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Evangeline's husband, Walter, has splurged on a cruise for his mistress, complete with a fireworks display.
"Don't bother returning if you can't make Walter come home tonight, Evangeline!"
It was New Year's Eve.
She had expected just another fling, someone she could brush off without a second thought.
However, that was not just anyone—it was Julia.
Walter's ex-lover, the one he had been forced to leave, and her own half-sister.
"Here's the divorce papers I drew up. Give them a once-over, and if they're all good, just sign on the dotted line."
With that, Evangeline tossed the papers onto the pool table.
No one would have guessed that Walter, the man who was always on a pedestal, could be publicly dumped.
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"Don't bother returning if you can't make Walter come home tonight, Evangeline!"
It was New Year's Eve.
Every home was aglow, families embracing the joy of togetherness. Evangeline Rearden, however, was excluded from the glee. She raced her heavy motorcycle down Jetty Road, cutting through the biting cold wind on a mission to expose Walter's infidelity aboard a cruise ship.
The whole city buzzed with the news that her stay-away husband, Walter Gordon, has splurged on a cruise for his mistress, complete with a fireworks display.
Still ringing in her ears was the harsh ultimatum her mother-in-law, Aria Jones, delivered at the Gordon family's New Year's Eve feast.
"Evangeline, Walter is so averse to seeing you that he hasn't come home for the holidays in years! You're just warming the bench. If you can't give us a Gordon heir, call it quits early. Step aside and let a more fertile woman take your place as Mrs. Walter Gordon."
Three years into their marriage, all Evangeline could think of was having Walter's baby.
The Gordons were on her case, and so was Cole Foster, her maternal grandfather. She had exhausted every trick in the book to cement her status as Mrs. Walter Gordon.
Walter was a different man outside—voracious and wild. At home, however, he had been distant and disinterested.
Forget intimacy. She could have paraded undressed in front of him and not even earned a blink.
All the heartache had boiled down to one bitter truth: Walter did not love her. She had never been the one he wanted to marry.
The cruise ship Walter rented had been ablaze with lights as the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, the air alive with celebration.
Evangeline stepped onto the cruise and swung open the door to the buzzing private room.
Walter, the seventh heir to Avalon City's elite Gordon family, had carved out his empire with Strata King Group at just 27 years old. In a mere three years, he shot to the top of the game, poised to take over the family's legacy.
There he was, oozing laid-back charm in his sleek black suit, coaching a woman in a tiny black skirt on her pool shot.
Just then, a voice cut through the buzz, "Mr. Walter Gordon, it's late. Aren't you heading home?"
"Not tonight," he shot back, and with a smooth move, he swept the pool table clean.
The women in the room could not peel their eyes away, green with envy at the lady by his side.
"Wow! That's impressive! You still have the magic touch, even after all these years!" someone exclaimed.
"So, Julia, don't you think Walter's even more of a catch than he was three years ago? If you don't snag him this time, you'll have some explaining to do, huh?"
At those words, the demure woman next to Walter turned a deep shade of red, gazing up at him with eyes full of worship and longing.
At that moment, Evangeline's gaze landed on the woman's face. It hit her like a ton of bricks.
She had expected just another fling, someone she could brush off without a second thought. However, that was not just anyone—it was Julia Rearden. Walter's ex-lover, the one he had been forced to leave, and her own half-sister.
Evangeline felt like her heart was stabbed.
She smoothed out her windblown hair and strutted across the threshold in her high heels, instantly dissolving the charged silence.
"She thinks she can just get married? She'll need my say-so for that!
"I was trying to figure out who was brazen enough to flirt with my husband tonight... Oh, it's the homecoming of the other woman's kid!
"No shocker that Walter's been pulling out all the stops with cruises and fireworks to woo you, strutting around like a show-off, not even bothering to come home for New Year's. He's not even scared of his grandfather giving him a piece of his mind!"
Three years had passed, but Julia's face still wore that same look of feigned innocence, her pretty features then tinged with an unhealthy paleness.
She blanched even more at the sight of Evangeline, tripping over her words in a rush to explain.
"Evangeline... It's not like that! Don't get it twisted... I just got back into town yesterday, and my friends wanted to throw me a little welcome bash. It was my idea to shoot some pool, and, uh... Walter was just showing me the ropes.!"
Evangeline's laugh was detached, her amusement clear.
She knew what was happening. She was no fool. Julia was trying to say that Walter's buddies were her buddies too, that she was part of the in-crowd that had grown up with them.
They were all on Julia's side, in a club Evangeline would never fit into.
However, back when Evangeline and Walter were promised to each other as kids, Julia was nothing more than a secret nobody was supposed to talk about.
There was an order to those things.
Even if Evangeline was over him, it was not Julia's place to step in.
"Is that so?" Evangeline's lashes fluttered, her smile soft but her eyes challenging. "If you're so keen on playing pool, why didn't you come to me? You might not realize, but I've got the kind of pool game that could land me on the national team."
"Are you for real..." Julia's skepticism was written on her face. She was convinced Evangeline was just boasting.
A sneer barely concealed itself as Julia continued, "This game's tough to learn, and I've barely sunk a few balls myself. You lived out in the sticks before you got hitched, and afterward, you were practically a shut-in, never venturing out. How could you be so good at this? Walter, however, he's got some serious games."
Evangeline let out a chilling laugh, "You're not focused on the game because you're too busy trying to snag your brother-in-law. No wonder you can't learn!" Her words cut deep, leaving no room for dignity for Julia.
The girls who had been green with envy over Julia were speechless in shock.
"Who is she? How can she speak to Julia like that, and Julia seems so scared of her!"
"You're out of the loop? She's Julia's half-sister, the same dad but a different mom, the secret wife on Mr. Walter Gordon's marriage certificate. She's the one who played dirty to break up Mr. Walter Gordon and Julia before they married into the Gordon family! Before she got into the Gordon family, she was just a village girl, raised in the boonies, growing up with her grandpa."
"She's got some nerve, bragging about making the national team in the pool! A bumpkin who's probably never even held a cue stick. How dare she pick on Julia in front of everyone? Mr. Walter Gordon is going to kick her to the curb, right?"
The crowd buzzed with gossip.
Julia's eyes brimmed with tears, and she looked at Evangeline with reddened eyes. "Evangeline, can't you ease up on the hostility? I mean, Walt and I grew up together. Even if he's married, he's still allowed to have friends, isn't he?"
She turned to Walter with eyes that silently pleaded, 'Please talk some sense into her, Walt. If my return is upsetting you both, I'd rather stay away forever. Please, don't fight over me!'
Walter nonchalantly flicked his lighter and took a drag on his tabacco before sinking into the plush leather sofa.
At her words, he cracked a mocking smile and barely opened his eyes to say, "Why bother explaining?"
He knocked the ash off his tabacco and glanced at Evangeline.
Their eyes locked in a silent standoff.
"Do you really think you belong here?" His voice was icy, cutting through the air like the chill of a winter's night.
Julia pulled at his sleeve, pleading, "Don't be so mean to her!"
However, Walter ignored Julia, his gaze fixed on Evangeline.
"Are you going to walk out on your own, or do I need to have you thrown off this ship?"
Evangeline held her gaze before breaking into a sly smile. Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she sauntered toward Walter, heels clicking on the floor.
She pulled out a disinfectant wipe and, with a show of casual authority, began to clean the spot on his silk shirt that Julia had touched.
"You think I want to be in this dump? I'm only here because Grandpa and Mom wouldn't stop nagging."
She tossed the wipe away and straightened his collar with feigned nonchalance. "Are you done playing around? Ready to go home?"
"Go home for what? To play house and make babies?" Walter's dark eyes shimmered with a mysterious allure as he towered over her. "Do you really think you're fit to bear my children?"
A laugh escaped Evangeline, a mix of disbelief and pain. Her heart ached like never before.
She had, once upon a time, truly wanted to be a mother.
Cole was getting on in years, and late-stage lung cancer was a clear sign his days were numbered. His dying wish was to see her and Walter have a baby.
Little did anyone know, she had been harboring a secret crush on him for years.
As she recalled his past indifference and the dazzling fireworks he had launched for Julia just that New Year's Eve, a faint smile played on Evangeline's lips.
"If you're so against the idea of being with me, you could just handle things yourself and donate the outcome for in vitro fertilization. Your grandfather is on my back about this, and if you can't get me pregnant in three months, you might ki-ss your future as the Gordon family heir goodbye!
"Having a kid benefits us both, I swear. Once it's done, you're free to live it up. I won't ask questions..."
At last, Walter snapped. He firmly grabbed her chin and shoved her onto the billiard table.
His jaw was as sharp as a blade, his gaze deep enough to send shivers down her spine.
He smirked icily. "What's this? Am I just your baby-making machine to lock down your status? Evangeline, have you no decency left?"
Decency?
She had thrown that out the window long ago, had she not? Ever since she had blackmailed him into marriage with an old engagement promise, decency was off the table.
Biting back the pain, her challenge was unmistakable. "So, will you or won't you? This is your last chance to answer."
Walter's gaze was intense, his eyes a storm of unspoken feelings. He was not one to be intimidated or threatened.
Each word was deliberate, his lips a straight line that struck a chord in her heart. "Forget about having my child, Evangeline. It's not happening."
"Alright, then! That's settled," she said, her laugh tinged with defiance.
She swept her eyes leisurely over the crowd, a picture of ease and contentment.
Evangeline reached into her pearl-studded clutch and pulled out a document she had been hiding for far too long.
"Seeing as you can't give me a child, what's the point in keeping you around? And with all your pals here, it's as good a time as any for a divorce, Walter. Once I'm free, I can find someone else to start a family with!
"Here's the divorce papers I drew up. Give them a once-over, and if they're all good, just sign on the dotted line. We'll sort out the rest with the County Clerk's Office after the holiday break."
With that, she tossed the papers onto the pool table, where they landed with a slap that echoed through the stunned silence.
The papers had been burning a hole in her purse for ages, but she never found the guts to pull them out until then.
She was done holding back. She would not let Walter shame her in front of Julia or anyone else ever again.
The room went silent as her words hung in the air. Everyone was shocked, the tension so thick that they could choke on it.
Walter looked like he had been slapped with ice, his face a mask of fury. He looked like he might just tear Evangeline apart right there.
No one would have guessed that Walter, the man who was always on a pedestal, could be publicly dumped.
Julia, barely able to keep her excitement in check, watched Walter, waiting for his reaction. He had to say yes, right?
However, Walter was not pleased. He let out a detached, hollow laugh that did not reach his eyes. She had never seen him look at anyone the way he looked at Evangeline then, his gaze dark and fathomless.
Julia, ever the instigator, piped up, "Evangeline, let's talk this out. You finally married Walt, and you want a divorce just like that? If you're upset because he was teaching me pool, I'll stop. Or better yet, you teach me!
"Don't let me be the reason your marriage falls apart. I'd never forgive myself!" she said, offering the pool cue to Evangeline with feigned kindness.
Evangeline did not take the bait. Instead, she gave Julia a once-over, her sneer cutting through the air. "Don't kid yourself."
Did Julia actually want to learn to play? No, she just figured Evangeline, the country girl, would not know how and wanted to watch her make a fool of herself in front of everyone.
"A man who can't even have kids, and you're treating him like he's some kind of prize," she scoffed.
"Walt is not like that!" Julia snapped, unable to hold back.
Walter was the one she could not stop thinking about. He was astounding. The mere thought of him sent her into a daydream.
Evangeline's gaze was piercing as she taunted, "So, have you tested his capability yourself?"
Julia's fists tightened, her cheeks burning. "I..."
However, before Julia could fully respond, Evangeline crossed her arms and laughed icily. "Don't think for a second you've got a shot with him just because we're through. Even if I don't want to be Mrs. Walter Gordon anymore, you'll never be welcome in the Gordon family."
That hit a nerve. Julia nearly lost it.
Right then, nobody could see the look in Walter's eyes, but there was an unmistakable chill in the air.
Walter let out a mocking laugh. "All these accusations, just to get a divorce?"
He lounged on the plush leather sofa, the restless sea churning behind him.
His fingers, pale as the moon, flipped through the divorce papers Evangeline had so carefully prepared.
After a moment, he looked up, a sly smile playing on his lips. He was like a cornered animal, ready to strike, as he fixed his gaze on Evangeline.
"Julia, hand her the club. Let's see her play a round. If she can beat me, I'll sign off on this today."
Evangeline remained silent. She hesitated before reaching for the pool cue.
Walter eyed her with a challenge in his gaze. "Weren't you the one bragging about your killer pool game? What's the matter, scared now? Or is this whole divorce talk just your way of playing hard to get?"
Evangeline cracked a frosty smile. She remained silent, the crystal chandelier casting a glow on her stunning features.
She looked down and slowly unbuttoned her red cashmere coat, sliding it off her shoulders and tossing it onto the couch.
The coat hit the sofa, and the men around were left speechless.
Beneath her coat was a sultry black lace nightgown, the soft silk hugging her smooth, porcelain skin, highlighting curves that captivated and teased the onlookers' senses.
Who would have guessed that Walter's neglected wife was such a knockout? Had not people said the Rearden family was too backwoods to be seen in public, a sight that would turn their stomachs?
Evangeline could outshine anyone in the whole city!
What was Walter Gordon thinking?
Evangeline, however, seemed blissfully unaware of the spell she cast.
She picked up the cue stick, her eyes steady on Walter. "You were the one who said it. I win a game, and we're done. Whoever backs out is a total loser."
Before Walter's face could turn a shade of envy, she leaned over the pool table and broke with authority.
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