Chapter 10
Evangeline had stopped by her lawyer’s office again, this time to have the divorce agreement drafted.
Truth be told, she’d worked out most of the details while she was still in the hospital. Only the financial terms remained unfinished–she hadn’t yet discussed those with Soren.
Before she married, Evangeline had a promising career of her own. But after the wedding, the Fawkes family made it clear they didn’t want their daughter–in–law out in public, building a name for herself. So, reluctantly, she gave it all up and devoted herself to managing Soren’s daily life at home..
Over the years, Soren’s fondness for peace and quiet meant all the cleaning staff. and housekeepers were let go, until only Macy remained.
Macy, being Helena’s protégé, took full advantage of her connections. She had no qualms about bossing Evangeline around, lazing about while coolly ordering her to do the chores. In Macy’s eyes, Evangeline was just another servant–one she could offload her duties onto.
Soren remained oblivious. Or maybe he knew, but preferred to turn a blind eye.
At this point, calling her Mrs. Fawkes was generous. She felt more like the unpaid housemaid and bedmate the Fawkes family had hired to look after Soren.
She never expected to walk away with half of Soren’s fortune. Still, she felt she deserved at least something for all the years she’d sacrificed.
After some thought, Evangeline asked her lawyer to research average salaries in her former profession for the years she’d been out of work, tallying up a figure that felt fair to add to the agreement.
Once the paperwork was complete, Evangeline took the contract home.
The moment she stepped through the front door, she was greeted by chaos. The living room floor was littered with snack wrappers and orange peels, and the coffee table was buried under a mess of shells.
Macy, the culprit, lounged on the sofa, popping sunflower seeds and watching the latest soap opera without a care in the world.
When she realized it was Evangeline and not Soren, Macy visibly relaxed. “Back already?” she called lazily, barely glancing away from the screen before sinking deeper into the couch.
כו !
21.03
Whenever Soren was home, Macy played the part of the dutiful housekeeper But soon as he left, she acted more like the lady of the house than Evangeline ever could.
Evangeline knew exactly what Macy was up to–waiting for her to get fed up and start cleaning.
Macy was about the same age as Evangeline’s late mother. In the early days, Evangeline tried to help her out with the chores, but Macy soon realized she could take advantage. At first, Macy would come up with excuses about not feeling well and pass most of her work onto Evangeline. Eventually, she stopped bothering with excuses altogether.
Evangeline had tried talking to her, gently suggesting they share the work. She got nothing but an eye–roll in response.
When Evangeline tried to fire her, Helena immediately called the next day, berating her for being unable to manage a single housekeeper and questioning how she could possibly help Soren run the family business.
Resistance was futile. Evangeline had no choice but to accept her lot.
But now, she was done accepting it.
Ignoring Macy’s greeting, Evangeline went straight upstairs to her room.
Sitting on her bed and staring down at the divorce agreement, she was debating how to get Soren to sign–when, unexpectedly, Soren himself returned to the house. Downstairs, Macy was sprawled on the sofa, engrossed in her show, when the front door was kicked open with a bang.
Soren stormed in, face thunderous, radiating anger as he strode inside.
At the sight of him, Macy shot up from the couch as if she’d been electrocuted, instantly dropping to her knees and pretending to scrub the floor.
“Mr. Fawkes, Mrs. Fawkes just went upstairs. I was about to clean up,” she said, quickly shifting blame for the mess onto Evangeline with practiced ease.
Soren’s eyes swept over the living room disaster, his mood visibly darkening. But he clearly had other things oh his mind. “Evangeline’s upstairs?” he snapped.
Macy nodded. “She seemed a little upset=”
Before she could finish, Soren was already heading up the stairs, face black as thunder.
21:00
Evangeline upset?
Plenty of energy to tattle to his mother about him and Poppy, he thought darkly
She was probably delighted with herself right now.
“Evangeline, get out here. Now.”
