Evangeline was not just going to Walter's birthday bash to celebrate her almost-ex. She was going to make sure she left with no regrets.She planned to close the chapter regarding all the feelings she had for Walter, believing that with each memory put to rest, her attachment to him would fade away. Quickly, he would be nothing more than a ghost in her past.Hanging up the phone, she went to her secret hideout. It was a cozy studio apartment, nothing fancy, but it was her own little world.Tucked away in an unremarkable neighborhood, the place was simple, yet it had everything she needed. She called it her secret hideout because it was her private sanctuary that no one else knew about.Ever since she started violin lessons with Loberni, music had become her forte. The first song she penned for her bestie Roslyn took the country by storm, and with it, she earned her first big paycheck.Evangeline had always dreamed of a place she could call her own. Thus, she went behind everyone's
However, when Walter saw it was Minnie, the fearless woman, he could only drop his work and give her his attention.Still, he made sure to extricate her from his arms and keep a professional distance. "What's up, Minnie? Getting bored?" he asked.However, knowing that Walter was a true workaholic, Minnie figured she had already gotten special treatment for not being kicked out for her antics. So, instead of dwelling on it, she decided to get straight to the point."I was just thinking, with your birthday coming up, it'd be very weird if Evangeline didn't show. However, things are so frosty between you two. Wouldn't it come off as pretty half-hearted if you just sent Mr. Zimmer to invite her?"The word 'half-hearted' immediately caught Walter's attention. He eyed Minnie, who was obviously tiptoeing around something she had not yet said, and cut to the chase, "What's on your mind?""If you really want Evangeline to show up, you've got to be the one to call her, Walter. Once she sees
Evangeline was in her secret hideout, meticulously dusting off the gift boxes until they shone like new.Satisfied, she tossed the cloth aside and flopped onto the bed, ready to stretch out and unwind. However, the moment she heard the ping of a text message, her relaxation was cut short.A photo of Walter and Minnie, looking far too comfortable with each other, flashed on her screen. Evangeline froze solid.It was one thing to hear rumors, but seeing it in person was a different thing altogether.Evangeline's moment of shock was brief, the strange number on her screen demanded her attention.If Walter had sent the message, he would have used his own phone. This was not Walter, but someone who stood to gain from their breakup.The photo on her screen was provocative, and Minnie's smug face came to mind.Was she bragging? Flaunting that she had snagged Walter and could then proudly stand by his side? Meanwhile, Evangeline, the one who truly belonged there, was stuck hiding away,
Walter thought back to that suggestive photo, and a sense of admiration for Minnie bubbled up. It was just a shot of a hand being touched, but Minnie had a way of making it seem like they had done something scandalous."So, you got Mr. Zimmer to invite me to your yacht bash just so I could see with my own eyes how happy you are with your new flame?" Evangeline scoffed.At that moment, she felt the sting of the truth: The guy she was crazy about was just downright mean.Back when she was alone, he blamed her for wrecking his thing with Julia. He got back at her, sure, but she could handle that.However, this? There was a saying that went, 'Even a wild beast would not eat its own young.' She was carrying his baby, crying out loud. Why did she have to put up with that kind of cruelty?Meanwhile, Minnie, who had popped out to brew some coffee, spotted Walter on the phone, his face a tangled web of emotions. She knew in a heartbeat it had to be Evangeline on the line.She dashed back,
Walter was fuming, the kind of anger everyone could feel in the air.Evangeline turned into the third wheel, popping all of Walter's dreamy bubbles. He was so ticked off that he could not even muster the energy to call out Minnie's obviously exaggerated stories.Alex's words were still buzzing in his ears. At that moment, all he wanted to know was whether Evangeline would get the slightest bit jealous over him.If she did, he would drop the act with Minnie in a heartbeat and focus solely on Evangeline and their child, even if it meant losing a crucial tip on the Bennison family, his arch-enemies."Evangeline, it would really bum both me and Minnie out if you weren't there for this big deal, so come on, join us," he said.That answer said it all about where Walter stood.Imagine, a husband and his side-chick all cozy celebrating a birthday, and the real wife was supposed to just show up and cheer them on? What kind of messed-up situation was that?However, Evangeline was not inti
The 'Mr. Foster' the bodyguard was talking about was Evangeline's Uncle Holden.Ever since her birthday bash, the only uncles hanging around the Foster family estate were Yale and Holden. The rest would occasionally check on her and Cole, but mostly they were off handling their own business.Lately, she had not been in touch with any of them, and they had not reached out either. She figured they were just swamped with work. Little did she know, she had been under her uncles' silent, watchful eye the whole time.Holden, without making a big deal out of it, had been her silent guardian.Feeling the warmth of her family, and the heightened emotions of pregnancy, she could not help but tear up."Where's Uncle Holden? I want to see him."The bodyguard checked his watch and said cautiously, "Mr. Foster is on his way as we speak. He should be here at ten. If you can hang tight, he'll fill you in on everything, okay?""Sure, go on and do what you need to do."Evangeline perched on the
Holden's brow creased with concern, as if he was wrestling with a big decision. Then, he pressed on, "To sniff out this mystery person, we spread some fake news and nabbed a guy named Beck from the file."After we grilled him, Beck spilled that he was just a pawn, with some shadowy figure pulling the strings. Their rendezvous point was—""Sunny Glow Beauty Salon," Evangeline cut in before Holden could finish, nailing the answer.Shockingly, Holden did not deny it but stared at her, utterly taken aback. "Evie, how did you figure it out? I only got wind of it myself a short while ago."Evangeline's face was a tapestry of emotions."I remember the one time I stepped into Sunny Glow Beauty Salon. That was when Walter popped up out of nowhere, like a ghost, and told me to stay away."She could feel it in her bones that Sunny Glow was a maze of secrets.Lydia, the woman who was like a shadow—always slipping through her fingers, a mystery buyer in the black market tracking her every mo
The more Evangeline pieced together the puzzle, the more her skin crawled.Lydia snooping around her was definitely not for anything good, but what really made Evangeline nervous was the thought of the heavyweight lurking in Lydia's shadow.The Gordons ruled the South, and the Fosters ruled the North. These were just a handful of words, but they said it all about where the Fosters stood in the country. Evangeline, the only princess of the Foster family, could not even begin to imagine the kind of monstrous power that would have had the guts to be nosing around them so openly.When the enemies were lurking in the shadows and they were out in the open, every face-off was a high-stakes game of survival. Evangeline was becoming more and more cautious about making any sudden moves.Holden caught on to how risky things were getting, and his eyes were full of worry when he looked at Evangeline. "Listen, Evie, you've got to be super careful these days."I'm going to beef up your security