Lily’s hand froze awkwardly in midair.
Everyone else was caught off guard. “Wait, who did you say?” someone asked.
The courier repeated Evangeline’s name, and a ripple of surprise swept through the group as all eyes turned to her.
Evangeline looked puzzled.
“Are you sure you’ve got the right person?” she asked.
The courier read off a phone number.
It was hers.
He continued, “I tried calling you earlier, but you didn’t pick up. I double–checked with the sender, and he confirmed the name was correct. This delivery’s definitely for you.”
“Who sent it?” Evangeline pressed.
The courier shook his head. “No idea. The gentleman didn’t leave a name–just said you’d know who it was.”
Evangeline ran through the possibilities in her mind.
She could guess who it might be.
“Thank you,” she said, accepting the delivery.
Almost at once, her colleagues clustered around, chattering excitedly.
“Director Whitmore, who sent you these? Whoever sends flowers like that must be special to you!”
“Is it your husband, Director Whitmore?”
“Or maybe a secret admirer?”
Lily stood awkwardly on the sidelines, her chest tight with frustration.
A friend sidled up to comfort her in a low voice, “Maybe those flowers are fake. Probably cost, what, fifty bucks tops? No way they compare to the bracelet you got.”
Before she finished, a woman near Evangeline let out a surprised squeal. “Hey, what’s this?”
1/2
Chapter 120
Lily looked over to see the woman pulling a small, elegant box from the bouquet.
“It’s a full set of Chanel jewelry!”
“And it looks like the limited edition–there are only a hundred sets worldwide. This must be worth over a hundred grand.”
“Husband or suitor, whoever sent this has some serious money.”
Her friend, unable to resist, made her way over for a closer look.
Lily’s face turned an angry shade of green.
“So noisy,” she muttered under her breath, then spun on her heel and hurried out the door.
At the stairwell, she nearly ran into the courier who’d brought her own roses.
She stared at the familiar bouquet–the same old red roses, wrapped just like they were years ago. The image of Evangeline, surrounded by admiring colleagues and holding those dazzling blue roses, flashed through her mind.
She didn’t bother to accept the flowers. “Just throw them away,” she snapped.
Not long after the courier left, her phone buzzed with a video call from her boyfriend.
“Hey, babe, did you get the flowers and the bracelet I sent? Bet everyone’s jealous, huh?” he asked with a hopeful smile.
Lily’s frustration boiled over. “Jealous? Of those ugly flowers? Who would be jealous? All you ever send are red roses–can’t you be more original?”
Her boyfriend looked wounded. “But aren’t roses supposed to be red?”
“Of course not!” she shot back, too angry to explain. “Maybe you should look it up sometime, educate yourself, instead of making me teach you everything. Your taste is so outdated it’s embarrassing!”
She let her irritation pour out, venting every bit of her earlier annoyance.
He fell silent, hurt and bewildered.
Seeing his handsome face on screen, Lily’s anger faded, and she quickly tried to make up for her outburst before hanging up.
Staring at the photo of them together on her phone’s lock screen, the burning jealousy she’d felt a moment ago began to subside.
2/3
12:35
Chapter 120
If Evangeline really had such a wealthy, influential husband or admirer, why hadn’t she ever introduced him to anyone?
Obviously, the man’s looks must be nothing to brag about.
Anyone willing to spend that kind of money on Evangeline was probably some overweight, balding businessman.
She curled her lip in disdain.
At least her boyfriend was the most popular guy on campus back in college–he definitely had the looks.
With that thought, a plan started to form.
No matter what, she was determined not to let Evangeline have the upper hand this
time.
12:35
