Chapter 75
Susan saw Evelyn, her face lighting up with joy mixed with complex emotions.
Seeing her expression, Evelyn guessed she probably knew about her background.
After all, with Susan's status, finding out these details wasn't difficult.
But she still pretended ignorance and said coolly, "Mrs. Gray, were you waiting for me?"
Susan nodded.
She opened her mouth but didn't know how to bring up the matter with Evelyn. Perhaps she needed to wait a bit longer—now wasn't the right time.
So she asked Evelyn, "This morning I didn't get a chance to ask—why did Matthew come? And why isn't he with you now?"
Evelyn smiled. "He saw I wasn't doing well and came to keep me company. He had some business and went back."
Susan's expression was unreadable.
Not knowing Evelyn was her granddaughter had been one thing, but now that she knew, she really didn't want Evelyn to stay with Matthew.
Evelyn saw her expression and guessed what she was thinking.
She took the initiative. "Do you want to know why I got together with Matthew in the first place?"
Evelyn's calm expression carried hidden sadness and vulnerability.
Susan didn't want to see Evelyn reopen wounds in the lobby, so she nodded and brought Evelyn back to her room.
Susan dismissed all her staff and looked at Evelyn with some nervousness.
Evelyn sat on the sofa, her eyes downcast, speaking flatly. "Three years ago, my father went bankrupt and committed suicide, my mother lost her mind, and my grandmother was seriously ill."
"Several million dollars in debt... all fell on me alone."
Susan couldn't help but straighten her back.
"I tried everything, worked desperately, even went to nightclubs, but I couldn't pay off the debt."
"That's when I met Matthew. He signed a contract with me to become his secret mistress."
Susan's face flushed with anger. She hadn't known Matthew and Evelyn had this kind of relationship.
She couldn't help wanting to speak, wanting to snatch Evelyn away from Matthew.
But Evelyn didn't wait for her to speak and continued. "I know I only look like Matthew's first love."
"But at the time, I was even grateful that I looked like his first love, which earned me Mr. Perkins's favor."
"So I adjusted my appearance and personality to match his first love and walked on eggshells with him for three years."
"Finally, I paid off all the debt and got Mom and Grandma into good care facilities for treatment."
She paused. "Actually, I don't resent Matthew. I'm even somewhat grateful to him."
"If not for him, the Arden family would have collapsed long ago, and I'd probably have died on the road to repaying debt, right?"
Susan stood frozen, unable to recover for a long time.
Self-blame and fear washed over her together.
If she hadn't driven Emily away back then, how would Evelyn now have to survive this way?
Evelyn... should have been born with a silver spoon.
Susan's eyes were complex as she tentatively asked, "Eve, have you ever thought about leaving Matthew?"
"This kind of relationship isn't good after all. If you want to leave him, I'll do everything in my power to help you."
Evelyn smiled faintly.
That smile carried a sting.
"I used to think about it," she said. "But he threatened me with friends and family, so I couldn't leave."
"Now he treats me well and is planning to break off the engagement with the Quinn family. Maybe I don't want to leave him anymore."
She paused. "Because aside from him, there's no one else in this world who's good to me."
Susan froze, not knowing what to say.
She didn't dare tell Evelyn she was her grandmother, much less tell Evelyn that Emily was her mother.
Evelyn watched Susan's conflicted and guilty expression, feeling a kind of vengeful satisfaction inside.
Yet she also felt somewhat melancholy.
No matter how she took revenge, her biological mother was already gone. Nothing could be undone.
After struggling for a moment, Susan still spoke up. "Eve, would you consider coming to my side?"
"Actually, my businesses have always lacked an heir. I think you'd be very suitable."
"If you came to work for me, even if you continued your relationship with Matthew, you'd be more on equal footing."
Evelyn interrupted her.
"Mrs. Gray," she smiled and said, "I'm pregnant."
"It's been a few months. It's Matthew's child. At this juncture, I don't want to leave him."
Susan froze again.
She spoke with some bitterness. "Does he know?"
Evelyn shook her head. "I haven't told him yet. I want to wait until his situation with the Quinn family is resolved."
Susan said, "Then it's an illegitimate child. Raising a child alone won't be easy..."
Evelyn's smile faded somewhat.
"When you drove Emily away back then, wasn't she also pregnant?" she said. "You didn't think it wasn't easy for her then, but now with Matthew by my side, you think it's not easy for me."
Susan was stung speechless by this remark.
She had no grounds to refute it.
Evelyn stood up and took her leave directly. "I'm planning to return to City A. With Matthew's bodyguards protecting me, there shouldn't be any problems."
"I hope you take care of yourself and also... find the person you're looking for."
Susan didn't know how to make her stay and could only nod.
She watched Evelyn disappear through the doorway and murmured, "The person I'm looking for is you."
A moment later, she called Logan in.
"We need to leave here for a while," Susan said.
"I want to go home and handle some matters. After dealing with all potential troubles, then I'll come find Evelyn." She paused. "That's when I'll find a way to tell her everything. Now isn't the right time."
City A, the Quinn Estate.
Marigold had just hung up a call with a forced smile. Eric looked at her with concern.
Marigold felt very anxious inside.
These past few days had brought nothing but bad news for the Quinn family.
Though on the surface no one could prove it was Matthew's doing, everyone had their sources and generally knew he was behind the moves against the Quinn family.
She'd received countless calls, all accusing her—asking why she'd gone after Matthew's people and caused this mess.
Just as she was thinking, another call came in.
"Marigold, what's wrong with you?" Her third uncle's agitated voice came through the phone. "Why haven't you found a way to resolve this?"
"If you don't handle it soon, I won't hesitate to have a good talk with the family head."
"It's been so many days. Why haven't you contacted Matthew and gotten him to back off?"
Marigold's face flushed with urgency. "I'll find a way. I'll definitely handle this."
Her third uncle hung up with a cold laugh.
Marigold threw her phone hard to the ground.
"I want to contact Matthew too!" she said angrily. "But he never answers my calls!"
Now everyone in the Quinn family knew that she'd angered Matthew by going after his people, and they all wanted her to fix it.
Eric hesitantly spoke up from the side. "Miss Quinn, with Matthew acting this way, he probably wants you to voluntarily break off the engagement, right?"
Marigold smiled weakly.
"How could I not know?" she said. "On the surface, his cooperation with the Quinn family is more frequent than ever, flawless, but behind the scenes, he's making all these moves."
"He just doesn't want to be the one to initiate canceling the engagement. He wants both the relationship and the benefits."
"Now the pressure on me keeps mounting. I'm afraid... the time to make a choice has come."
Between the Quinn family and Matthew, she had to choose one.
Marigold waved her hand, dismissing Eric.
She sat on the sofa for a long time.
She remembered many years ago, the first time she saw Matthew at a cocktail party.
Even then, he'd displayed maturity and composure beyond his years, making her fall for him on the spot.
For so many years, she'd dreamed of becoming Matthew's wife.
Now, just before her dream came true, she had to crush it with her own hands.
Marigold sat until late into the night.
Finally, she sent a message to Quinn Group's PR department.
The next morning, news broke across all social feeds.
[After friendly negotiations, Quinn Group and Perkins Group have decided to dissolve the engagement between Marigold and Matthew. The cooperative relationship between the two families remains unchanged.]
The official statement cited incompatible personalities unsuitable for long-term development.
But privately, everyone speculated wildly.
After all, for this kind of family alliance to be canceled due to incompatible personalities was probably just an excuse.
There must be some deeper, unknown reason.