Chapter 41
+25 BONUS
Julia paced the floor of her suburban villa outside Capital City, her eyes burning with fury as she stared at the letter from Foster Group. In a fit of rage, she hurled a vase against the wall, shattering It Into a thousand pieces.
Her mood had been in the pits. She had returned to the country, fully expecting to kick Evangeline out of the Gordon family and banish her back to the sticks. To her shock, Evangeline had managed to charm Walter into her bed.
The image of their heated kiss haunted Julia, igniting a desire to rip Evangeline apart.
She was desperate to confront Walter, but he had been dodging her for days. She tried to reach out to Evangeline, to give her a piece of her mind, but realized she had been blocked.
The sting of rejection was more than she could bear.
She refused to believe Walter did not care about her. After all, had he not gone out of his way to save the Garside family for her sake? All that, and just last night, she had heard they had disappeared from Avalon City, all because they crossed Walter.
Fueled by spite, she had leaked information to Foster Group, Walter’s nemesis in the cutthroat world of business. It was all to get his attention, to make him come crawling back to her, to make him realize what it meant to lose her.
However, her plan backfired spectacularly when the Foster Group dropped her like a hot potato.
“She’s nothing but a nobody who popped up out of nowhere, and she dares to cancel my endorsement?” she seethed, her voice dripping with scorn.
“The Foster family’s darling daughter was supposed to be dead, right? So how on earth did she pop back
up out of nowhere and snag the top spot as the heir to Foster Group?”
Julia’s cheeks were ablaze, a far cry from her usual sweet and gentle facade.
Lydia, clutching her phone, hesitated at the door. “Sweetie, Mdm. Gordon’s on the line.”
The moment Julia picked up Aria’s call, she slipped back into her role as the gracious and understanding lady everyone expected her to be.
It turned out there was a swanky charity gala tonight, a must–attend event for the
+25 BONUS
Chapter 41
prominent people of the business world. Walter was on the guest list, and Aria had called Julia to be his date.
Julia was thrilled. It had been days since she had last seen Walter.
Sure, she was miffed at him for his fling with Evangeline, but she would not pass up that chance for the world.
That gala was her ticket to getting closer to Walter and boosting her own star power.
She was determined to be the belle of the ball tonight and had already reserved the most extravagant gown in Avalon City for the occasion..
Meanwhile, at the Strata King Group’s headquarters, in the plush office at the very top, Walter had just hung up on Asher, flat–out rejecting a deal with Stonehill Bay.
The mood in the office had been thick with tension all day, everyone walking on eggshells around the boss.
Walter reclined in his chair, his black shirt casually unbuttoned at the top, exuding an air of effortless defiance. His face was expressionless, but his presence was so imposing that no one dared even to breathe too loudly.
After ending the call, he let out a scornful chuckle.
He could not believe that Foster Group, teetering on the edge, would turn down an opportunity practically handed to them on a silver platter.
The catalyst for that mess? None other than the Foster family’s young heiress, who had burst onto the scene out of nowhere.
“Mr. Walter Gordon, there’s buzz that the elusive Ms. Foster will grace tonight’s charity gala with her presence. And word has it, a prized piece from the Foster family’s private collection is going up for auction,” Walter’s assistant, Oscar, informed him.
Walter gave the stock numbers a chilly glance, indifferent to the Foster Group’s heiress.
However, his mood was foul, and the heiress, who had snubbed him, was caught in his crosshairs.
“How sure are we that Ms. Foster will show up?” asked Walter.
“Pretty sure, about an eighty to ninety percent chance. The piece being auctioned is said to be a cherished Faster family heirloom, meant to be the heiress’s dowry. For
2/3
+25 BONUS
Chapter 41
some reason, it’s now hitting the auction block, and the Fosters are taking it seriously.” Oscar had done his homework.
Gathering his courage, he added, “And Mdm. Gordon insists that you bring Ms. Julia Rearden along to the gala. She wants you to win that Foster heirloom as an engagement present for when you propose to Ms. Julia Rearden.”
At that, Walter’s brow furrowed deeply.
After a brief pause, he gave the order. “Do as Mdm. Gordon said. Let’s have a little chat with that enigmatic Ms. Foster tonight.
Oscar’s brow furrowed with concern. “You’re sure about taking Ms. Julia Rearden as your date? If Mrs. Walter Gordon gets wind of it…”
‘There was already a mix–up with her thinking something was going on between her husband and Julia. If he keeps this up…‘ A brief thought darted through Oscar’s mind.
