me whenever you need help. You took care of Queenie for me. So, it's only right that I thank you for it."

The man in gold glasses looked me up and down before scoffing in disdain. "All things aside, your clothes look extremely shabby, Mr. Lawrence. Would you like my driver to lend you his clothes for the time being? It's nothing fancy, but it's a lot better than what you're wearing right now."

Upon hearing his comments, the group started to laugh at me.

I looked down and glanced at my outfit. My clothes were modest and simple, but Suzanne had made them for me herself.

Suzanne had always lived a comfortable and pampered life. Ever since she married me, she had never experienced any hardships aside from giving birth to our child.

To give me this gift, she spent countless nights learning how to sew, and it left her utterly exhausted. In light of this, I didn't think that my clothes looked shabby at all.

"That won't be necessary," I said calmly. "I have no use for that."

Even if I were dressed like an old man, people would still approach me and ask me for partnerships and collaborations. However, Queenie assumed that I turned down the offer because of my pride and ego.

She furrowed her brow and offered me a check. "Fine. Since we used to be married, I'll help you out. I'd hate for other people to think that I used to have bad taste in men."

I stared at the check she was holding and frowned. Twenty thousand dollars? That was nothing but loose change.

I pushed the check back to her and replied coolly, "I don't need that. You should give that money to someone who actually needs it. Since we already decided to go our separate ways, I think it's best if we don't get involved with each other in any way."

Queenie froze. Feeling slightly irritated, she snapped, "Do you really have to act like we're complete strangers?"

I stared at her and felt speechless. What an odd thing to say. Wasn't that what we had both agreed on when we finalized our divorce?

After we got married in our past life, I was elated that I was finally able to call her my wife. However, on the very first day of our marriage, she claimed she wasn't feeling well and repeatedly refused to consummate our marriage.

I found her frustrated and infuriated expression amusing. She was the one who wanted to distance herself from me. Now, she was blaming me for setting clear boundaries.

I couldn't be bothered to listen to their idle gossip. I was just about to leave when my phone started to ring again. This time, Suzanne had decided to call me instead.

"Where are you, honey? Sam and I are in the garden at the back of the hotel. He said he wanted to look at the water fountain," she said over the phone.

My voice softened unconsciously as I replied, "I'll be there soon. Just wait for a little longer, okay?"

After I hung up, I found Queenie staring at me with a complicated expression.

"Is that your new girlfriend?" she suddenly asked testily.

Before I could reply, Liam chuckled and said, "It looks like Mr. Lawrence has a date. No wonder he was in such a hurry to leave."

Queenie's expression soured.

All of a sudden, someone from the crowd yelled, "Hey, someone heard that Mr. Lawrence's wife is at this hotel too. Mr. Lawrence might be here to pick up his family!"

Upon hearing this, everyone began to grow excited.

"Are you talking about Mr. Lawrence, the extremely wealthy businessman?" someone asked.

"Oh my goodness!" another person exclaimed. "He's always been incredibly secretive. Do you think we'll find out what he looks like today?"

"That man is the founder of Lawrence Group. He literally bought this entire hotel and gifted it to his wife!"

"Well, they aren't wrong," I thought to myself.

Suddenly, another person said, "Look at this! Someone managed to snap a picture of Mr. Lawrence's son. He's so cute!"

I frowned. I was about to inquire about the situation when a soft voice rang out from a small distance away.

"Daddy!"

A three-to-four-year-old boy skipped over to me and wrapped his arms around my legs. The boy had flushed cheeks. His hair was neatly combed, and he was wearing a refined kids' suit.

I bent over and picked up my son, Samuel Lawrence. Then, I pinched his cheeks and asked, "Why are you here? I thought you were waiting in the garden with your mom."

"Mommy's tired of waiting." My son pouted and said, "She told me to see what's taking you so long."

The people around me froze. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.