LOGINShare
chapter 127
Last Updated:
2025-07-14 23:05:20
Latest chapter
The chef and The charmer chapter 128
Evelyn’s POVThe name came through late that morning.Celeste Wren.I stared at the email like it had been typed in acid.We’d never heard of her.“She’s not in any Blackstone records,” our lawyer said, his voice clipped, professional, and suspiciously too calm. “But she claims to be Lawrence’s daughter.”The words echoed off the walls of Damian’s study. The air seemed to still. I blinked, slowly, as if the syllables would rearrange themselves into something less absurd.“A daughter?” I repeated, half-choking on my coffee.“Allegedly,” the lawyer confirmed. “She’s petitioning the court for access to a share of his estate—and any trusts connected to Blackstone holdings.”The timing. The confidence. The audacity.It reeked of manipulation.Damian’s jaw flexed in quiet fury. He stood by the window, watching the vineyards shimmer under the late morning sun. From the outside, he looked tranquil—linen shirt loose, coffee cup untouched—but I knew the storm behind his eyes. A storm named lega
The chef and The charmer chapter 127
Evelyn’s POVThe vineyard was exactly as Morgan had promised—secluded, sun-kissed, and stunning. Rows of lavender stretched beside the vines, their fragrance mingling with the sweetness of ripening grapes. Butterflies floated like quiet confetti over wildflowers that bordered every path. It felt… sacred. Sacred in the way ancient churches feel when you’re the only one inside them. Sacred in the way childhood dreams resurface in your sleep.I walked the grounds with a notebook and a head full of color palettes, seating charts, and tentative guest lists. Damian followed behind me, hands tucked in his pockets, watching me with a half-smile that made the weight of decisions feel lighter.“It’s a wedding, Evelyn,” he teased when I squinted too hard at a flowerbed. “Not a Michelin plate.”“Wrong,” I said without missing a beat. “It’s both.”We stayed in the old stone cottage near the edge of the estate. Its shutters were the color of aged copper, and ivy clung to the walls like it had been
The chef and The charmer chapter 126
Evelyn’s POVWe didn’t make a grand post or dramatic reveal.No sweeping declarations on social media. No press releases or curated couple photoshoots. No one-liner PR statements from Damian’s office or gossip blogs hinting at an engagement.Instead, we kept it quiet—intimate.We invited everyone—Chris, Morgan, Damian’s extended family including uncle Anthony Miranda and her mother aunt Claire, and a few close friends—to the penthouse under the pretense of a dinner celebration for the mentorship launch. No one questioned it. The timing was perfect: I had just finished presenting my mentorship program, Something of My Own, at a charity gala last weekend, and the buzz was still fresh. If people assumed this dinner was just a wrap-up event to celebrate, that was fine.The penthouse buzzed with warmth. Champagne flutes clinked, the scent of rosemary lamb lingered in the air, and soft jazz curled through the room like perfume. The glass wall gave us a panoramic view of the city—lights twin
The chef and The charmer chapter 125
Evelyn’s POVThe lights weren’t harsh, but my palms still sweated under their glow.They illuminated the soft golden drapes that hung from the high ceilings, catching in the folds like sunlight clinging to late autumn leaves. The air was thick with the scent of jasmine candles and aged wine. Around me, laughter drifted in delicate waves, punctuated by the clink of crystal glasses and the smooth hum of a live string quartet tucked into the corner.A charity event—intimate, sophisticated, curated to feel effortless. The kind of evening Morgan Blackstone might’ve once orchestrated not out of compassion, but for power. For influence. For optics.But tonight wasn’t about appearances. It was about something else. Something deeper. Something mine.My program: Something of My Own. A mentorship initiative for girls who’d been told their dreams had ceilings. Girls who had only ever been taught to survive, not thrive. Girls who’d learned that the world didn’t bend for them, didn’t yield, didn’t
The chef and The charmer chapter 124
Evelyn’s POVIt started with an email. Simple. Unassuming.Subject: “Local Food Program Needs Guest Chef for Youth Series”It was from an old culinary colleague—Nina Ramsey—someone I hadn’t heard from in years. We’d trained together at Le Cordon Bleu back in cold spring, pulling all-nighters and swapping recipes like secrets. After school, we took different paths. I went straight into restaurants, then a cooking contest, while she stayed grounded, doing nonprofit work, building community gardens, organizing local food drives.Her message was short:“Hey Evelyn, I’m helping a youth center downtown with a cooking series. We need someone to teach a few classes—basic stuff, but we want someone the kids can relate to. Someone who cares. I know your calendar’s probably insane, but… would love to have you, even just once. Let me know.”I stared at the email for a long time.Part of me instinctively reached for an excuse—TV interviews, press obligations, an ongoing chaos. But the truth wa
The chef and The charmer chapter 123
Evelyn’s POVIt started with a silence that stretched too long.Every day that passed without a word from Morgan felt like a thread unraveling inside Damian. I saw it in the way he lingered by the windows after the kettle clicked off. The way he reread old emails as if some hidden meaning might appear if he looked hard enough. The way he jumped—physically startled—at every unknown number on his phone. Each ring held the same thin hope, and each silence after it, the same dull crash.“She’s not like this,” he kept saying. “Even at her worst—she never disappears.”And he was right.Morgan Blackstone did not vanish. She orchestrated. She calculated. She made an event out of every move, each gesture curated, even her silences purposeful. She announced her exits like a queen abdicating a throne. She had a flair for dramatics—but never without intention.But this? This silence? It didn’t feel strategic.It felt final.And the not-knowing—that was what gnawed at him the most.He wasn’t askin
You may also like
Wanted: Billionaire's Wife And Their Genius Twin Babies
Pamela970.7K viewsA Ruling Passion: Mr Tremont's Priceless Little Bride
Lemon Flavored Cat1.5M viewsThe Devil's Love For The Heiress
LiLhyz488.7K viewsOops! I Married A CEO By Mistake
Lisa Salman1.7M viewsTerms and Temptations: The CEO spoils me silly
Nuella King 64 viewsmy bully loves me
Favy353 viewsThe CEO's Accidental Baby
Hanielswrite95 viewsThe Fathers of My Child?
Mairee26 views
