Unmasking the Heiress (Evangeline and Walte)
Bitten Once Shy Forever 186

Chapter 186

Evangeline rolled her eyes. 'Not bad'? More like 'drop-dead gorgeous."

Alex's dress was all soft and sweet, perfect for a demure debutante at a birthday bash. Evangeline was not one for soft and sweet. Walter's choice, with its regal elegance and a hint of sass, seemed like it was made just for her. Not that she had ever admitted it moved her.

With Walter's influence and power, commissioning a custom dress was as easy as flashing cash and rattling off his measurements. Someone else would do the legwork.

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He would just sit back and pick his favorite from a lineup of designs...

Why would someone like Walter ever put his heart into something for her?

With that-thought, a wave of bittersweet resignation washed over Evangeline.

"Come on, Evangeline, it's time to see things for what they are. No point in denying the obvious."

Walter casually smoothed out the folds in Evangeline's dress with one hand, while with the other, he produced a small box he had tossed aside earlier and handed it to her. "Here's your birthday gift. Go on, open it."

At the party, Evangeline's haul of presents was more extravagant with each unwrapping. Walter had his gift ready early on but held back, not wanting to join the throng around her.

It was not that Evangeline was not grateful for the mountain of gifts, but Walter's took her by surprise. Since their wedding, he had not given her a single present, not even a cheap bubble tea.

The box Walter handed her was a shiny red lacquer, perfectly square and fitting snugly in her palm, yet it had a surprising heft to it.

Evangeline then understood that Walter must have been spooked by the over-the-top gifts from her uncles, so he waited until after the party to give her his own.

She would take it, of course. Who in their right mind would turn down a present?

Evangeline flipped open the box without a second thought and gasped. Inside was a bracelet.

She lifted the bracelet out and held it up to the light. The green was deep and flawless, cool against her skin, with a translucent pattern that seemed to pulse with life. It was as if the very essence of spring was about to spill from its curves. Evangeline was not much for jade, or so she thought, but the vibrant essence captured in this piece was utterly captivating,

Evangeline noticed something magical about the bracelet. In different lights, its colors shifted subtly. From a distance, it shimmered with the green of a tranquil lake, but up close, it took on the azure of the sky, a mesmerizing dance of blue and green hues. She had been to more auctions than she could count, eyes wide at the parade of wonders and oddities. As she gazed at the bracelet, memories and snippets of Information swirled in her head until-bingo!

+25 BONUS

Chapter 186

"Is this Glacial Crown Jade? Am I right, Walter?"

Jade was not exactly her forte; she needed the owner's nod to be sure.

If this was the real deal Glacial Crown Jade, they were talking big bucks-somewhere between a cool hundred million and double that. With its stunning quality, it was a one-of-a-

kind gem, literally priceless! Walter let out a soft laugh, his deep eyes twinkling with surprise. "Look at you, quite the connoisseur!" He did not waste a second, grabbing the bracelet from Evangeline and deftly placing it on her right wrist.

She did not even get a say in the matter. By the time she processed what happened, the mega-expensive bracelet was hers.

"Walter, you're seriously gifting this to me?"

Evangeline was floored. "We're on the brink of divorce, You really shouldn't be showering me with lavish gifts.