Chapter 47
Glenn’s sudden fame brought with it a flood of criticism. People accused him of being a publicity hound, chasing attention just for the sake of his name.
He did everything he could to cool things down.
In fact, Glenn stayed out of the public eye for an entire year.
He’d assumed that, with enough time, the buzz would die down and people would eventually forget. So when his travel plans were leaked, he hadn’t thought much of
- it.
He couldn’t have been more wrong.
“What are we going to do?” his assistant fretted. “Maybe you should just go out and say a few words to them? Otherwise, with how obsessed your fans are, I doubt they’ll leave without seeing you.”
Glenn glanced at his phone. “No time. I have someone waiting for me.”
His assistant paced anxiously. “But you can’t leave now. They’ll recognize you the second you step outside. Wait, why are you looking at me like that?”
Glenn gave him an appraising look, then nodded thoughtfully. “Actually, I’ve got an idea.”
A few minutes later, the assistant emerged wearing Glenn’s jacket and a baseball cap, lugging a suitcase. With security leading the way, he kept his head down and hurried through the crowd.
Sure enough, as soon as he appeared, a wave of scréams erupted. “It’s Glenn!”
Fans surged forward, swarming around him.
Meanwhile, behind the chaos, Glenn quickly slipped away in the opposite direction.
Evangeline stared at her phone, watching as Glenn’s little location dot–now marked in a different color–stayed put for nearly three minutes. It dawned on her, belatedly, that he might be even less familiar with this airport than she was, given all his years abroad.
Waiting in one spot and expecting Glenn to find her suddenly felt unreasonable.
Her foot, which had been throbbing earlier, was finally starting to feel better. She stood, spun around to get her bearings, and prepared to head off and find him
ה!
herself.
She’d barely moved when the familiar sound of laughter echoed behind her.
“Dad, let’s do Bali first. The scenery is gorgeous there, and we have to take lots of family pictures.”
“Then we’ll go skiing. Remember last winter? You and Mom tried to keep up with me on the slopes, but neither of you could!”
Evangeline turned at the sound of Giselle’s bright, cheerful voice.
Giselle, as usual, was clinging playfully to her father Winston with one arm and to her mother Hazel with the other. The two of them smiled at her indulgently, trying to keep up with her chatter.
They looked every bit the perfect, happy family.
Behind them, the Whitmore family’s chauffeur trailed close, pushing a stack of oversized suitcases.
It was obvious they were heading off on vacation.
Whenever the Whitmores went on trips, Winston would always find some excuse to convince Evangeline to stay home. After she got married, they stopped even pretending–she was no longer included in any family activities, and they didn’t bother letting her know about trips or events.
When she was little, she’d naively believed Winston had simply forgotten to invite her. Later, she realized the truth: she was never really one of them. Her presence only ever made the tight–knit trio uncomfortable.
Eventually, she stopped expecting to be included at all.
Now, it was too late to avoid them. As she turned, her eyes met Winston’s.
He froze, guilt flickering across his face.
His uncharacteristic reaction caught Giselle’s and Hazel’s attention, and all three turned to look at Evangeline.
Giselle’s smile vanished in an instant, replaced by a scowl. “Evangeline, what are you doing at the airport?”
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Chapter 49
Chapter 48
