Chapter 193
The morning sun barely pierced the curtains, casting a gentle, diffused light across the room. I
stood in front of my closet, the smell of my vintage dresses still lingering in the air. The funeral of
Timothy’s mother was only a few hours away, and I needed to find an outfit suitable for the
asion.
My fingers trailed across the fabric of ck dresses, each one holding its own memories. As I
contemted my choices, a knock at the door startled me. It was too early for visitors, and I wasn’t
expecting anyone. I nced at the clock, wondering who it could be at this hour.
I quickly crossed the room and opened the door, expecting to see a neighbor or perhaps even
Timothy on the other side. But instead, I found Ste standing on my doorstep, a cold, uninviting
expression on her face. My heart sank at the sight of her, and I felt a mix of anger and
apprehension.
“Ste,” I said, my voiceced with annoyance, “what are you doing here?”
She didn’t seem fazed by my irritation as the swept past me and into my apartment. “I’vee to
talk, Evie,” she said, her tone condescending. “It’s time we had a little chat.”
I closed the door behind her, my patience wearing thin. Ste had a way of stirring up trouble, and I
didn’t need any additional stress on the day of the funeral. “This is not a good time, Ste,” I said,
trying to keep my voice steady. “We can talkter.”
Ste turned to face me, her piercing blue eyes locking onto mine. “I’m not here to cause trouble,”
she said, her voice deceptively calm. “In fact, I’m here to congratte you.”
I furrowed my brows, taken aback by her unexpected words. “Congratte me?” I asked, my tone
skeptical. “For what?”
Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.
Ste’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “For ruining my life,” she said, her words dripping with
bitterness. “You’ve done a ster job of that, Evie.”
I crossed my arms, unable to hide my frustration. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ste.
This has nothing to do with me.”
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Ste took a step closer, her mouth set in a snarl. “Oh, but it does,” she said. “It absolutely does.
You’re the one who got into Andy’s head, convinced him to betray me, to humiliate me in front of
everyone.”
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The morning sun barely pierced the curtains, casting a gentle, diffused light across the room. I
stood in front of my closet, the smell of my vintage dresses still lingering in the air. The funeral of
Timothy’s mother was only a few hours away, and I needed to find an outfit suitable for the
asion.
My fingers trailed across the fabric of ck dresses, each one holding its own memories. As I
contemted my choices, a knock at the door startled me. It was too early for visitors, and I wasn’t
expecting anyone. I nced at
the clock, wondering who it could be at this hour.
I quickly crossed the room and opened the door, expecting to see a neighbor or perhaps even
Timothy on the other side. But instead, I found Ste standing on my doorstep, a cold, uninviting
expression on her face. My heart sank at the sight of her, and I felt a mix of anger and
apprehension.
“Ste,” I said, my voiceced with annoyance, “what are you doing here?”
She didn’t seem fazed by my irritation as she swept past me and into my apartment. “I’vee to
talk, Evie,” she said, her tone condescending. “It’s time we had a little chat.”
I closed the door behind her, my patience wearing thin. Ste had a way of stirring up trouble, and I
didn’t need any additional stress on the day of the funeral. “This is not a good time, Ste,” I said,
trying to keep my voice steady. “We can talkter.”
Ste turned to face me, her piercing blue eyes locking onto mine. “I’m not here to cause trouble,”
she said, her voice deceptively calm. “In fact, I’m here to congratte you.”
I furrowed my brows, taken aback by her unexpected words. “Congratte me?” I asked, my tone
skeptical. “For
what?”
Ste curled into a cruel smile. “For ruining my life,” she said, her words dripping with bitterness.
“You’ve
done a ster job of that, Evie.”
I crossed my arms, unable to hide my frustration. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ste.
This has nothing to do with me.”
Ste took a step closer, her mouth set in a snarl. “Oh, but it does,” she said. “It absolutely does.
You’re the one who got into Andy’s head, convinced him to betray me, to humiliate me in front of
everyone.”
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“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I repeated, my voice firm. “I have no control over Andy’s
actions, and I wouldn’t have encouraged him to do anything like that.”
Ste’s eyes narrowed as she studied me suspiciously. “You can deny it all you want, Evie, but I
know you. You’ve always been after what’s mine.”
I shook my head, my frustration boiling over. “That’s not true, Ste. I’ve never wanted anything of
yours. I’ve had my own life, my own ambitions.”
She let out a sarcasticugh. “Right. And now, what? You think you can have Timothy all to
yourself? That you two can be happy together?”
I felt a surge of anger rise within me, and I took a step closer to her. “At least I’m not using him for
my own amusement, Ste. You treated him, and probably even Andy, like toys, people you could
discard when they no longer suited your interests.”
Ste’s face twisted into a sneer. “He was fun for a while, Evie, but he got clingy and annoying. I
can’t stand that.”
I clenched my fists, struggling to maintain myposure. Ste’s callousness andpleteck of
empathy were infuriating. “You can’t treat people like that, Ste. You can’t use them and throw
them away when you’re done with them.”
Ste shrugged, as if my words were of no consequence. “It’s a dog–eat–dog world, Evie. You’d
better get used to it.”
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions swirling within me. Thest thing I needed
was a confrontation with Ste on the day of the funeral. “I think you should leave. I have to get
ready for the funeral.”
Ste turned to face me, her cold, piercing eyes locking onto mine. “We’re going to have this
conversation, whether you like it or not,” she replied, her tone unyielding. “I thought that giving Andy
what he wanted would encourage him to help me secure the estate.”
I couldn’t hide my disbelief. “You thought that seducing him was the way to get what you wanted?” I
asked, my voice filled with disdain. “That’s cold–hearted, Ste.”
Ste shrugged, as if my judgment had no effect on her. “That’s business, Evie. It’s all about getting
what your want, no matter the cost.”
I crossed my arms, my anger mounting. “Business or not, you can’t just manipte people’s
feelings and use
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them for your own gain. It’s wrong, Ste.”
She turned to me, her eyes zing with determination. “I don’t care about the romantic side of
things,” she admitted, her voice surprisingly frank. “But I do care about getting the estate. And I
intend to keep Timothy to myself.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Ste’s ruthlessness knew no bounds, and I realized that she
was willing to go to great lengths to achieve her goals. “What about Timothy?” I asked, my voice low
and filled with concern. “What if the paternity test doesn’t turn out the way you expect it to?”
Ste’s expression remained confident, as if she had no doubts about the oue. “It will,” she
replied curtly, her voiceced with certainty.
I pressed her further, my anger getting the better of me. “And if it doesn’t, Ste? What’s your n
then?”
She didn’t answer my question, instead turning away and heading towards the door. “I don’t have
time for hypothetical scenarios, Evie. I have things to do.”
She turned and headed towards the door. As she paused at the threshold, her parting words were
laced with venom. “Don’t think this is over, Evie. I’ll get what’s rightfully mine.”
I watched her leave, the door clicking shut behind her. My mind was a whirlwind of emotions and
questions. So Andy had leaked the photos.
Perhaps meeting him that day really had gone through to him, though his actions were heavily
destructive. Ste clearly didn’t reciprocate his feelings, at least, she didn’t let on that she did.
Either way, I didn’t have the energy to deal with this kind of drama today. I had a funeral to get to,
and I had to mentally prepare myself ordingly.
With a heavy heart, I returned to my closet, choosing a ck dress that looked simple yet elegant.
After some time, it dawned on me that Ste may show up to the funeral as well. If she had any
dignity left, she would drop any indignation toward me for the family’s sake.
I slipped into the dress andpleted my attire with a pair of sensible ck heels. The mirror
reflected a somber, determined woman, far from the mistress they’d believed me to be in the media.
I could only imagine what kind of reaction I would get while present, but I couldn’t let it get to me.
I just knew I needed to be there for Timothy.
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Emergency calls onlyMU