Chapter 65

Gabriel was stunned-this was the first he’d heard of any of this.
His expression darkened. “Evie, is what Anastasia said true?”
He’d always favored Penelope, but Anastasia was his daughter too-he couldn’t simply ignore her.
“I… I didn’t! I would never!” Penelope’s eyes welled with tears as she met Gabriel’s searching gaze. She shook her head furiously, voice trembling in denial.
Anastasia spoke up, her tone sharp. “Did you or didn’t you? There were plenty of people at the party that night. You think everyone there was blind and deaf? Anyone could tell you what happened.”
Penelope’s face froze.
Her head dropped, and she avoided Gabriel’s eyes, her voice small and pitiful. “I was just trying to apologize on Anastasia’s behalf. She’d upset Elder Mrs. Lancaster with something she said, and I didn’t want her to get into trouble. I only spoke up because I was worried about her! I never thought Anastasia would see it
that way
Gabriel’s resolve wavered, uncertainty flickering across his face.
Internally, Anastasia scoffed at Penelope’s paper-thin excuse, cutting in without sympathy.
“I’m Mrs. Lancaster. Elder Mrs. Lancaster should be the one trying to get on my good side. Even if I had been in the wrong-which I wasn’t-what right would she have to blame me?”
Gabriel’s brows drew together. Anastasia had a point. Why would there have been any need to apologize to Elder Mrs. Lancaster in the first place?
Penelope forced a brittle smile. “I was just flustered, I didn’t think it through
“So, shouldn’t you be apologizing to me?” Anastasia interrupted. Penelope bit her lip.
Nora jumped in, trying to smooth things over. “Anastasia, Evie said she didn’t mean any harm
“Oh? So if it’s not intentional, there’s no need to apologize? Isn’t that why you called me back today-to make me apologize? But now that it turns out she’s the one at fault, suddenly apologies don’t matter?”
Nora fell silent, at a loss for words. Thɪs chapter is updated by.net
“So this is how it is?” Anastasia pressed, turning to Gabriel. “Dad, I’m your daughter too, aren’t I?”
Gabriel’s face was grim. “Evie, apologize to your sister.”
Penelope dug her nails into her palm, forcing a stiff smile. Anastasia, I’m sorry.”
Anastasia gave a nonchalant nod, as if she were doing Penelope a favor by accepting.
Penelope could have screamed with frustration. She gritted her teeth. “Anastasia, I’ve apologized to you-don’t you think you owe me one, too? You pushed me into the pool. Don’t you think you should say sorry?”
She glared at Anastasia, waiting for her to insist it wasn’t on purpose-then Penelope could throw it back in her face: she hadn’t meant it either, but she’d apologized, hadn’t she?
Anastasia saw right through her. With a faint smile, she reached for her phone. “Sure, I can do that. I’ll give Logan a call right now.”
Why would you call Logan?”
“You want an apology, right? He’s the one who pushed you in. If you want someone to say sorry, it ought to come from him.”
She started dialing. “Or is Logan’s apology not good enough for you? Maybe I should call Mr. Lancaster instead. Logan works for him, after all—surely some of the blame falls on his shoulders, too
She wasn’t bluffing; it was clear she meant to go through with it.
Gabriel and Penelope both went pale.
“Wait!” Gabriel hastily interjected. “Let’s just drop it, all right? If no one meant any harm, there’s no need for apologies.”
Mr. Lancaster himself? Asking him to apologize? Was Penelope out of her mind?
Even Logan-he was Mr. Lancaster’s right-hand man. People went out of their way to stay on his good side; who would ever demand an apology from him?