“I can only promise not to bring this up with Frank myself. But if he figures. it out, or hears it from someone else, that’s out of my hands.”


    “If you don’t say it, and I don’t say it, how else would he ever find out?”


    Carm’s resistance was clear. “Elissa, the Atwater family’s money doesn’t just grow on-”


    She didn’t get to finish. Elissa’s phone rang abruptly.


    Frank’s name lit up the screen.


    She answered, and Frank’s voice came through at once. “Elissa, why is someone spreading rumors about us getting divorced?”


    Elissa made no effort to avoid Carm’s gaze; both of them heard him


    loud and clear.


    I


    Carm shot her a warning re, silently forbidding her from telling the truth.


    Elissa pressed her lips together, her tone measured and utterly unruffled. “Who’s saying that? How could I possibly get divorced on my own?”


    “Where are you?”


    “I’m at the old house, having tea with Mom,” Elissa replied, sounding perfectly dutiful.


    Hearing this, Frank seemed to rx a bit. He checked the time and said, “I’lle pick you up <b>once </b>I’m finished here.”


    “Alright.”


    Elissa agreed without hesitation. When she hung up, she looked at Carm. “See? I didn’t say a word.”


    Π


    Carm took a deep breath and told the butler to fetch the familywyer.


    She wanted the contract amended on the spot.


    Once the papers were signed, the familiar voice of Old Mrs. Atwater drifted in from the sitting room.


    Carm turned to Elissa with a final instruction. “Grandma’s blood


    pressure has been unstable. I haven’t told her about the divorce, so don’t you let it slip either.”


    Elissa nodded, then went to keep the olddypany over tea.


    The old woman was fond of her, taking her hand and chattering on and <ol><li>on. </li></ol>


    After a while, Elissa instinctively checked her pulse, then couldn’t help but offer a gentle reminder. “Grandma, you have underlying health issues. You really need to watch your diet–please, no rich <b>or </b>greasy foods.”


    “Oh, you’re just like ire, always nagging me!” Old Mrs. Atwater pretended to be annoyed, wielding her status as matriarch with mock. severity:


    “Grandma…”


    Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the hallway. Frank walked in, his tone. warm. “Elissa’s just worried about you.”


    He cut a striking figure–tall, elegant in a charcoal suit, handsome features set in a refined expression.


    For a moment, Elissa felt disoriented. She found it impossible to reconcile this Frank with the man who had been entangled with her sister–inw. The contrast was too stark.


    Old Mrs. Atwater, tired of their fussing, quickly shooed them away.


    Outside Atwater Manor, Elissa’s expression grew distant.


    She had no desire to return to Greenwood Manor Unlocking her car, she was still searching for an excuse to slip away when Frank opened the passenger door.


    “Elissa, can we talk?”


    His voice was as gentle as ever as he slid into the seat.


    Elissa had a pretty good idea where this was heading. She tilted her head, her expression docile and reserved. “Talk about what?”


    “Elissa, sometimes you really should be more careful about how close you get with other men.”


    …Excuse me?”


    “People have been gossiping about you and Cliff at the clinic.”


    Elissa blinked, caught off guard.


    She’d expected this to be about the divorce, but she hadn’t anticipated Cliff’s nameing up.


    She and Cliff hadn’t spent much time together outside work. Before her recent trip to Germany, they’d hardly interacted privately at all.


    And the clinic wasn’t exactly a hotbed of gossip.


    Oh–wait. Marcia was working at the clinic now.


    Frank looked at her almost like she was a child, his tone heavy with meaning. “Elissa, you’re a married woman. As my wife, I don’t ask much. of you.”


    “I just want you to avoid unnecessary rumors, alright?”