Evangeline could not help but smirk at the woman standing before her.Minnie was quick on her feet.Just when she was about to score some major points for her reputation, this woman swooped in with an act of feigned innocence and then cozied up to her, all in a bid to score some popularity points.Normally, Evangeline would have just nodded along, doing the easy favor without a second thought. However, since Minnie had tried to push her limits, Evangeline was far from willing.A smile hung on Evangeline's face, but she remained silent, her demeanor frosty.The room plunged into an awkward silence, and Minnie, desperate to break it, started rambling into the microphone about nothing in particular.Alex, trying to lighten the mood, cracked a joke and finally shattered the tension. "Minnie, you're reaching too far. How could you be friends with Evie? Evie should be your mentor."Minnie quickly latched onto his words. "Yes, yes, you're right. I was thinking too simply."Her words w
Evangeline's brow furrowed on the other end of the line."You've barely unpacked from your trip abroad. Why the rush to work?"She figured Alex would chill for a bit, maybe catch up with Trey before diving into the job scene. It seemed he was already on the move.Alex let out a sigh, pretending to be trapped by circumstance. "What can I do? The job landed in my lap, and the higher-ups said, 'Get over here now.' So, I went."Evangeline could not help but smirk.For any regular person coming back from overseas, hustling for a quick buck made sense, but this was Alex.The same Alex who once made a fortune for the Gordons! Money troubles? As if."Spill it, Alex. Since when do you need cash? What's the real deal?"Their friendship went way back, even without bringing Walter into the mix. They could shoot straight with each other.Alex hesitated, his voice tinged with the awkwardness of a nerve hit. Then, like he was done fighting it, he admitted in a calm voice, "Just bored.""Wha
As Evangeline rolled down her window, she was met with a surprisingly gentle face, so different from the stern, unyielding security guard who used to give her a hard time about leaving campus."I heard you were coming today. Go on in."The electronic gates swung open, and she drove onto the campus grounds.Her timing could have been better; Alex was tied up in a meeting.Once she knew where to find him, and keeping in mind his trouble with walking, Evangeline made her way to him.In the conference room on the thirteenth floor of the main teaching building, all the teachers of Avalon University were gathered, led by Vice Chancellor Tarry Dentwil, to kick off the day's meeting.Evangeline had barely reached the conference room door on the rarely visited thirteenth floor when she noticed the door was carelessly left cracked open. The voices from the meeting inside were crystal clear."Okay, so the main point of today's meeting is to lock in our choice for the Department of Music's
Outside the conference room, Evangeline recognized that unmistakable voice. It was Tarry, famous for his stubbornness back when she was a student. Garold, though, she did not remember at all.However, that was not odd. She was not a music department student, so why would she know their faculty?It looked like Tarry had met his match in Garold, who seemed even more headstrong. It was bound to be quite the showdown.As for whether she would end up teaching at Avalon University, she was not too fussed about it.Evangeline did not have much to do, so she grabbed a stool and sat down, watching the showdown in the conference room like it was some kind of secret tea party.Tarry was not playing favorites this time, not with Garold or anyone else."Okay, everyone, not just Garold—if you've got beef with my decision, today's the day to air it out. Speak your mind, because you won't get another shot at this!"The room was full of uneasy glances. A few people looked like they were about to
Evangeline was on the verge of rising to showcase her prowess to everyone.The conference room was abuzz when Tarry, at his wit's end, bellowed, "Quiet down, everyone!"With the room silenced, he pressed on, "Look, I get it. You're all worried, and that's fair. But I've sent Mr. Alex Gordon to fetch Ms. Evangeline, and she'll be here any minute. To iron out this whole mess, I say we give Ms. Evangeline a shot."If she nails the gig as our music department's new violin teacher, we'll give her a month to prove herself. If she doesn't wow us, then she's just not cut out for it. Our department isn't a playground for amateurs. If she's not up to the task, she won't stick around, will she?"This middle ground seemed like the best way to tackle the issue at hand.Everyone bought into the idea, and the meeting rolled onto the next agenda item.Evangeline, upon hearing the plan, did not rush into the room to make her case. Instead, she settled back onto her stool.A one-month trial? Piec
A sleek black Range Rover, understated but shining with luxury, zipped down the street, while Walter did not hesitate to ring up Evangeline.Lucky for her, the thirteenth floor of the main teaching building was a ghost town, and the conference room was buzzing with chatter, so her phone's sudden ring went unnoticed.She saw Walter's name on the screen, and her brow creased with annoyance.To dodge his relentless nagging and not put off her chat with the school folks, she figured she had better get this headache out of the way.The moment she answered, Evangeline let her irritation show, no holds barred. "Mr. Walter Gordon, in case you missed the memo, we're about to be exes. If it's not life-threatening, can you not mess with my day, please?"She had worked hard to lock away her feelings for Walter. If he kept popping up, how was she supposed to forget him?Walter was having none of it, even more ticked off than she was. "Who says I've got nothing important? Trust me, this is top
Evangeline was not playing Walter's game. "Walter, even if we don't mention our divorce's cooling-off period or even if we were still married, I still have the freedom to do what I want. So back off, okay?" She was beyond frustrated.She could not stand this version of Walter; everything about him just got under her skin. She had once loved him deeply, only to be met with his indifference. She was done pouring her heart out, yet he was all over her business."Do you really think I want to meddle in your life? Alex has decided to work at Avalon University, and you're here today to teach violin, right?"Her eyes darkened, and she snapped, "Walter, you're the worst! Have you been spying on me?"Walter completely ignored Evangeline's fury, his voice a deep rumble of menace. "Evangeline, didn't I tell you to keep your distance from Alex?"Alex starts working at Avalon University, and you're all too eager to show up. What do you think that makes me look like? And what about the Gordon f
At last, the operating room light went off. The medics wheeled Lydia out, straight to the ICU.The next 12 hours would tell if she would make it through without complications. If she did, she would be out of danger.With the prisoner's life in jeopardy, the police on watch bore the weight of responsibility, standing vigil outside her room.After Walter got the information, he wasted no time telling David to strengthen the security around Lydia. There was no way they were going to let her slip away.Evangeline peered through the ICU's observation window at Lydia, who was hooked up to a bunch of tubes and fighting for every breath. A storm of rage swirled in her eyes.Was this karmic retribution?It felt like just yesterday when her own mother, Yessica, was the one in the ICU, a tangle of tubes keeping her alive.Was it time for the bad guys to get a taste of the same medicine?Lydia finally had to live through agony worse than death—she was going to suffer a million times more t