Chapter 183
Old Master Blackwood nodded, his sharp gaze lingering on Evelyn as if he'd uncovered a hidden truth.
Inside the car, Alexander broke the silence first. "Miss Prescott, I appreciate you indulging my unreasonable request."
"If it's unreasonable, let's not make it a habit," Evelyn replied coolly. "Mr. Blackwood, you've already wasted enough of my time. Please take me back immediately. Shouldn't you be comforting your fiancée instead?"
Alexander studied Evelyn's frosty expression, noting her impatience. "My apologies for keeping you from your boyfriend. I'll treat you both to dinner sometime."
"Unnecessary. My boyfriend tends to get possessive." Evelyn shut him down firmly.
Alexander remained silent for the rest of the drive, dropping Evelyn at her destination without further conversation.
Standing by the bustling sidewalk, Evelyn stared at her palms.
The ghost of warmth still lingered in her hands.
Grandfather.
He still remembered her after all these years.
A bittersweet smile touched her lips, as if old wounds were finally beginning to heal.
That evening while browsing online, Evelyn stumbled upon trending news about Victoria's disastrous birthday celebration.
The headlines screamed about how Alexander had not only failed to propose but had abandoned Victoria for a mysterious woman.
The internet buzzed with speculation about the mystery woman's identity, with some commentators suggesting Alexander had never truly cared for Victoria - that she'd been clinging to him desperately all along.
Victoria had leveraged the Blackwood and Montgomery connections to build a massive beauty influencer empire over three years, amassing millions of devoted followers. When the scandal broke, her brainwashed fans swarmed to her defense.
They insisted Victoria and Alexander were soulmates, claiming their engagement had been set in stone three years prior.
Worse, they dragged Evelyn's name through the mud, blaming her past "vile actions" for supposedly preventing their idol's happiness.
The narrative twisted until all discussion threads became vicious attacks on Evelyn, while Victoria was painted as the long-suffering victim.
Her fans flooded Alexander's social media with sympathetic messages.
The speculation soon connected the mystery woman to Evelyn.
Evelyn could practically see Victoria's smug smile while reading those comments. With a smirk, she left a message on Victoria's profile: 'Enjoying my gift, Miss Lancaster?'
Within minutes, Evelyn's inbox exploded with vulgar messages from countless fake accounts - all bearing Victoria's distinctive phrasing.
Sipping her freshly brewed coffee, Evelyn relished imagining Victoria's current rage. She knew this wouldn't be the end of it.
That weekend, Evelyn took Amelia to the boutique. The little girl twirled happily by the entrance in her princess dress.
Amelia was playing with a delicate glass bead when it slipped from her fingers and rolled away. She chased after it, only for the bead to be crushed under a designer heel.
"Well, look who we have here. That little pest who clung to Alexander at Golden Arches!"
Amelia blinked up with wide, innocent eyes at Victoria and her smirking friend. "Are you calling me a pest, ma'am?"
"Who are you calling ma'am?!" Victoria's eyes flashed with rage. Taking in the child's striking resemblance to Evelyn, her fury boiled over. Her hand shot up, aiming for Amelia's face. "Shut your mouth!"