Giselle stood at the kitchen window, watching through the ss as Mr. Wellington lounged in the living room, his heavy frame nearly swallowing the sofa. The look of disdain in her eyes was almost tangible.
After a moment, she moved to Hazel''s side, speaking in a low voice. "Mom, is Dad really nning to hand Evangeline over to him?"
It wasn''t that she felt sorry for Evangeline. What truly worried her was the possibility that, if Evangeline ended up married to a man like that, and if anyone ever found out about her own connection to Evangeline, it would be a stain on her reputation as well.
Hazel was humming as she sliced fruit, clearly in a cheerful mood. "The
Whitmores are only in this mess because of her. Victor''s revenge nearly ruined us. Now that she wants a divorce from Soren and Whitmore Industries is bleeding money, it''s only fair she''s the one to fix it."
Of course, that was only part of the truth.
The real reason was that Mr. Wellington had named Evangeline specifically-if she didn''t marry him, he would never restore hispany''s partnership with the Whitmores.
Last time, Mr. Wellington had blown up over Evangeline, cutting all ties with the Whitmores. Without his support, they lost millions overnight and were forced to siphon funds from a new project just to keep afloat.
But then, with the new project underfunded, it fell apart. Fawkes Enterprises'' massive investment went up in smoke.
Fortunately, Fawkes Enterprises was sorge that they could shrug off the loss- but the Whitmores, stripped of their most powerful backer, had to start worrying about the future.
Not that any of this mattered to Hazel. That was Winston''s concern, not hers. As long as Winston left Giselle alone, Hazel had no intention of interfering.
After all, Evangeline wasn''t her real daughter-who she married was none of Hazel''s business.
Still, Giselle wasn''t satisfied. "But hasn''t she been spending a lot of time with Finntely?"
Whatever faults Mr. Wellington might have, he was nothingpared to the Lockridges.
Hazel paused, the fruit knife hovering midair. "Giselle, you''re still young. There are things we never told you but it''s time you knew."
Sheid out the whole story: Evangeline and Victor, how Victor''s bitterness had led to his vendetta against the Whitmores, and how all the family''s current misfortunes could be traced back to Evangeline.
"Even if Finn is seeing her, it''s just a fling. The Lockridges would never let someone like Evangeline marry into their family," Hazel said with finality.
She sighed, her frustration slipping through. "If it weren''t for Evangeline, the Whitmores wouldn''t have fallen so far-we wouldn''t be begging for scraps."
Just thinking about it made Hazel bitter. She''d schemed for years to snag Winston, drawn by the Whitmores'' power and wealth. She never imagined the whole family would tumble into disgrace because of Evangeline.
For Giselle, this was the first time hearing any of it.
She nearly stomped her foot in anger when she realized the Whitmores once had a shot at marrying into the Carlisles. She could have been the one to marry into that family. "Evangeline really is a disaster," she muttered.
Hazel''s mind returned to more immediate concerns. "So, how are things going with Glenn?" she asked, unable to hide her curiosity.
Giselle''s face fell. She scowled. "It''s all Evangeline''s fault. Every time Glenn and I have a chance to be alone, she finds a way to ruin it."
What made it worse was that Evangeline should have been kicked out of UME by now-but she was still there.
Every time Giselle tried to see Glenn alone, Evangeline would stop her. She''d even gone so far as to issue a new rule: unless it was urgent, Giselle wasn''t allowed anywhere near Glenn''s office.
She hadn''t had a single private moment with him in ages.
Evangeline was already dating Finn, wasn''t that enough? Did she have to keep Glenn all to herself too?
The more Giselle thought about it, the more she felt that marrying Evangeline off to Mr. Wellington might not be such a bad idea after all.