The car arrived at the ancestral mansion and Eve jumped out with the painting in her hands.
Ethan also left the car and a servant approached them. After greeting them, the servant told them Ethan's grandfather was in the garden behind the mansion, soaking up the morning's atmosphere. "The garden is this way, where are you going?" As Eve was about to dash into the house, Ethan said in confusion. Eve stopped walking and held tight to the painting. She must replace this gift with the one she'd presented last night fast. As the mansion seemed calm and the servants worked in harmony, it meant the old man hadn't opened her gift yet. "Ethan, Darling." She turned around and put on her best smile, holding her stomach. "You can go see Grandpa first. I'm pressed and must use the washroom immediately."Ethan frowned and glanced at the painting. "I'll hold it for you. Be fast.""N–No no no." Eve shooked her head. "Since this gift is from me to Grandpa, I must give it to him hand to hand. Please go ahead, give me five minutes, I'll join you soon."Without waiting for his response, Eve ran into the house through the large doors.Ethan's grandfather's room should be on the left wing. She darted for the stairs, hoping no one would see or sense her presence. But in the middle of the stairs, she met some servants coming down with wrapped boxes. The birthday gifts. "Good morning, Ms. Maxwell." The servants hid their surprise behind warm smiles. Eve asked them where they were taking the gifts, and as her gut instincts told her, they were headed for the garden where the old man would take a look at each gift. "This is our first batch, there's still more upstairs." Eve staggered with relief when the servants told her that. She checked the gifts they were holding and hers wasn't among them. That meant she wasn't too late. She increased her pace as she rushed up the stairs and headed to the old man's room. The first thing that caught her eye was the small box in a corner stacked between larger boxes. Letting out another sigh of relief, Eve quickly replaced the box with the painting in her hand and peeled off her label from the box then carefully plastered it on the painting's wrap. After that, she turned around and left the room, then came the sound of someone whistling. Eve came face to face with Matt, Ethan's brother. She quickly hid the box behind her and put on a blank expression. She didn't get along with Ethan's family, and Matt was on her number one blacklist. The guy's personality was so troublesome that even Ethan couldn't stand him. "Well, if this isn't my dear sister-in-law." As Eve did her best to hide the box, Matt kept walking forward. "My eyes must be deceiving me, otherwise, why would someone like you come here early this morning? And oh, you're also snooping around." He tapped his chin, grinning widely. "Rumors have it that last night, you and my Big Bro couldn't keep your hands off each other. It was too hard to believe, but your sudden absence from the party made me think again. Hehe, Eve, if you've devised a new way to torture my Big Bro, you should at least let me know. After all, I can give you better ideas." "Y–You, stay away from me." He kept moving forward and now, Eve was trapped against the wall. Damnit! She couldn't believe that people saw what happened between her and Ethan last night. "I'm also curious about what you're doing in Grandpa's room," Matt went on. "Tell me you're not crazy enough to try anything funny on the old man. I'll cheer for you when it comes to tricking my Big Bro, but don't think that I'll let you go if you try anything on Grandpa."Eve gulped and avoided his eyes. "L–Let me go, Matt. I swear I'm not going to break your head. If you don't get out of my sight, I'll make sure–""Gotcha!" While Eve was distracted, Matt grabbed her hand and snatched the box. Then he peeled off the wrap, opening it. "Now let's see what you're hiding in— Bah! Cow dung!" The box fell off Matt's hands and he used both hands to cover his nose. Eve belched and she also covered her nose. "Evelyn, you retarded maniac! Are you planning to kill my Grandpa!?" Matt yelled and pointed a shaking finger at her. Eve grimaced and her eyes darted around for sight of anyone. Matt was not exaggerating. The cow dung surely could kill the old man. Ethan's grandfather was a clean freak and was allergic to any kind of odor. But in her past life, the cow dung didn't kill him, however, he spent several weeks recovering from the allergy. This incident led to a huge fight between Ethan and his grandfather. Ethan tried to protect her, but the old man couldn't hear of it. Eve ended up getting into the old man's bad books, Ethan included. "This is so disrespectful, I must tell Grandpa about this." As Matt turned around to head downstairs, Eve's heart jolted in fright. "Listen here, Little Matt." She hurried after him and grabbed his arm. "If you dare tell Grandpa about this, I'll also tell him that you've started hanging out with a bad company that deals in drugs." "W–What!?" Matt came to a screeching halt and his eyes flew wide. "H–How did you know about that?"Eve's lips twitched slightly. She released his arm and sighed inside. If she could remember correctly in her past life, Matt and his other bad friends would end up in jail just a few months from now. They would be caught by the authorities in drug trafficking and money laundering. That incident made headlines in the city, tainting the family's name and bringing down its reputation. Although Matt had always been a troublemaker, no one expected that he'd go to that extreme. It was also at that time that the family found out he hung out with bad company. However, it was too late as the authorities didn't take the situation lightly. No amount of money and connection could bail him out. The incident affected his grandfather so much that he ended up on his deathbed earlier than anticipated. Matt confessed that he was manipulated into the act by his friends due to his rich background and wild ways. He'd always lived in his brother's shadows and felt useless in the family. All his ac
Lunch was already prepared by the time Eve got home and she ate her food dejectedly. Wishing that Ethan would come back home with her was like asking for the impossible. Their relationship was so sour that he rarely spent his days at home and he spent most of his nights at the company. "M–Ms. Maxwell— I mean, Madam, Isn't the food to your liking?" Elena said, looking worried. Eve looked sideways at the house stewardess. She could also see fear in the woman's eyes. Blowing out a sigh, she shook her head. "The food is great, Elena, thank you. And when will you start calling me by my name? Do you want me to remind you again and again?""My apologies, M–Ms. — Madam. I'll do whatever you say.""Oh, don't force yourself." Eve finished her food and sighed again. "You can call me by my name whenever you're comfortable with it. But from now on, you can't call me Ms. Maxwell."Without waiting for the woman's reply, she left the dining area and wandered all day at home. Her fears came true in
Eve sprang to her feet, the earlier anticipation returning to her heart."Ethan." She hurried up to him. "Ethan, you're back. How could you spend the night at the company? Don't you know that you're making me feel like a bad wife?" The irritation on Ethan's face when he saw Mia disappeared, and now he was studying Eve like a foreign object. "Eve! What is the meaning of this!?" Mia was almost yelling at her. She looked more confused than Ethan. In fact, she looked lost. "Have you lost your head, Eve? The person standing in front of you Isn't Cole but Ethan Anderson.""So what if he's Ethan?" Eve gave her a furtive glance before returning her eyes to Ethan. "Isn't he my husband? Why do you look so surprised, Mia?""Eve!" From the corner of her eyes, Eve could see Mia's fists clenching. "Are you even alright, have you lost your mind? Why are you acting weird?"Eve could feel Ethan's anger like the smoke of boiling lava. She could feel his anger toward Mia. And she knew he was only hold
Ethan was already out of his bedroom by the time Eve decided to join him upstairs. He was now in his study room, and Eve knew better not to disturb him. In the past, she would use this opportunity to interrupt his work and rain insults on him all day. Those were some of the few times she'd seen Ethan's real anger. If there was something Ethan was most punctual about, it literally was his work. And Eve never stopped angering him whenever he was home. She had a strong feeling that she was the reason why Ethan became so disoriented that he even lost his company in her past life. At that time, his brother was already arrested, and his grandfather was on his deathbed. The family fell apart and so was the family's fortune. Eve turned around and headed back downstairs. There was not much to do in the house, she also never interacted much with the servants. And now she regretted it. Eve was already thirteen when her grandfather found her and brought her to the city. While she was growin
That night, Eve was slightly mad at Ethan. She paced in her room, wondering what she would have to do to make him believe her. Ethan didn't even come down for dinner, and this time, Eve didn't pressure the Stewardess to let her take the food to him. She was afraid Ethan would not eat the food, just like he did with lunch. The next morning, she looked around the house and Ethan was nowhere to be found. She checked his study room, his bedroom, and everywhere she could think of. It was still the weekend. Was he avoiding her so much that he would just slip away? Why had the tables turned? "Please get me the telephone and dial the ancestral mansion," Eve ordered one of the maids. Even if she still had her phone with her, Ethan might probably not pick up her calls with his current attitude. "Here it is, Madam." The servants had gotten comfortable with calling her Madam, and that made her happy. She placed the telephone on her ear and after ringing for a while, the call disconnected.
Cole looked shocked for a few seconds before a big frown formed on his forehead. "What are you talking about, Eve?" He took her hands and asked in confusion. "Why are you suddenly saying this? Is there something that is bothering you? Tell me, what did Mr. Anderson threaten you with?""Urgh! Nothing is wrong with me." Eve shook his hands off. "Cole, see. There's no need to keep pretending anymore. I know you don't really like me, you're doing all this because Mia put you up to it."As if caught red-handed committing a crime, Cole stepped back and opened his mouth then closed it. "So if you will excuse me, Mr. Nathan. Stop wasting your time, because I'm done listening to your lies." "How could you say such things, Eve?" Cole quickly retained his calm look. "Since when did you get this idea into your head? Remember the years we have spent together, remember our promises to each other. You can't just wake up one morning and declare our relationship is over."Eve could very well rememb
The guy looked like a ball right out of hell. Eve couldn't react on time, and by the time she did, Matt had been restrained by Ethan. Ethan grabbed his collar and pulled him away. "Big bro, let me at her! She's gone too far by calling me a chicken!"Eve gulped and hid behind Ethan. When did she call him a chicken? She only warned him not to chicken out. "If you dare touch a hair on her body." Ethan gave him a warning look. "Argh! Big Bro!" Matt whined. He swayed and pointed at Eve. "I swear she started it! This stupid girl dares to call this Young Master a chicken. Tell her, Big Bro, have I ever backed off from any argument?" "Don't believe him, Ethan," Eve squeaked. "He's just bluffing, I didn't start anything." As weird and wild as Matt was, she never expected him to race down here. Hadn't he always been cautious about setting foot here? "What's going on, by the way?" Matt swayed again, pointing at Cole. "Who's this dumb-looking guy?" Cole straightened up and folded his hands
Despite Matt's screams of pleas, he ended up with one or two bruises. "Big Bro," Matt grumbled, holding his arm. He had also sobered up after the beating. "This isn't fair. She is supposed to be beaten and not me. Besides, I got rid of that nuisance for you."They were now in the living. Ethan sat on the couch while Matt was kneeling in front of him. As for Eve, she stood beside Ethan, maintaining her distance. Because whenever she attempted to get near him, his glare made her think again."And your second punishment." Ethan patiently tapped his finger on the couch. His anger had worn off. "You barged into my house without notice, you even insulted my wife more than three times.""Big Bro, she started it." Matt put on an offended look. "I was minding my business this morning when she called and rained insults on me." "But that doesn't give you the right to insult her.""Big Bro–""That's right, Ethan. Your brother has gone too far. I'm not much older than him, but he should give me