The Second Groom

Chapter 3 The Plan

When Everly left, she didn't take anything with her except for that fancy men's suit.

She stumbled down the street, and even the scorching sun above still couldn't warm her body up. She whipped out her cell phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Jennifer! Can you come pick me up?"

Twenty minutes later, Jennifer Green pulled up in her hot red sports car in front of Everly.

She saw the bandage on Everly's leg and quickly took off her shades, worry all over her face. "Sweetie, what the hell happened to you?"

"Jennifer, can you put me up for a bit?" Everly asked weakly, leaning tiredly against the seat. She then calmly spilled all the tea about what went down between her and Thomas, talking like she was narrating someone else's story.

"Man! The Hastings are simply a bunch of dumbasses! Who do they think Grace is? She's simply nothing compared to you." Jennifer was fuming. She stepped on the gas pedal harder without even realizing it, constantly complaining. "If it weren't for you all these years, how could Thomas climb all the way up to who he is now? Damn! He's such a blinded dumbass! I can't believe he was even so shameless as to cheat on you. Don't they realize how much damn advantage they have taken of you over the years? As soon as Grace came back, they actually kicked you out. I've never seen such brazen scum like them, really."

Everly kept a calm tone and said, "Jennifer, it seems that picture-perfect ending with a loving family and a happy marriage isn't meant for me."

Jennifer couldn't help but think of Everly's messed-up childhood, her brows furrowing a bit, feeling a pang of sympathy. "Sweetie, don't be down."

"Now that I know it isn't meant for me, I'm not gonna ask for it anymore, and I'm not gonna be sad about it." Everly gave a wry smile and slowly closed her eyes. "I'm tired. Gonna take a nap."

Jennifer totally sensed that something was off with Everly. She touched Everly's skin. Damn! She's having a fever! With that, Jennifer quickly turned the car around and raced to the hospital.

On the way, Jennifer kept cursing the whole Hasting family.

Back in the day, the Hasting family was struggling at the bottom in Yoland. If it weren't for Everly's wicked smart ideas and support, Thomas would've never become a hotshot in Yoland.

He treated Everly like a freaking treasure when she was useful but ditched her without a second thought when that b***h Grace returned, mistaking a b***h as someone worth cherishing.

Now that Everly was gone, Jennifer would like to see how long the Hastings could be happy.

As the raging fever slowly subsided, Everly woke up in the hospital bed.

A spotless white ward came into view, and the stench of disinfectant in the air made her scrunch up her face in disgust.

Gradually, she came back to her senses and instinctively looked around, and her eyes finally landed on the figure sitting next to the bed.

She was caught off guard and clenched her hand on the blanket. In a hoarse voice, she blurted out, "Uncle...."

"How are you feeling?" Robert stood up and naturally placed his hand on Everly's forehead. Realizing that her fever was gone, he breathed a huge sigh of relief, poured a glass of warm water, and handed it to Everly. "Still feeling unwell?"

Everly quickly shook her head.

"Jennifer told me everything about you." Robert looked at Everly's pale and worn-out face, feeling both sorry for her and super pissed off.

Sorry for what Everly had to go through, and pissed off at what the Hastings pulled off.

He took a deep breath and suppressed his fury. "So, what's your plan now?"

Back when Everly's family heard that Everly had fallen for Thomas, a man not at all in her league, her family went all out against it. But Everly was stubborn as hell, even cutting off ties with her own family and keeping her true identity as a Wesson a secret, all for the sake of pursuing that so-called true love, bringing all the tragedy upon herself.

Her grandpa, Howard, nearly lost his s**t when he found out and froze all her bank accounts to force her to come back.

And so, it dragged on for freaking three long years.

During those three years, the entire Wesson family was waiting for Everly to change her mind. Never did they expect to get the news that Thomas dumped her.

Evelyn is the beloved young lady of our Wesson family. How dare that jerk ditch her? Damn! He really got some major balls! I swear I'll teach him and his family what it meant to mess with us.

Robert was pissed off and swore not to let the Hastings off the hook.

Everly gave a faint smile, man, and her eyes met Robert's with this cool indifference. "Uncle, you arranged everything for me already, did you?"

"Well, I hope you can come back to the Wesson family. Your grandpa's getting old, and running the company is taking a toll on him. My brother and I aren't really keen on taking over the family business, so I'm sorry. I'm afraid we have to push the burden onto you." Robert stared at her with a doting smile. "But girl, if you have other ideas, let me know. I got your back, always."

Just hearing those simple words unleashed a flood of tears in Everly's eyes. All those pent-up grievances couldn't be held back anymore.

She really wanted to give herself a hard slap at the thought that she had left her family in a fit of anger for a man who didn't even deserve her love.

She fought back her tears and choked up, "Thanks, Uncle."

"Oh, don't mention it, girl! I only have a niece. Of course, I should look out for you." Robert gently brushed her head with a doting in his eyes. "Take care of yourself. I'll come visit you in a couple of days."

After Robert's departure, Everly turned and saw the sunshine outside the window, deciding to go out for a walk.

Meanwhile, Grace, who was in a knitted sweater, was standing in a pavilion, peeping at Everly, who was sitting under a tree.

Now, even though Everly was wearing a basic hospital gown, she had an innate elegance that couldn't be ignored, even in the midst of all those people under the tree.

Her face wasn't all innocent and pure like an angelic b***h's. She had a kind of striking beauty and heart-stopping gorgeousness. Even just a quick glance at her could make someone forget about everything else and focus only on her.

"I didn't expect we would meet so soon." A voice suddenly came from behind, and Everly turned around. Her face darkened when she lay eyes on Grace.

Grace keeps staring at her, smirking like a triumphant badass. "Hey, Everly, it's been a while."

Everly squinted, anger evident in her eyes. "Damn, you're really persistent."

Grace didn't give a s**t about her words and continued, "Sometimes, babe, I pity you. You have wasted three years of your life on a dude who doesn't even care about you. Man! That's your precious youth."

Just then, Grace's eyes flickered, tears welling up, and she grabbed hold of Everly's arm. "Everly, I messed up everything. I'm sorry. Forgive me! Please...."

"Don't touch me!" Everly's eyebrows furrowed, and shook off Grace's hand with a disgusted face.

She didn't even use much force, but somehow, Grace seemed to be sent flying.

And just as Everly was shocked by Grace's crazy move, a harsh snap sounded. "Everly, what the hell are you doing?"

Hearing that voice, Everly instantly realized why Grace would make such a big change suddenly.

Well, that chick went through all this effort to set up this whole act. It'd be a damn waste if I didn't take the opportunity to play along, right?