Unmasking the Heiress (Evangeline and Walte)
Bitten Once Shy Forever 165

Chapter 165

The thought that Walter was hurt because of her sent a pan rough her heart that she just could not shake off.

Walter's eyes fluttered open on the hospital bed, and he spotted Aria keeping vigil by his side. He parted his lips to speak but then thought better of it, his hand shaking as he reached for the water glass on the nightstand. Was he parched?

Evangeline caught on and, tossing aside any concern for her own belated entrance, burst through the door and hurried to Walter's side.

Just as her fingers grazed the glass, Aria, who had only been dozing, snapped awake.

Spotting Evangeline behind her and seeing Walter's hand hanging in the air, Aria instantly grasped the situation. She snatched the glass before Evangeline could and placed it firmly in Walter's grasp. "You finally show up, huh? Some savior you are," said Aria, her voice dripping with

scorn.

Her son had been coddled from birth, yet here he was, hurt because of Evangeline. She had not even had the decency to check on him. Heartless!

What did it matter if Evangeline was the cherished princess of the Foster family?

A daughter-in-law with such a grand reputation, and yet Aria could not count on her. In the end, it was her own son who paid the price.

"I'm sorry," was all Evangeline could muster,

No matter the circumstances, Walter had been injured trying to save her, and she had indeed arrived too late.

Aria scoffed, "My son nearly died for you, faced surgery all by himself, and you think I'm sorry' cuts it?"

She had one rule for picking a daughter-in-law: She must cherish her son.

Evangeline, once barely passable with her act of sweetness and smarts, did not even bother with the facade. This was just unacceptable!

She was done with it. If those two wanted a divorce, so be it. She refused to believe

146 RATUS

that the Gordon family, with their massive empire, could not make it without Evangeline.

Evangeline's face went ghostly white as Aria bore down on

She tried to smile,

her mouth opening and closing without a sound, clueless about what to do except maybe to just walk away.

However, she could not bring herself to leave Walter, not when he was lying there in the hospital bed.

Just then, Walter, feeling a bit better after sipping some water, finally spoke up," Mom, it's late. David is here with me, so I'm okay. You should really head home and get some rest." Evangeline and Aria had never gotten along.

He would not admit that he was trying to protect Evangeline from Aria's accusations. That was not why he wanted his mother to leave.

He just could not stand the thought of his mother, at her age, losing sleep over him.

Aria's heart ached, and tears streamed down her face. "What are you saying, kiddo? I'm your mom. You're hurt. How can I possibly go home and rest? How could I rest at all?"

A mother's worry knew no distance, especially when her only child was lying in a hospital bed.

Walter got it, he really did, but seeing Evangeline, he just had to be tough. "I'm really okay now, Mom, You should head home,"

Mothers always knew. As Walter kept insisting and dodging around what to say to Evangeline, Aria caught on to what he was trying to do.

"Okay, I'll go. But you-be careful, alright? Don't move too much and mess up your stitches."

Even after her reassurances, Aria could not shake off her worries. She glanced back repeatedly and gave David a flurry of last-minute instructions before she could bring herself to leave the hospital room. With that, it was just Evangeline and Walter left in the quiet that seemed to press in from all sides.