Evangeline paused for a moment, then nodded. 

Ever since she’d married into the Fawkes family, Old Mrs. Fawkes had treated her like her own daughter. Evangeline knew the old woman would never ask anything unreasonable of her. 

Even if, tonight, Old Mrs. Fawkes did make a difficult request, Evangeline would agree–if only to repay her for all the kindness she’d received over the years. 

After a few more words, Old Mrs. Fawkes was gently helped into her bedroom to get ready before heading to the birthday celebration. 

Evangeline left, too, making her way to the hotel. 

She had just climbed into her car and hadn’t even started the engine when the passenger–side door suddenly swung open. To her surprise, Flora Fawkes slid inside, settling into the front seat as if she did it every 

day. 

“Let’s go,” Flora said, not missing a beat. 

Evangeline blinked, a little confused. “You’re coming to the hotel with 

me?” 

Flora just grunted her agreement, not bothering to elaborate. 

“Don’t you have your own car?” Evangeline asked, still trying to make 

sense of it. 

Flora looked a bit sheepish, but her face stayed perfectly straight. “Mine’s acting up. Besides, I’m not used to the other cars.” 

In truth, her car was just fine. 

Flora felt a bit awkward about asking for a ride, but she couldn’t help herself–not with Evangeline now working at UME, and apparently on friendly terms with Glenn. There were things she wanted to know. 

Evangeline could tell Flora was lying. The Fawkes family had enough cars 

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to fill a small parking lot, and there was no way Flora couldn’t drive any of them. If she really didn’t want to drive, she could always ask the family driver to take her. She’d always insisted on that in the past–anything to avoid riding with Evangeline. 

Clearly, Flora had something on her mind. 

Evangeline didn’t bother playing along like she might have before. “If you have something to say, just say it. No need to beat around the bush.” 

Flora hesitated, her eyes darting away. “You’re overthinking it. I don’t have anything to say.” 

“Oh, in that case, you can get out. I’m not giving you a ride,” Evangeline told her, raising an eyebrow. “Extra passenger, extra gas–gas isn’t cheap these days.” 

Flora’s cheeks flushed bright red. 

She hadn’t expected Evangeline to be so blunt, let alone use such a ridiculous excuse–charging her for gas, as if her presence alone would 

cost more! 

She wasn’t exactly heavy–how could she possibly make a difference to 

the fuel? 

Still, Flora glanced down at herself, just to be sure, and confirmed she wasn’t overweight. 

She huffed. “Fine. I’ll pay for the gas.” 

“Great,” Evangeline said without missing a beat. 

She pulled up her phone, checked the route, and gave Flora the exact amount. “Go ahead and transfer it.” 

Flora stared at her, speechless. 

Fuming, she snatched up her phone and sent Evangeline the money. It was less than a hundred dollars–not even enough to buy one of her favorite desserts. But somehow, it made her even angrier. 

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Especially when Evangeline accepted the payment without a hint of embarrassment, smiling as she confirmed the transfer. Flora felt her annoyance bubble up even more, but couldn’t think of a single good comeback. 

After all, Evangeline hadn’t asked for much; it was a fair price. And Flora was the one who offered to pay for gas in the first place. 

Technically, Evangeline was just being reasonable. 

“Evangeline, are you that desperate for money?” Flora snapped, her face flushed with frustration. “I never realized you were so… greedy!” 

Evangeline didn’t take the bait. “You’ll find there’s a lot you don’t know about me. Maybe if you paid more attention, you wouldn’t be so surprised.” 

Flora was left speechless. 

With the money transferred, Evangeline started the car and headed toward the hotel. 

For a while, Flora sulked in silence, refusing to look at her. But the more she tried to ignore Evangeline, the more she remembered why she’d wanted to ride with her in the first place. 

She hadn’t minded losing a bit of money–but to get nothing in return and still be this irritated? That just didn’t sit right. 

Finally, Flora broke the silence. “So, what’s going on with you and Glenn? Why does he look out for you so much? And how did you end up at 

UME?” 

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