She hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. 

Although she was fuming inside, wanting to call Macy useless, Poppy kept a pleasant smile on her face. “After all, the matriarch’s birthday party is a big deal. He can’t just make a snap decision. Just look for another chance and try again later. It’s getting late–you should head home.” 

But Macy didn’t leave. Instead, she simply smiled at Poppy, rubbing her hands together expectantly. 

Poppy immediately understood what she meant. She picked up her phone and transferred some money to Macy. 

“Thank you, Miss Yates! Please, have a good rest,” Macy gushed, eyes shining as she clutched her phone and finally left. 

Poppy nodded with a polite smile, but the moment Macy was gone, her expression soured with impatience. 

She glanced at her phone. The internet was flooded with articles praising her beauty and talent, as well as rumors about her rekindled romance with Soren. The earlier irritation she’d felt finally eased a little. 

Soren hadn’t denied a single rumor. 

That meant she still had a real shot. 

She was so much better than Evangeline; eventually, Soren would come back to her. 

– 

Over the next two days, Evangeline spent most of her time holed up in the lab. 

In between experiments, she got a call from Soren, who demanded–clearly frustrated–to know when she’d been discharged from the hospital. 

Only then did Evangeline realize she’d forgotten to tell him she’d left. 

She also hadn’t expected Soren to show up at the hospital looking for her. 

Assuming he was calling about the dress measurements, Evangeline explained, “I’ve already sent the exact measurements for the dress to Gregory.” 

Since Soren hadn’t mentioned it before, she’d forgotten too. By the time she remembered, there wasn’t enough time to return to the house, so she went straight 

20.00 

to the boutique and had her measurements taken, then sent them directly to Gregory, who was In charge of the arrangements. 

She’d even told Gregory that if they needed anything else, she’d be happy to help. 

Gregory had simply replied that everything was fine. 

But Soren’s tone was icy. “That’s not what I was asking you about.” 

Then what was it? 

Evangeline thought for a moment and added, “I’ll be at your grandmother’s birthday party. I won’t be late.” 

Soren let out a tight, incredulous laugh. “Evangeline, that’s not what I’m asking, either.” 

She was genuinely puzzled. “Then what do you want to know?” 

She couldn’t imagine any other reason Soren would contact her. 

Soren forced himself to keep his temper in check. “Why didn’t you tell me you were dischargéd? You’re my wife.” 

Evangeline, his wife, had left the hospital without saying a word. 

He, as her husband, had only found out when he went to visit, only to discover her hospital room was empty. 

He’d also heard that Glenn was the one who picked her up that day. 

That fact only made him more irritable. 

The word “wife” made Evangeline pause. 

Soren almost never acknowledged her as his wife in front of her. 

But soon, she wouldn’t be, anyway. 

Evangeline didn’t want to fight with him, and just as she always did when he was angry, she apologized softly and hung up. 

Time was running out. 

The night before the launch event, Evangeline stayed at the office, wor the night on the final round of tests. 

through 

At last, after confirming the last feature worked perfectly, she let out a long breath. 

20:00 

“All set. Now we just have to walt for tomorrow Theo said a tired but a 

on his face. 

He was genuinely pleased with their work–more successful than he’d dared hope 

He handed Evangeline a stack of note cards. “Here’s the script for tomorrow Just review it before the launch, and don’t be nervous when you go onstage. Just be yourself, like always.” 

Without missing a beat, Evangeline slid the script back to him. “Director Shaw, you should do the presentation tomorrow.”