Cole barely looked at the gallery of glamorous women before flopping back in irritation. “You pick. I don’t care.”
Manley blinked. “What do you mean by that?” With a chuckle, he added, “I can promise they’re legal and untouched, but your preferences? That’s a mystery I won’t pretend to understand.”
Cole shot him a look, his voice sharp. “Who said I needed a woman for that?”
Now completely thrown off, Manley stared at him. If it wasn’t for that, then what the hell was the emergency?
Meanwhile, just outside the room, Paulina and Myles had shown up, their timing impeccable as always.
Once Paulina got the gist of what was going on, she didn’t hesitate. Her glare at Myles was sharp enough to slice glass as she snapped, “Drop to your knees. Now!”
Though utterly baffled, Myles didn’t hesitate-he dropped to his knees with a sigh. “Okay, but what did I do this time, Paulina?”
Without even glancing at him, Paulina shifted her fury toward Hugh. “How many times do I have to repeat myself? We’re working for Mr. Evans. That means knowing our place. Why did you run your mouth at Mrs. Evans today? You stirred up trouble between them-now what? How do you plan to fix it?”
Hugh ran a hand through his hair, trying to figure out if Elliana had truly turned Cole down because of what he mentioned before. If that was the case, then yeah-he’d definitely made a mess of things. But he still believed he had a point. “Paulina, wasn’t I right? Mr. Evans ought to marry someone elegant and well-connected. What makes Elliana qualified to become Mrs. Evans?”
The pieces finally clicked for Myles. He adjusted his glasses with a sigh and said, “So Hugh runs his mouth, and I end up on my knees? Paulina, aren’t you aiming at the wrong target here?”
While saying this, Myles made a cautious move to rise.
Paulina knocked him right back into place. “I’m punishing you! You’re the oldest, so tell me, is this how you’ve been guiding your younger brother?”
Myles lifted an eyebrow, clearly fed up but not about to argue. Between chasing deadlines and managing Cole’s packed schedule, disciplining Hugh hadn’t exactly made it onto his to-do list. Still, Paulina outranked them all, and defying her wasn’t an option he was brave enough to take.
Watching from the side, Aron broke into a grin. Hugh messed up, Myles paid for it-same script every time. Poor guy never caught a break.
Right when Aron started to feel bad for Myles, Paulina yelled at him, “You get down on your knees too!”
Aron blinked, confused, but his knees hit the floor before his brain could stop them. “Wait, Paulina-what did I even do?”
Paulina didn’t spare Aron from her wrath. “You’re with Hugh more than anyone else-same with Mr. Evans. So tell me, how have you let your brother turn out like this?”
Aron’s face shifted into the same fed-up look Myles was wearing.
The parents of the four Fletcher siblings had been employees of the Evans Group but sadly lost their lives in a car crash. The Evans family, moved by the plight of the four children left behind, took them in and raised them alongside Cole. Gratitude ran deep between the siblings and the Evans family, but their loyalty to Cole was something fierce.
While Paulina ruled the trio of younger brothers with an iron will, she always had a soft spot for Hugh-the youngest one when their parents died, and she had practically raised him like a son.
Myles and Aron were frequently irritated because, back when Hugh was little, Paulina always took his side. If he slipped up or ended up hurt, she would point fingers at them for failing to look after their younger brother. Even now, at twenty-three and running Cole’s personal security, Hugh still managed to drag his older brothers into messes. At this rate, they’d be dealing with his screw-ups until they hit retirement.
Once her scolding was done, Paulina spun on her heel and stomped out of the room without another word.
Myles and Aron rose slowly, their eyes locking on Hugh with the kind of look that made grown men sweat.
Just minutes earlier, Hugh had been soaking in Paulina’s protection like a spoiled cat in the sun. Now, stripped of her shield, he slinked away into a corner and stared at the wall, avoiding their eyes like it might save him.
Elsewhere, tossing and turning through the night, Elliana couldn’t shake the weight of her argument with Cole.
By dawn, she was already dressed and downstairs. After a quick breakfast, she informed the butler to let Ruben know she was heading out for the filming of “The Heiress’ Graduation Trip.”
When the rest of the Evans household finally wandered down, Elliana had long since vanished.
The younger members of the family, secretly hoping to watch Elliana fall flat on her face, were left dumbfounded when the butler casually mentioned that she had already gone off to shoot a television show.
Most of them had brushed off her showbiz dreams as a phase-or worse, a joke. None had expected her to move so fast. Their curiosity got the better of them, and they started to follow the show just to see her stumble.
The show wasn’t pre-recorded either-it was airing live.
Eager to ruin Elliana, Paige had made sure the production team locked in a contract with Elliana right after their chat the day before. By sunrise, a teaser was already making its rounds online.
The tension between Paige and Elliana was already making waves online, and once the teaser dropped, the views exploded. By morning, the show’s account had racked up millions of followers-and the numbers just kept rising.
Curious and discreet, the Evans family pulled up the promo video, only to find over a million comments flooding in. Most were there for one thing-the unfolding chaos between the two women.
“Can you believe Elliana, of all people, has the nerve to appear on the same show as Paige? She must not care about being humiliated.”
“Word is, she’s been throwing her weight around as Mrs. Evans, picking on Paige like it’s her full-time job. She’s probably showing up just to take Paige down publicly.”
“Elliana is seriously out of her league. Cole barely acknowledges her, and Paige has Royal Entertainment in her corner. This is a losing game for Elliana.”
“You all believe Elliana joined this show just to take down Paige, but I get the feeling it’s actually Paige who’s using the show to tear Elliana apart. No matter how full of herself Elliana might be, there’s no way she’d choose to put her worst side on display for everyone to see. She had to have been pushed into it.”
“The clash between them is turning into real entertainment. I’m looking forward to watching them rip into each other on the show.”
“Doesn’t matter who wins. I’m tuning in purely to see if Elliana really looks as bad as people say.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.