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Home / Romance / Hidden Heiress Rising: Married to my Ex-Husband’s Uncle / Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

Lahat ng Kabanata ng Hidden Heiress Rising: Married to my Ex-Husband’s Uncle: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

43 Kabanata

Chapter 31

~ DAMIEN'S POV ~Since the competition ended, I had not seen Eva.She had walked back to the hotel ahead of me, and by the time I reached the suite, her door and the adjoining door between us were both shut.I knocked once but got no answer. I stood there for a while, not knowing what to say or do. Eventually, I stepped back and left her alone.That had been about three hours ago.I sat at the bar now, my jacket draped over the stool beside me, a glass of scotch in my hand that I had barely touched.The bar was quiet. There were not many people, and I preferred it that way. I had told Roman that the only reason I would come was if he could clear the place out.He made sure no new reservations were allowed, but those who had already booked were still permitted to come in.I was furious. My hands itched to bloody someone’s face. I downed the glass of scotch in one go.“Easy, man. That must burn,” Jackson said, watching me with concern.I ignored him and waved to the bartender for anothe

Chapter 32

~ EVANGELINE'S POV ~I woke up to Marty sitting at the edge of my bed, phone in hand, wearing the expression he reserved for news he found genuinely satisfying.“You need to see this.”What the hell is he doing in my room?“What are you doing in my room? Who let you in?”“Come on, Eva. Are you serious right now?” I stared at him long enough to make it clear that I was.He sighed. “Damien let me in. Stop being a knucklehead. I brought good news.”He pulled me up, and I sat there while he held the screen out to me. I took the phone and began to read.The article was about James Boldwin, brother of Jessica Boldwin, who had recently sat beside her at the judges’ table and helped place me last in a round I had not even been given the time to properly compete in.According to what was now spreading across every major publication, James had been Jason’s secret lover throughout our entire marriage.There were explicit chats and photos, and even worse were the records of financial transfers sp

Chapter 33

~ EVANGELINE'S POV ~The suite was quiet when we returned, and I stood in the middle of the room, realizing my hands were shaking.It was not out of joy for my win. It was because of my mother. She always ruins everything I work for and gives it to her husband's mistress's daughter.Which made no sense, and that was almost the worst part. Margaret Moreau had not raised me.My grandmother had.She was the one who stayed up through my fevers, who pressed her hands over mine when I was learning to sketch. She braided my hair and sat beside me through every hard thing.Not my mother.I never held anything against her. I simply accepted my grandmother as my mother.So why was I standing here shaking because of a woman who smiled for the cameras and called me her honor, only to hand that same honor to Marianne?"Eva."Damien was watching me from across the room as if all I had to do was say the word and he would burn the world for me.But that was a lie.He could not burn the world for me e

Chapter 34

~ DAMIEN'S POV ~"Bring her to me."Roman looked up from his phone. "Tonight?""Now."He nodded and stepped out without another word, and I leaned back slightly, letting the information he had just given me settle properly.So Claude Beaumont had engineered the entire filing, using Isabelle as the public face while keeping herself out of the paperwork, letting Isabelle carry the motive and the name because she had participated in the competition, while Claude used her understanding of how the board worked to manipulate a desperate girl who had already lost.It was not a good plan, and I had been lenient with her the first time, which had clearly been a mistake.I stood and walked to the window, looking out at Paris at night, which from high enough up looked like any other city, distant and detached from whatever was happening beneath it.My phone vibrated in my hand, and when I glanced at it, I saw that Marty had sent Roman a message, and Roman had forwarded it to me.Eva had seen the

Chapter 35

~ EVANGELINE'S POV ~I changed for the third time, eventually settling for a floral gown with pleats.I told myself it was not because I was nervous, but simply common sense to want to look appropriate for a restaurant outing.Also, knowing Damien, I knew he must have chosen somewhere very flashy, so I needed to match the aesthetic of the place.“Are you sure you still want to go on the date?” Marty asked, looking exasperated.“Of course. It is better than sitting here moping my life away. Do you think I look good in this?”I patted the gown down slightly. The corset highlighted my slender waist.“For the hundredth time, Eva, you look good in everything so far. God, you must really like him.”“I do not know what you are saying.” Yet I could not help the blush that crept up my cheeks.“Hmm… I believe you. Come sit, let me do your makeup like old times.”I sat down, and Marty got to work, chatting as he did my makeup, though everything eventually circled back to how sweet, strong, and k

Chapter 36

~ DAMIEN'S POV ~The bill came, and I handled it at the front desk.While I was there, I told the manager what had happened during the evening. The waiter, the unnecessary proximity, and the unprofessional comments directed at my wife.The manager listened with the expression of someone who already understood the weight of the situation. I could see the fear in his eyes."We sincerely apologize, Mr. Blackwood. It will not happen again.""No," I agreed calmly. "It will not. Because you will make sure he no longer works here. I hope I am understood."There was a brief pause. "Of course. Consider it done."I straightened my jacket and walked back to where Eva was waiting near the entrance, pulling a light wrap over her shoulders.She looked up when she heard me and smiled, and the red of her lipstick caught the candlelight in a way that had been distracting me for most of the evening.I had been holding myself back the entire time.The way she laughed, the neat line of her teeth, the way

Chapter 37

~ EVANGELINE'S POV ~A week passed before anything outside the hospital room mattered to me.I sat beside Damien's bed for most of it, and every time I closed my eyes I saw the blood spreading through his shirt, felt the warmth of it on my hands.I was not sleeping well. When I did sleep, I woke up with my hands pressed together as if I were still applying pressure to something that was no longer there.Damien was recovering faster than the doctors found reasonable, and by day four he was already making his feelings about the situation known."I need to leave this room.""You need to stay in this bed," I replied without looking up from my sketchbook."Eva.""Damien."He went quiet for a moment. "I am fine.""You were shot twice.""I am aware.""Then act like it."He looked at me, and I looked back stubbornly. He finally settled against the pillow with the expression of a toddler accepting temporary defeat and nothing more.By day six, the restlessness had reached a level that was affe

Chapter 38

~ EVANGELINE'S POV ~We had barely been back an hour when Roman appeared at the suite door with an envelope.He held it out to Damien, looking unsure. "From John Boldwin. His eightieth birthday celebration is tomorrow evening. You are invited."Damien took the card and looked at it briefly before setting it on the table."We will attend then.""Tomorrow?" I looked between them. "He is giving us one day's notice for a formal event? Isn't that weird?""Old Mr. Boldwin has always done things this way," Damien said. "He enjoys the element of surprise. It is not personal, so don't worry about it.""Everything with this family feels personal to me." I sat down. "In case you have forgotten, Jessica is a Boldwin. Her brother James and she sat on that judge's panel. Their father is now inviting us to his birthday celebration the day after we had dinner with my father." I looked at him. "You don't find that even slightly suspicious?""I find everything suspicious," Damien replied. "However, I d

Chapter 39

~ DAMIEN'S POV ~The moment Jessica said the words, I understood coming here had been a mistake.Not because of John. My respect for my mentor was real and had been built over the years. But watching Jessica stand there with that fake smile, speaking about what she and her brother had done to Eva as though it was a minor inconvenience worth laughing about, I understood something clearly.She believed I would not react here.She had calculated that my respect for John would hold me in place, that I would stand here and tolerate whatever she chose to do because the setting protected her.However, what she had not calculated was that there was nothing in this room I valued more than the woman standing beside me.I looked down at Jessica's hand on my arm with irritation. I wanted to snap it twice and then scrub that place until it bled.Instead, I removed it.I pushed her back as I did it. I made sure it wasn't aggressive enough that anyone could call it deliberate from a distance, but wi

Chapter 40

~ EVANGELINE'S POV ~The drive back from the party was quiet.Marty sat beside me in the car and said nothing the entire way, which was how I knew how bad it was. Marty always had something to say. Silence from him was not peace; it just meant he was deeply pained over the actions of Roman tonight.When we got back to the hotel, he waved at me in the corridor outside his room."Goodnight, Eva.""Come and sit with me for a bit," I pleaded. I didn't want him to be alone. He looked so sad yet was acting tough."I'm tired.""Marty.""I'm fine." He smiled, but the smile looked forced. "Goodnight."He went inside before I could say anything else. I stood in the corridor for a moment, then went to my own room.But I was not settled. Marty's face kept playing in my mind. I changed out of my gown, had my bath, and sat on the edge of the bed and tried to think about something else, but couldn't. I kept seeing Marty's face when Roman called him an employee. Fuck! I should not have left him alo

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