?Chapter 1699:


    Christina leaned in and clinked her winess against Gillian’s. They shared a warm smile before each taking a sip.


    A few feet away, a woman watched them closely, her eyes practically burning with jealousy.


    “Who on earth is that woman? And why is she with Bonnie?” La asked, her voice thick with envy. She had spent considerable effort trying to get close to Christina and had never managed it — yet thisplete stranger had walked in and earned her friendship with apparent ease. She couldn’t understand when Christina had made a new acquaintance in Lionesspaw, let alone why she was thest to find out.


    “She’s the new maid at the Jones house — and the little girl’s biological mother,” Jaxen said, recalling what he knew.


    “Both of them are equally irritating,” La huffed.


    “Watch what you say,” Jaxen warned her quietly. “You really don’t want them hearing you.”


    “Fine,” La muttered, as though being forced to behave.


    “Go talk to Bonnie. I’ll find you shortly,” Jaxen told her.


    “Understood.” La nodded and let her gaze sweep across the crowded ballroom. She frowned when she realized Bain was nowhere to be seen — she wondered if he had skipped the event entirely. Finding no trace of him, she started toward Christina instead. She knew Bain cared deeply about his sister, so staying nearby seemed like the surest way to eventually cross paths with him.


    Her eyes narrowed as they settled on the woman at Christina’s side. Had Christina not taken that child home, this woman would never have set foot inside the Jones estate. It was unbelievable that Christina would bring a servant to a formal event and dress her in clothes this expensive — the maid’s gown was just as beautiful and costly as La’s own. No ordinary servant received that kind of treatment. She was convinced the woman was involved in something far moreplicated — perhaps a secret rtionship with one of the Jones brothers, and the child a concealed family matter. Fuming with suspicion, La made her way directly toward them.


    She stered a wide smile onto her face and addressed Christina while deliberately acting as though Gillian didn’t exist. “Bonnie! I didn’t expect to see you here. Why didn’t you join us? We would have loved thepany on the way here.”


    The slight was unmistakable. Gillian felt itnd, and for a moment she was flustered — but she steadied herself quickly. As a maid for the Jones family, being dismissed by someone like La was simply part of the territory.


    ???????? o?? а???? ??ev??с?? ??? g??l???vе????.??o??


    “I wasn’t alone,” Christina said with a smile, ncing at Gillian with genuine warmth. “I came here with Gillian.”


    A rush of gratitude swept through Gillian. Christina had acknowledged her deliberately, refusing to let her be treated as invisible.


    La ground her teeth. She couldn’t believe Christina was choosing to stand by a servant over her. “Gillian?” she said, feigning surprise. She turned to Gillian with exaggerated politeness. “Is she a new friend of yours, Bonnie?”


    “Something like that,” Christina replied, keeping her answer short and deliberately vague.


    La seethed. She knew perfectly well that Gillian was a maid, yet Christina kept insisting on calling her a friend — which only deepened her suspicion that something more was going on. The thought that Gillian might be involved with Bain made her blood run cold. That was the one oue she would never ept. If they were a couple — or worse, if they shared a child — her dream of marrying into the Jones family would bepletely destroyed. Bain was her only goal. She wouldn’t abandon that pursuit unless someone else took his ce at the head of the family.


    “I’m La Wade. Lovely to meet you,” she said, forcing another sweet smile as she extended her hand to Gillian, doing her best to appear perfectly cordial.


    .


    .


    .