?Chapter 131:


    Cole never had much patience for shooting the breeze with Jeff. The neen-year gap between the cousins was like a chasm, and Jeff, spoiled to the core by Irene, didn’t exactly make Cole eager to bridge it. But when Jeff dropped Elliana’s name, Cole paused. He doubted this little punk had anything nice to say about Elliana. Likely, Jeff was gearing up to trash-talk her again.


    Cole saw a chance to put the kid in his ce and make it stick. He shot Jeff a sideways nce, cool as a cucumber. “Got something to say? Let’s hear it. I’m on a clock.”


    Jeff craned his neck to look up at Cole, perplexed. Cole, usually as approachable as a brick wall, was oddly open today.


    A spark of nerves flickered in Jeff’s chest as he mulled over what he intended to say. As the youngest one of the Evans n, he was the resident troublemaker, untouchable to most. But Cole? Cole was the family’s big dog. He knew better than to test Cole. No one got away with mouthing off to Cole.


    The words Jeff wanted to unload kept rising to his lips, only to get swallowed back down. His face even turned beet red from the effort. He was scared stiff that one wrong move wouldnd him in the backyard pond, courtesy of Cole’s tough love.


    Cole nced down at the pint-sized pest, his brows knitting. “If you’re too chicken to speak, don’t waste my time!” With that, he turned to walk away.


    Jeff, in a panic, scrambled after him. “Cole, hold up! I just got to say—how could you mistreat someone as awesome as Elliana?”


    Cole stopped dead, his eyes narrowing as he studied Jeff’s face, utterly thrown. What was up with this kid?


    Jeff misread Cole’s look, thinking Cole was about to chew him out for sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. He flinched, stepping back, but then rallied, puffing himself up like a brave little soldier.


    “Cole, Elliana might not be a knockout, but she’s a diamond in the rough. Marrying her’s the best thing you’ve ever done!” Jeff dered, stretching to meet Cole’s gaze.


    Cole arched a brow, a faint grin dancing in his eyes. “What’s this, pigs flying? Jeff, aren’t you Trinity’s number-one fan? You sure you didn’t get your wires crossed?”


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    “There’s no mix-up here!” Jeff shot back, dead serious. “From now on, I’m Team Elliana—ride or die!”


    Cole thought it over, the pieces clicking into ce. What went down this morning must’ve flipped Jeff’s script. The kid went from loathing Elliana to stanning her harder than anyone.


    Cole released a quiet sigh. Good thing Jeff was just an eight-year-old twerp, or he would’ve felt a prick of jealousy, wondering if Jeff was nning to steal his wife. Since there was no real threat, he was cool with another Evans treating Elliana right. With that thought, he found Jeff somewhat adorable. He reached out, giving Jeff’s buzzed head a rare, brotherly ruffle.


    Jeff, clueless, took it as Cole being at a loss for words, still not sold on Elliana and just too polite to argue with a kid. This assumption left Jeff a little rattled.


    As Cole started to walk off, Jeff shouted after him, “Cole, if you’re not into Elliana, then… then you ditch her! I’ll marry her myself!”


    Cole froze mid-stride, turning around to re at the chest-high punk. His stare could’ve sliced through metal. “Come again?”


    Jeff quailed under Cole’s intensity, stumbling back a step. But then he squared his shoulders, locking eyes with stubborn grit. “I’m eight. Ten years from now, I’ll be grown. When that dayes, I’m marrying Elliana!”


    Cole had half a mind to ground Jeff for eternity! This kid was trying to steal his wife?


    “Grandpa said Elliana did the Evans family a solid with that Venacure. He told you to repay her by being all-in, but you’re not feeling it. So I’ll step up. I’m the one who stirred up today’s mess, after all,” Jeff continued.


    The more Jeff talked, the cockier he got, already dreaming up the future. “Ten years from now, I’ll be a man. I don’t care about looks or age. I’ll keep her safe…”


    “Enough!” Cole boomed, his voice like a thunderp.


    Jeff froze, a chill shooting through him, too stunned to move. “Uh?”


    Cole’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Jeff Evans, you better drop that idea right now. Not in this life, not in the next!”


    Jeff just gaped, so Cole barked, “Scram!”


    Jeff bolted, tail tucked.


    Elliana, blissfully unaware of the absurd showdown Jeff had sparked, had already left the Evans estate for the Ublento Hotel. Matthew was waiting for her in a private room.


    The second Elliana sat down, she leaned in, eager. “What’d you dig up?”


    Matthew, always on point, slid a tablet across the table without a word.


    “Lexi, check this guy out. Ring any bells?”


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