Chapter 60

Early the next morning, Evelyn drove to the hospital, stopping along the way to buy a small bouquet of light-colored carnations.

As soon as she arrived at the inpatient building, Evelyn was stunned. The usually quiet entrance was crowded with quite a few people today.

Most were well-dressed socialites and wealthy ladies. She felt a bit surprised, and just as she walked into the lobby, she heard someone whispering, "I heard Gwendolyn is being discharged today. We'd better make a good impression. If we can connect with the Brown family, we'll have a solid footing in high society."

"Exactly. The Brown family has been gaining more and more influence in recent years, and William is young and capable. Who wouldn't want to get in with them? I specially prepared century-old ginseng for Mrs. Gwendolyn Brown."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected they were all here to see Gwendolyn off from the hospital.

But then again, given the Brown family's status and background, it was natural that many people would try to curry favor with them.

At the hospital room door, Gwendolyn was already packed and ready. She wore a dark red satin jacket, her hair neatly combed, looking even more energetic than yesterday.

Willow was by her side, helping arrange her scarf. Seeing Evelyn come in, her eyes lit up: "Evelyn's here, come on in."

The moment Gwendolyn saw Evelyn, her face broke into a big smile, and she quickly waved her over: "Evelyn, you're finally here. I've been waiting for you."

As she spoke, she patted the space beside her, gesturing for Evelyn to sit down.

Evelyn walked over and handed her the carnations: "Gwendolyn, congratulations on your discharge. I hope you recover completely soon."

"Thank you." Gwendolyn took the flowers and placed them on the bedside table like a treasure, holding Evelyn's hand and refusing to let go. "Evelyn is so thoughtful, knowing I like these."

Willow chimed in with a smile: "Yes, Evelyn is so considerate, even more thoughtful than we younger ones."

Just then, the hospital room door was pushed open, and a group of people crowded in. Leading them were several elders from wealthy families, their faces plastered with flattering smiles.

"Mrs. Gwendolyn Brown, congratulations on your discharge! We wish you boundless happiness and longevity."

"Mrs. Gwendolyn Brown, this is a little something I prepared for you. Please accept it to help you recover."

The room suddenly became lively, with various well-wishes rising and falling. Everyone competed to present their gifts to Gwendolyn, their eyes full of expectation, hoping Gwendolyn would give them an extra glance.

But Gwendolyn didn't even lift an eyelid. She continued holding Evelyn's hand, speaking to her warmly, completely treating these people as if they were invisible: "Evelyn, when we get home later, I'll have the chef make your favorite dishes. Yesterday, you mentioned you like light cuisine, so I had the chef specially prepare clear chicken soup."

Evelyn smiled: "That's so kind of you, Gwendolyn. You don't need to go to so much trouble."

She could feel various gazes from around the room—surprise, confusion, and jealousy—but she paid them no mind.

The smiles froze on the faces of those bearing gifts. They looked at each other, all feeling somewhat awkward. They never expected Gwendolyn to be so cold to them while being so warm to Evelyn.

Seeing everyone's confused expressions, Gwendolyn spoke calmly: "Thank you all for coming to visit me. Let me introduce you—this is the Brown family's lifesaver and William's fiancée, Evelyn Taylor."

At these words, the entire room fell silent. Everyone was shocked, their faces full of disbelief.

"What? William's fiancée? But didn't they call off the engagement a while ago!"

"Right, I heard that too. Mr. Brown and Ms. Taylor broke off their engagement long ago. Why is Mrs. Gwendolyn Brown still calling her William's fiancée? What's going on?"

"Everyone knows Ms. Taylor is the Taylor family's daughter and was previously engaged to Mr. Brown, but the news of their broken engagement was all over the place. How did it suddenly change?"

The murmuring started again, and the socialites looked at Evelyn with eyes practically shooting flames of jealousy.

Many of them wanted to get close to William. When they heard about Evelyn and William's broken engagement, they were secretly pleased, thinking they still had a chance to be with William.

They never expected Gwendolyn to publicly announce that Evelyn was William's fiancée. How could they accept this?

Hearing the crowd's discussion, the smile on Gwendolyn's face instantly froze. She turned to look at Willow, her eyes full of confusion: "Broken engagement? What broken engagement? Willow, what's going on? How come I don't know about this?"

Willow's heart sank—this was exactly what she'd been afraid of.

She quickly stepped forward, forcing a smile, trying to smooth things over: "Mom, don't listen to their nonsense. It's nothing, just a misunderstanding."

Gwendolyn was sharp. One look at Willow's expression told her she was lying, and she felt a bit angry. Just as she was about to press further, Evelyn spoke first, her tone natural, smoothly changing the subject: "Gwendolyn, it's getting late. We should head home. You've just recovered—don't stay here too long. Going home to rest properly is what matters."

She remembered her agreement with William—they couldn't let Gwendolyn know about their broken engagement, to avoid upsetting her.

Now that Gwendolyn was suspicious, continuing would only make things more complicated. Better to leave quickly and keep Gwendolyn calm for now.

Though Gwendolyn was confused, she knew Evelyn had her best interests at heart. Besides, she didn't want to discuss family matters in front of these outsiders and give them something to gossip about. She nodded, holding Evelyn's hand: "Alright, let's go home."

With that, she had a servant push her wheelchair, not even glancing at those wealthy people still standing there, dumbfounded.

Willow quickly followed, breathing a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Evelyn reacted quickly, or things would have been exposed today.

Watching Evelyn and Gwendolyn leave together, the people in the room were completely confused, talking among themselves, full of doubt and shock.

"What's going on? The news about the broken engagement was definitely real. Why is Mrs. Gwendolyn Brown still calling Ms. Taylor Mr. Brown's fiancée?"

"Who knows? Maybe Mr. Brown regretted it and got back together with Ms. Taylor? Otherwise, Mrs. Gwendolyn Brown wouldn't make such a public statement!"

"Either way, Ms. Taylor has secured her position as the future lady of the Brown family. Mrs. Gwendolyn Brown publicly acknowledged her. From now on, we'd better get on Ms. Taylor's good side and stop bringing up the broken engagement."

The socialites felt jealous and resentful, but there was nothing they could do. They could only watch helplessly as Evelyn and Gwendolyn left, their gifts never even getting a chance to be presented.

In the car, Gwendolyn leaned back against the seat, eyes closed, seemingly resting, but her mind kept turning over what had just happened.

Broken engagement? How could William and Evelyn have broken off their engagement? Willow's behavior just now made it obvious she was lying. There was definitely something wrong here.