Chapter 3
Leon didn’t stop. “No time to take you back. The party’s starting. Ellie’s been abroad for years-everyone’s excited to
see her.”
Eloise’s nails dug into her palms. Her eyes burned. The tears almost fell, but she tilted her head back and swallowed
them down.
Her mother’s keepsakes were still at Claire’s manor. If she didn’t get them soon, they’d probably toss them out.
“No need to take me. Stop the car.”
Leon kept driving. Aurelie frowned and lightly tapped his arm, her voice sweet as syrup. “Stop the car. She looks like she’s in a rush. Must be important. Aren’t you her boyfriend? Try acting like it.”
The air went still, and the car pulled over immediately.
Eloise gave Leon a long look, then turned to Aurelie and said softly, “Thanks.”
Aurelie smiled, sugar-sweet. “Don’t mention it. There should be an umbrella in the trunk.”
Eloise blinked, then shook her head. She opened the door with a pale, graceful hand.
The moment she stepped out, the car sped off like it was fleeing a curse.
She let out a bitter laugh. Three years of dating, and she never even knew he kept an umbrella in the car.
The rain hit hard, cold, and cutting. She kicked off her heels and walked barefoot all the way back to Claire’s manor.
Lights blazed inside the house. Glass shattered somewhere. She rushed in too fast. A sharp, stinging shot through her foot-glass had sliced it open. She flinched.
The maids stood stiffly in the yard, eyes cold and judgmental. She ignored them until she saw what was on the floor. Her eyes snapped wide.
A photo frame that was cracked beyond saving. Inside the frame was a picture of a beautiful woman holding a girl’s hand, which was now soaked and smeared with water.
Her chest ached. Her heels slipped from her hand, landing with a dull thud. She knelt and picked up the frame, her fingers trembling over the ruined photo.
“Mom…” Her whisper broke the silence.
“Well, isn’t this Eloise, the first daughter of the Claire family? What happened to you? I thought you landed the Brun- ner family heir. Why do you still look like a wreck?”
A sharp, arrogant voice rang out. Eloise looked up and locked eyes with the woman descending the stairs. Hatred
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Chapter 3
flared in her gaze.
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Her face was pale. She spoke through clenched teeth, “Yvonne, whatever you’ve got to say, say it to me. This was the last thing my mom left me.”
Yvonne let out a mocking laugh like she’d just heard the world’s best joke.
“And? That doesn’t make it special. She’s not my mom.” She examined her freshly manicured nails, her voice full of
scorn.
“Your precious Leon just proposed to his ex at the birthday party. And you’re here crying over your mommy?”
Then Yvonne tossed her phone toward Eloise, the screen already lit up with a paused video. The man in the video was Leon. And the woman standing across from him… was Aurelie.
Eloise’s pupils shrank. Her ankle throbbed, the pain flaring up. Her eyes turned red, and the tears were close.
Seeing her go pale, Yvonne smiled with satisfaction. She took her phone from Eloise’s hand and put it away. “Heard you finally agreed to that arranged marriage with Dad, huh? Should’ve done it earlier. Sure, Mr. Bronner is ugly, but he’s loaded. Just like your gold-digging mom-both of you love money.”
Yvonne lounged on the couch like a queen tossing scraps. “Dad says the wedding’s in 20 days.”
Eloise’s fingers curled into fists. She was about to snap-when Yvonne suddenly added with a grin, “Oh, and by the way-Leon’s ex said no.”
