Chapter 241 No Brother, Only Ex-Husband
On the way back from Hameen to Mugden, Evelyn, who was all sunshine just two days ago, stayed quiet, her pretty face clouded with some heavy vibes.
Back at the hotel, without William around, Evelyn locked herself in the office, digging up info on the old Joyce incident.
'That party was the worst day of Joyce's life, but it’s also when she and Charlie got tight.
Back then, the internet was a joke compared to now. Folks got their gossip from mags or newspapers. Charlie, being Charlie, bought up and trashed all the papers that covered the story. He also hunted down and dealt with the journos who spilled the beans. But word is, some foreign journos were there, filming it and posting it online. Charlie tried to wipe it clean, but some bits still linger.' Evelyn thought, taking a deep breath, her eyes locked on the screen, fingers flying over the keyboard.
She quickly found the old, grainy video from twenty years ago.
In the video, Joyce looked pale, half-squatting and shaking, about to break down.
The spotlight was on her, making her despair even worse. The crowd was gasping and laughing, like they were ready to crush her.
Then, out of nowhere, a tall figure rushed onto the stage, heading straight for Joyce.
Just from the back, Evelyn knew it was Charlie.
Without a word, Charlie took off his jacket, knelt in front of Joyce, and wrapped it around her waist.
The whole place went dead silent.
The video ended.
Evelyn stared at the screen, her shoulders slumping as she leaned back in her chair.
"So, is this how Charlie won Joyce over?" she thought.
Just then, the phone rang.
Evelyn snapped back to reality and answered, "What's up, William?"
"Evelyn, Eric brought Jessica to see you."
Evelyn, still bummed about Joyce, didn't want to see them, but when William said Eric brought Jessica to apologize, she decided to meet them.
'If I can see Jessica eat some humble pie, maybe I'll feel better.'
'Just think of it as a comedy show; nothing beats getting a laugh from someone else's misery,' she thought.
As Evelyn reached the reception room door, William frowned and came up to her, apologizing, "Evelyn, I'm sorry. I didn't know Edward came along. He's inside now."
Evelyn raised her eyes, giving William a cold, indifferent look, and asked, "Why didn't you throw him out?"
"Sorry, Evelyn." William bowed deeply, knowing he had messed up.
'The main problem is that Edward's slippery. When I brought Eric and Jessica into the reception room, Edward wasn't there. But when I came back, he was already lounging on the sofa, shamelessly sipping coffee!' William thought.
"Forget it, you can't outfight him anyway." Evelyn lifted her chin, signaling William to open the door.
The door swung open, and Evelyn, strutting in sharp, blade-like heels, her shoulders straight in a black suit, walked in with an air of authority.
"Evelyn." Eric shot up from the sofa, his throat tightening with nerves.
Today's Evelyn was as stunning as ever, so gorgeous it made his heart skip a beat!
Edward looked up at Evelyn, his whole body tensing.
His heartbeat, usually as steady as a clock, suddenly went haywire.
Jessica hid behind Eric, staring intently at Evelyn's proud face, her fists trembling and clenched.
"Well, everyone's here." Evelyn shrugged her slender but rounded shoulders, letting the black suit slide off, which William quickly caught.
Then, she glanced at Edward, who was staring straight at her, and teasingly curled her lips, saying, "Edward, you really are a model brother, here to back up Jessica?"
Edward's chest surged with emotion, his resentful gaze locked on Evelyn's mischievous face, and he let out a muffled cough, caught off guard by her words.
Evelyn's attitude towards him was as sharp and sarcastic as ever, saying exactly what he didn't want to hear.
But that was Evelyn. Evelyn wasn't Lily, and he was willing to accept her thorny soul.
Jessica was secretly pleased that Evelyn misunderstood Edward's purpose for coming, so she decided to play along, taking small, pitiful steps towards Edward.
"Evelyn, I admit I had poor judgment before, but has your vision also deteriorated now?" Edward still had that indifferent look, but his gaze at her carried an inscrutable emotion, far from innocent, "There's no brother here, only your ex-husband. Being someone's husband has already exhausted me; I have no energy or mood to recognize any sister."
Jessica was struck as if by lightning, stopping abruptly!
Edward had made it clear to Jessica before, but she refused to give up, always harboring a faint, delusional hope.
'But now, he is severing ties with me in front of Evelyn, which is like stomping my dignity into the ground!' Jessica thought.
"However, I am here to back someone up. Just not Miss Clark." Edward finished, his handsome face flushing as he quickly picked up the coffee cup to drink, swallowing even though it burned his tongue.
He had only intended to think such thoughts.
Suddenly saying them out loud was truly embarrassing.
Evelyn's delicate brows furrowed, surprised by the implication of his words.
'Not backing Jessica, then whom? Eric? But isn't that still Jessica!' Evelyn thought.
