?Chapter 609:


    Coleughed. “Didn’t see thating either. They make a good pair, though. Let’s see where it goes. If they want to marry, I won’t stand in the way.”


    Manley, always quick to switch gears, leaned closer with a grin. “Hey, word is you’re chasing your ex like a madman. Truckloads of gifts to Regal Grove. Every single day.”


    Cole raised an eyebrow but said nothing.


    Manleyughed. “So? Did it work?”


    Cole’s mind shed back to Myles’ report. “Ms. Marsh said, ‘Please, stop sending gifts.''”


    Back then, Cole had been confused. “Not enough?” he’d asked Myles.


    Myles had sighed. “No, Mr. Evans. Quite the opposite. Like eating a feast for every meal. She’s overwhelmed. Looks somewhat frustrated.”


    Cole understood the analogy, but it left himpletely at a loss for how to win Elliana back. When he’d given her a candypany, she’d rolled her eyes. “You can’t buy me with a few pieces of candy,” she’d said. He’d taken it literally. The next day, he’d sent more. Still no reaction. So he’d doubled down his efforts on the third day’s gifts. But then she’d imed to be overwhelmed and wanted him to stop sending gifts her way.


    Cole exhaled in frustration. Pursuing women—especially one as unique as Elliana—was aplete mystery to him. Back before the divorce, it was simple. She’d liked his looks. Then, he’d taken a bullet for her, and she’d fallen hard. She’d even courted him. But the divorce crushed all that. Winning her heart again felt like chasing the wind.


    Manley was still waiting for an answer. Instead, Cole threw the question back, “You’re the love expert. Help me out. What do women really want? How do I get Elliana to stop being angry with me?”


    An and Manley exchanged a look. It was clear—no mountain of gifts could fix this.


    An gave a dry chuckle, eyeing Cole with a mix of pity and amusement.


    Manley leaned back, smirking. “Cole, why do you do this to yourself? She used to be glued to your side. But you asked for the divorce. Three days after the divorce, you’re begging to undo it. Now look at you.” He paused, grinning.


    “You’re really something else.”


    A flush crept up Cole’s cheeks as Manley ribbed him mercilessly. Trying to shake it off, Cole nced up—and froze. Not far from him stood Elliana, still decked out in that wild, frizzy wig and over-the-top makeup with a tattoo on her face. The disguise was, by all ounts, an eyesore. And yet, she held his gaze like a ma—impossible to ignore, inexplicably enthralling.


    Manley, ever alert to any shift in attention, followed Cole’s line of sight. He was gearing up for another round of Elliana-rted jabs when he spotted the woman beside her—Adah. His grin stretched wider as he jabbed An hard in the shoulder.


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    “Hey, man! Check it out—it’s your fiancée!”


    Adah’s notorious “country bumpkin” disguise had already made the rounds in photos, so the second Manley’s eyes found her, recognition hit like a truck.


    An went stiff, mortification washing over him in waves.


    Elliana elbowed Adah gently.


    “Heads up,” she whispered with wicked amusement. “Your man’s glued to you.”


    Adah’s lips twitched with the threat of a smirk, but she dove straight into character. She hunched her shoulders, shoved her hands into her oversized sleeves, and wiped her nose theatrically on the fabric. All elegance stripped away, she became the perfect picture of rural inelegance—loud, rough, and shameless.


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