?Chapter 225:


    Though Evelyn wasn’t particrly fond of Elena, she wasn’t the type to twist facts just to suit someone else’s narrative.


    Javier remained silent. He, too, saw that Elena wasn’t in the wrong. Watching everything unfold, he realized that Elena had won fairly and had done nothing to deserve the me. Elyse had lost, and no one else was responsible for that.


    In the past, whenever Elyse shed tears, Javier had always assumed she was the one being wronged. But this time, it was clear—Elyse was simply being unreasonable. ying the victim didn’t always mean being in the right.


    Elyse, please stop,” Javier said firmly. “If you like jade bracelets, I’ll buy you a new one. Since you’ve put this bracelet up as a bet and lost, you should give it to my cousin.”


    Elena’s eyes flickered with surprise. Javier actually spoke up for her.


    And he just called her his cousin? This marked the first time Javier had ever acknowledged her with that title. It seemed he wasn’tpletely hopeless—after being beaten a few times, he’d finally gained some sense.


    Elyse stood frozen in shock. Those defiant words had actually fallen from Javier’s lips! The very same Javier who had always been putty in her hands—her most reliable puppet—had just chosen Elena’s side over hers.


    Elyse whispered, her voice trembling with disbelief, “Javier, even you’re not on my side anymore?” Javier said nothing.


    Matias, never one to mince words, broke the ufortable silence. “Elyse, a bet is a bet—honor demands fair y. Don’t put Javier in such an awkward position. Didn’t he just promise to buy you a new one? Last time he stole paintings to afford your gift, and the bruises from his father’s beating haven’t even faded yet…”


    “Stop talking nonsense!” Elyse snapped, cutting Matias off mid-sentence. “I… I would never ask Javier to buy me things…”


    Elyse shivered slightly. If the Harper family discovered she had instigated Javier’s theft to finance her gifts, Samira would certainly withdraw the kindness she currently extended. Living under Vince’s roof made her vulnerable, and she desperately needed Samira’s connections to break into the entertainment industry.


    Fearing what else might be revealed, Elyse reluctantly surrendered the bracelet, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.


    Elena took it without hesitation. She had no intention of wearing Elyse’s cast-off bracelet. What she had won belonged to her now, and whether she chose to wear it or not, it would never again be Elyse’s possession.


    Step into a new journey on  .con


    Elyse hurried away, blind to the shadow of dejection darkening Javier’s features. Her casual denial of his gifts had pierced him deeply. In days past, she had received his offerings with such joy and gratitude. But now, she wouldn’t even acknowledge them.


    After more than ten years together, Javier suddenly felt like Elyse was a stranger wearing a familiar face.


    The clock on the wall struck midnight with silent precision.


    The gathering had reached its natural conclusion.


    The others had departed, yet Elena noticed Javier standing motionless, lost in thebyrinth of his thoughts.


    “Why are you hanging your head? Mourning the feelings you wasted?” Elena teased.


    Javier snapped back to reality, his brooding thoughts scattered. “What nonsense are you talking about? I’m not.”


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