Chapter 20

[ 660 words ]

Chapter 20

The voice in Dora’s head, the one that wanted to deal with Stella once and for all, grew louder by the second.

“I told you back then that you shouldn’t marry her,” she snapped. “She grew up in an orphanage, no mother to teach her anything. What kind of upbringing could she possibly have? I never should have

Evan cut her off coldly.

“If you had given even one percent of the attention you poured into Summer to Stella, I believe she would have turned out perfectly well.”

Dora stared at him, stunned.

“You… what did you just say? Are you blaming me?”

Evan didn’t bother answering. He turned and walked away.

“So now you’re saying I’m biased?” Dora shouted after him. “You ungrateful child. If I hadn’t cared about Summer, do you have any idea how many doctors I found for her over the past two years because she couldn’t conceive? Did you not see any of that?”

At the mention of those doctors, Evan’s retreating figure grew even colder.

When he didn’t look back, Dora stomped her foot in fury and turned back toward the hospital room.

Inside, Summer was awake.

Dora hurried over.

“ Summer, why are you awake again? You should sleep more. The doctor said you need rest.

Summer reached out weakly and tugged at her sleeve.

“ Mom… did Steven leave again?”

Dora froze.

Seeing how firmly Summer still mistook Evan for Steven made her heart ache even more.

“Go back to sleep, okay?”

“Mom,” Summer said softly, “can you call Steven and talk to him? Tell him not to work so much. I just gave birth. I want him to stay with me a little more.”

Dora swallowed hard.

“Alright. You sleep first. I’ll call him in a bit. Be good.”

She carefully tucked the blanket around Summer.

“Thank you, Mom,” Summer said obediently.

She smiled sweetly.

Dora never noticed the flicker of satisfaction hidden deep beneath that smile.

Evan was in a foul mood.

+25 Bonus

After leaving Summer’s room, he didn’t go to see Stella. Instead, he went straight to Charm Bar.

Once seated, he poured himself drink after drink, but the alcohol did nothing to calm the agitation clawing at his chest.

Leon Redson and Lucas Carter exchanged a glance.

Lucas leaned back, smirking, his tone careless.

“Trouble at home?”

Evan’s expression stiffened. Then he drank even more.

“ I warned you before,” Lucas went on. “You never listen. Stella doesn’t have a good temper.”

At the mention of Stella’s name, Evan felt his head start to pound.

Felix Hernandez arrived shortly after. Hearing that things had blown up between Stella and Evan, he said nothing and took a seat in the corner, lighting a cigarette.

The way his fingers held it was noticeably tighter than usual.

Evan’s gaze briefly met his before he snapped back at Lucas, irritated.

“Whether it can be put out or not, don’t you already know?”

Lucas was close to Stella. Over the past six months, he had warned Evan more than once. Women noticed everything, and Stella especially was not the type to swallow things quietly.

Now it was clear. Not only had she exploded, she had exploded hard.

Leon sighed.

“Lucas warned you. You didn’t listen.”

“She’s suing Summer,” Evan said, draining another glass.

Lucas and Leon froze.

Even Felix, sitting in the shadows, lifted his gaze slightly, his eyes dark and thoughtful.

He wasn’t surprised at all.

Lucas and Leon , however, were stunned. Leon blurted out, “Suing her for what? Stealing her man?”

Evan shot him a sharp look.

Leon felt a chill run down his spine.

“Then why is she suing her?”

Evan lit a cigar and took a deep drag.

2/3

“For the Redcrest Valley project.”

Now Lucas and Leon looked even more confused.

Only Felix looked unsurprised.

Lucas frowned.

“Then she’s not wrong. When she was surveying the protected zone early on, she nearly got buried in a mudslide. That design was earned with her life. And in the end, the credit went to Summer. Of course she’d lose it.”

He had said it back then too. Once Redcrest Valley was developed, there was no way Stella wouldn’t recognize her own work.

He had never understood why Evan had handled it the way he did, handing it over to Summer.

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