Evangeline had stopped by herwyer’s office again, this time to have the divorce agreement drafted.


    Truth be told, she’d worked out most of the details while she was still in the hospital. Only the financial terms remained unfinished–she hadn’t yet discussed those with Soren.


    Before she married, Evangeline had a promising career of her own. But after the wedding, the Fawkes family made it clear they didn’t want their daughter–inw out in public, building a name for herself. So, reluctantly, she gave it all up and devoted herself to managing Soren’s daily life at home..


    Over the years, Soren’s fondness for peace and quiet meant all the cleaning staff. and housekeepers were let go, until only Macy remained.


    Macy, being Helena’s protégé, took full advantage of her connections. She had no qualms about bossing Evangeline around,zing about while coolly ordering her to do the chores. In Macy’s eyes, Evangeline was just another servant–one she could offload her duties onto.


    Soren remained oblivious. Or maybe he knew, but preferred to turn a blind eye.


    At this point, calling her Mrs. Fawkes was generous. She felt more like the unpaid housemaid and bedmate the Fawkes family had hired to look after Soren.


    She never expected to walk away with half of Soren’s fortune. Still, she felt she deserved at least something for all the years she’d sacrificed.


    After some thought, Evangeline asked herwyer to research average sries in her former profession for the years she’d been out of work, tallying up a figure that felt fair to add to the agreement.


    Once the paperwork wasplete, Evangeline took the contract home.


    The moment she stepped through the front door, she was greeted by chaos. The living room floor was littered with snack wrappers and orange peels, and the coffee table was buried under a mess of shells.


    Macy, the culprit, lounged on the sofa, popping sunflower seeds and watching thetest soap opera without a care in the world.


    When she realized it was Evangeline and not Soren, Macy visibly rxed. “Back already?” she calledzily, barely ncing away from the screen before sinking deeper into the couch.


    <b>?? </b>!


    21.03


    Whenever Soren was home, Macy yed <b>the </b>part <b>of </b>the <b>dutiful </b><b>housekeeper </b>But soon as he left, she acted more <b>like </b>thedy <b>of </b>the <b>house </b>than <b>Evangeline </b><b>ever </b>could.


    Evangeline knew exactly what Macy was up to–waiting for her to get fed <b>up </b>and start cleaning.


    Macy was about the same age as Evangeline’ste mother. In the early days, Evangeline tried to help her out with the chores, but Macy soon realized she could take advantage. At first, Macy woulde up with excuses about not feeling well and pass most of her work onto Evangeline. Eventually, she stopped bothering <b>with </b>excuses altogether.


    Evangeline had tried talking to her, gently suggesting they share the work. She got nothing but an eye–roll in response.


    When Evangeline tried to fire her, Helena immediately called the next day, berating her for being unable to manage a single housekeeper and questioning how she could possibly help Soren run the family business.


    Resistance was futile. Evangeline had no choice but to ept her lot.


    But now, she was done epting it.


    Ignoring Macy’s greeting, Evangeline went straight upstairs to her room.


    Sitting on her bed and staring down at the divorce agreement, she was debating how to get Soren to sign–when, unexpectedly, Soren himself returned to the house. Downstairs, Macy was sprawled on the sofa, engrossed in her show, when the front door was kicked open with a bang.


    Soren stormed in, face thunderous, radiating anger as he strode inside.


    At the sight of him, Macy shot up from the couch as if she’d been electrocuted, instantly dropping to her knees and pretending to scrub the floor.


    “Mr. Fawkes, Mrs. Fawkes just went upstairs. I was about to clean up,” she said, quickly shifting me for the mess onto Evangeline with practiced ease.


    Soren’s eyes swept over the living room disaster, his mood visibly darkening. But he clearly had other things oh his mind. “Evangeline’s upstairs?” he snapped.


    Macy nodded. “She seemed a little upset=”


    Before she could finish, Soren was already heading up the stairs, face ck as thunder.


    <b>21:00 </b>


    Evangeline <b>upset</b>?


    Plenty of energy to tattle to his mother about him and Poppy, he thought darkly


    She was probably delighted with herself right now.


    “Evangeline, get out here. Now.”