\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 13\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the past, Evelynn had always known-deep in her heart-that Bainbridge felt something for her that went far beyond ordinary sibling affection.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And she felt it too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Bainbridge\u2019s parents were traditional, conservative, and uncompromising.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She knew they would never allow such a relationship to exist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was afraid that once she crossed that line, she would lose her place in the Wilde family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, she played it safe. She\u2019d hid behind the title of sister, quietly indulging in a kind of love that far exceeded what a brother should give:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, while she was abroad, during their recent phone calls, she heard him mention his new girlfriend, Angelique.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something in his voice caught her attention immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She knew this time things were different\u00a0<\/p>\n
This time, he wasn\u2019t using a girlfriend as a shield or a distraction as he had before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He himself might not have realized it yet, but Evelynn could feel it clearly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
18.53\u00a0<\/p>\n
She knew he had fallen in love with that woman.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She booked the first flight home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wouldn\u2019t let this happen. And, deep down, a sharp curiosity gnawed at her. She wanted to see this Angelique for herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was the catalyst for what had happened in the private club room on her very first day back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had publicly humiliated Angelique to mark her territory, to prove that she was the most important person in Bainbridge\u2019s heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But only two months later, the tables had turned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, she became the one being humiliated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aelfric had baited her, hiding his identity to lure her into that revenge party.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, with an icy smile, he\u2019d asked, \u201cDid you think Gigi doesn\u2019t have a brother?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That, she could have endured. Her flirtation with Aelfric had been fleeting and superficial.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But even Bainbridge stopped siding with her. He\u2019d asked, \u201cDidn\u2019t you do the same thing to Angelique back then? So why are you acting so wronged now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment she heard that, Evelynn felt her world collapse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every night for months, I would glance out my window and see the familiar silhouette of that Maybach parked quietly below my building.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It always arrived in the dead of night and vanished by dawn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bainbridge never contacted me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He just used this way to show me how deeply obsessed he still was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To me, it only made him look pathetic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If he\u2019d felt this much all along, why had he treated me so cruelly back then?\u00a0<\/p>\n
He only learned to value the heart I gave him once he had successfully hollowed it out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My wedding to Matthew was drawing closer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without my knowing, the two of them had already fought several rounds of commercial warfare\u00a0<\/p>\n
Each of them had their wins and losses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Neither Matthew nor Bainbridge said a word to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only Aelfric, ever the gleeful spectator, kept me updated with dramatic play-by-play accounts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, when the moment was ripe, he stepped in himself and walked away with the spoils.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I rolled my eyes and called him a sneaky opportunist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He burst out laughing. \u201cOnly an idiot leaves money on the table. Don\u2019t worry-I\u2019ll make it up to you with an extra-generous wedding gift.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I reached out my hand, a glint in my eye. \u201cDeal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The night before the wedding, New York City erupted in a breathtaking fireworks display.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 13\u00a0<\/p>\n
The entire city buzzed with excitement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two messages popped up on my phone from an unknown number.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCome outside and watch the fireworks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my gift for your wedding.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I deleted them without a second thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If I wanted fireworks, my husband could buy a show for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To me, this grand gesture just made him look like a clown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Early the next morning, I got up for makeup, slipped into my robe, and posed for photos.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just before Matthew arrived to pick me up, he sent a message: \u201cGigi, I\u2019m coming to marry you.\u00a0<\/p>\n
replied with an \u201cI\u2019m waiting\u201d emoji.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The wedding was magnificent-full of joy, music, and celebration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three days later, Matthew accompanied me back to my parents\u2019 home for a visit. Aelfric quietly slipped a stack of documents into my hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sent these,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cCalls it compensation. It\u2019s most of what he owns.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t elaborate, and I just accepted them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bainbridge did owe me that much.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The following morning, I met with my fund manager. I didn\u2019t keep a single cent. I donated the entire portfolio-the real estate and the liquid\u00a0<\/p>\n
assets to a foundation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was happy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I wanted more people in the world to feel that kind of happiness,\u00a0<\/p>\n
too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1853\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Royal Furline Betrayed BY Mark Twain 13 \u00a0 Chapter 13\u00a0 In the past, Evelynn had always known-deep in her heart-that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-let-the-game-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22965\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}