Giselle was forcibly blocked at the hospital entrance. When she was told Soren refused to see her, she paced back and forth in a panic, her eyes red with unshed tears. The entrance was swarming with bodyguards, making it impossible for her to force her way in.


    She tried pleading with them, even threatening to kill herself, but they remained unmoved. Finally, in desperation, she yed herst card: Evangeline.


    That got a reaction, but not the one she''d hoped for. The head bodyguard simply shook his head. "You should go home. Mr. Fawkes will not see you." He had been in the room and heard the name Evangeline. Mr. Fawkes had made it clear he


    didn''t want to see her.


    Giselle''s hope crumbled.


    She sent a frantic message to Evangeline, begging her to put in a good word with Soren. After all, they had been married for five years. Surely Soren would grant her such a small favor out of respect for their past.


    Worried Evangeline would refuse, she added another message: *If you don''t help me, I''lle find you again tomorrow. I''ll cry in front of you until you agree.*


    Evangeline received the message just as she and the agent were arriving at the front door of the rental property. Her first instinct was to ignore it, but the thought of Giselle causing another scene at UME tomorrow was exhausting. She had too much work to do to waste time on this.


    It was just a phone call.


    She dialed Soren''s number. He declined the first call. When she tried again, it went straight to a busy signal.


    The agent stood by the door, waiting patiently, but Evangeline disliked keeping people waiting. Instead of calling again, she sent Soren a quick text.


    *There''s someone outside the hospital waiting to see you.*


    After sending a reply to Giselle, she put her phone away and followed the agent inside.


    A part of her had still been skeptical, wondering if she was being scammed. But her doubts vanished when she stepped into the living room and saw two other young women chatting amiably. The atmosphere was warm and weing. After introducing herself, Evangeline found that both women seemed just as friendly and easygoing as their profiles suggested.


    She was already open to the idea of roommates, and now, with a reasonable rent and pleasant housemates, she was sold. She promptly signed the contract with the agent.


    Once he left, Evangeline went to her new bedroom on the second floor of the small townhouse. The room was muchrger than her old apartment, and the decor was far more tasteful. She even noticed that the sharp corners of the furniture had been covered with soft protectors. The homeowner must be a very thoughtful person, likely a woman.


    She had nned to give the room a thorough cleaning, but a quick inspection revealed it was already spotless. There wasn''t a speck of dust anywhere. The windowpanes were so clean they reflected her image perfectly, with faint traces of water still drying on the ss. It looked like it had been cleaned very recently.


    As she set down her suitcase, one of her new roommates appeared at the doorway with a smile. "We heard you were moving in today, so we cleaned the room for you. No need to do it again!"


    "Oh, thank you so much," Evangeline said quickly.


    "Don''t mention it! It was no trouble at all. You haven''t eaten yet, have you? Want to grab dinner with us?"


    "I''d love that," Evangeline replied.


    Over dinner, they introduced themselves properly. The younger, more vivacious one was named Linda, and the other, who was a few years older and had a calmer demeanor, was Tabitha.


    Halfway through the meal, Evangeline excused herself to go pay the bill, only to find that Tabitha had already taken care of it.


    Evangeline felt a little embarrassed. They had cleaned her room for her; she should have been the one treating them to dinner. She tried to transfer money to Tabitha, but she gently stopped her.


    "This is a wee gift from both of us," Tabitha said with a smile. "Don''t be so formal. If it weren''t for you, we''d have to cover the rent for an empty room. You moving in is saving us a lot of money, and rent is much more expensive than one dinner."


    With her putting it that way, Evangeline didn''t insist. They would be living together for a long time, and she could always treat them next time.


    Just as they got home, it started to rain.


    Evangeline finished unpacking, took a shower, and climbed into bed. She picked up her phone and saw a string of messages from Giselle.


    *Soren still won''t see me. What do I do?*


    *Evangeline, please think of something.*


    *Did you even contact him for me?*


    **


    *Evangeline, I swear I''ll kill myself in front of you tomorrow if you don''t fix this.* Evangeline frowned at thest message. After a moment''s thought, she typed a reply.


    *You''d be better off saving that performance for Soren. If you manage to extort some guilt money out of him, the Whitmores could at least use it to pay off some debt. If you die in front of me, you won''t get a cent.*


    After she sent it, there was no reply from Giselle.


    Just then, a sh of lightning split the sky, followed by a deafening p of thunder. The rain began to pour down in sheets.


    Soren, who had just drifted into a restless sleep, was jolted awake by the storm.