Chapter 498

"Ms. Carter! It's been ages!" Walter Pembroke stepped forward with his wife, greeting Evelyn with practiced politeness.

"Uncle Walter, there's no need for formalities. Just call me Evelyn like you used to." Her smile was warm, effortless—no trace of the icy corporate heiress the world knew.

"That was when you were a child. Now, you're a director at Monarch Group and Theodore's superior. Things have changed."

Walter knew the woman before him wasn't just Harrison Kingsley's daughter anymore. She was Fairhaven's rising queen, the most likely successor to the Kingsley empire. Every word had to be measured.

Lawrence scoffed, heat creeping up his neck.

Did the Pembrokes have to bow to the Kingsleys forever?

Were crowns and thrones really earned, or just accidents of birth?

Evelyn didn't press further when Walter insisted on deference.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Pembroke studied the Kingsley sisters discreetly.

Evelyn had bloomed into a vision. As a child, she'd been porcelain perfection—now, she was a storm of elegance and power, breathtaking at first glance.

No wonder Theodore was hopelessly in love. Her chest ached for her son.

And the gap between their families was an ocean. The Pembrokes were respected scholars, but compared to Fairhaven's wealthiest dynasty? They might as well be peasants.

Her son was reaching for a star far beyond his grasp.

Mrs. Pembroke's gaze shifted to Arabella, standing quietly with perfect poise.

"H-Hello, Mrs. Pembroke!" Arabella bowed slightly, pulse fluttering. The sight of her crush's mother sent roses blooming across her cheeks.

"Hello, Ms. Arabella."

If Theodore couldn't have Evelyn, the youngest Kingsley daughter might suffice. Sweet-tempered, refined—a decent match for her youngest. The only flaw? Her mother wasn't Harrison's legal wife.

Camille Kingsley had never been more than a mistress, and Arabella was their sole, frail proof of affection. Surely the Kingsleys didn't value them highly.

Letting Theodore marry Arabella felt like settling.

Arabella's lashes fluttered as she stole a glance at her love.

One look froze her racing heart mid-beat, then shattered it.

Theodore only ever looked at Evelyn.

No one understood that burning gaze better than she did.

Because for seven years, hadn't she watched him with the same desperate hunger?

Willow Creek Estate buzzed with rare energy tonight. Only Sebastian was absent, overseas on business.

But the two civil servants—Dominic and Raymond—arrived precisely on time, as if synchronized.

Initially, the atmosphere was warm. Harrison and Walter were contemporaries with decades of shared history.

Mrs. Pembroke and Harrison's three wives chatted like old friends.

Yet tension crackled among the younger men.

A prosecutor, a judge, a detective, and a lawyer—with Evelyn, the plaintiff herself—sat around the table. A courtroom in miniature.

"So, Lawrence. I hear Evergreen Legal is thriving in Crestview."

Dominic swirled his wine, lips curling. "Funny how you're always defending the criminals my office prosecutes."

"Every man deserves representation." Lawrence matched his smirk. "Even the ones you overzealously charge."