Better Late, But Never His Again novel Chapter 171

Evelyn Vance remained silent, her pupils dilating slightly.

Chloe Hayes was right. If Julian Hayes truly loved Hazel Garrison that much, how could they have been married for so many years without having a single child?

He was willing to maintain this ambiguous relationship with her, willing to rush over to keep her company whenever she felt scared, and willing to remember a necklace she had casually mentioned. How could any of that be fake?

"Chloe, what should I do then?"

Chloe offered a conspiratorial smile and leaped off the sofa, grabbing her hand. "Leave this to me. First things first, we're going to the mall to pick out the most stunning outfit for you."

Evelyn was a little dazed as she was pulled up. "Right now?"

"No time like the present!" Chloe was already dragging her toward the entryway.

Evelyn only managed to steady herself once they reached the door. She looked down at her simple loungewear dress and touched her messy hair. "Give me a second. I was so focused on preparing a gift for you that I haven't even freshened up. Give me a little time."

Chloe let go and leaned against the console table, tossing her ponytail. "Fine, I'll wait for you here."

Evelyn turned and walked into the bedroom, the door clicking softly shut behind her.

She stood in front of the full-length mirror, staring at her reflection as a slow smile curved her lips.

Chloe was a much sharper blade than she had anticipated—and perfectly enough, the person this blade hated most was the exact woman Evelyn wanted out of the picture.

...

Over at the Institute, Hazel was fighting a grueling battle with the restored data.

The moment Arthur Sterling pointed out the bug, it was like a sudden epiphany, but recalculating the corrected parameters was purely exhausting manual labor.

She was catching up on her neglected progress page by page, her computer screen cluttered with three layers of open windows.

Her phone rang. Nellie York's name flashed on the screen, and she answered it.

"What are you up to, babe?" Nellie's exaggeratedly dramatic voice immediately echoed through the speaker.

Hazel pinned the phone between her ear and shoulder, her fingers flying across the keyboard while her eyes stayed glued to the monitor. "Organizing data."

Hazel couldn't help but laugh. "What are you doing? Why the grand entrance?"

Nellie pushed her sunglasses up her nose and patted the passenger seat. "Get in. Let me show you what flying feels like."

Hazel climbed in. The second her seatbelt clicked, Nellie slammed on the gas.

The acceleration slammed Hazel back against the seat, her hand instinctively flying up to grab the handle above the door.

The engine's roar flooded the cabin as the streetscape blurred into streaks of color outside the windows.

By the time they reached the mall's parking garage, Hazel practically shoved the door open and scrambled out.

She sprinted to the nearest trash can, bending over with her hands resting on her knees. Her stomach was doing flips, though she didn't throw anything up.

Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and the veins in her temples throbbed relentlessly.

Nellie strolled over, twisting the cap off a bottle of water and handing it to her, her expression caught somewhere between concern and suppressed amusement. "You okay? Was I really driving that wild?"