I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 309

Nora's brows knitted together. Finnegan had shown up after all. Despite all her efforts to keep them away, she had underestimated his sheer audacity. She had explicitly told them their presence wasn't needed.

Benedict's face turned frosty. "Did you invite them?"

Nora shook her head. "No. They found out on their own and insisted on coming with me, but I refused. I thought that was the end of it. I had no idea they'd actually..."

She lowered her head, a wave of guilt washing over her features.

She never wanted to bring this kind of toxic energy to her mother and brother's memorial.

"How much longer until your affairs are sorted?" Benedict asked coldly.

Nora thought for a moment. "About a week."

She pursed her lips, shooting her father a cautious look. "Dad, can we keep my engagement to Xander a secret for now? There's a crucial seminar next week, and I still need the identity of Finnegan's widow to participate. The organizer is incredibly eccentric; he'll only approve my entry under the Fletcher name."

Benedict simply stared at her, an unreadable depth in his eyes.

Just when Nora thought he was going to reject her, his deep, resonant voice floated from above.

"Finish your business quickly. This is the last time."

With that, he turned and strode out of the room.

Watching her father's retreating figure, Nora felt her eyes well up with tears. Wiping them away, she followed him back out to the main hall.

Sure enough, Finnegan was leading a group of Fletchers toward them. What disgusted her even more was seeing Seraphina right beside him.

Finnegan's expression faltered. He hadn't expected Benedict to be so blatantly hostile. If Benedict hated her so much, why invite her back at all? Was this just a show for the public?

After a brief pause, Finnegan plastered on a smile. "You must be joking, sir. I'm just here to escort Nora. It's proper etiquette, and as the younger generation, we have to uphold the rules."

Benedict scoffed coldly and said nothing more.

The bystanders immediately started whispering among themselves.

"I heard the Newman heiress hasn't spoken to her family in nearly ten years since she joined the Fletcher family. Why is she suddenly back today?"

"And apparently, her husband died five years ago. Yet the Fletchers haven't kicked her out. They're surprisingly decent. If it were my family, she'd have been tossed out the second she became a widow."

Nora listened to the gossip with a blank face, while Finnegan gave her a mocking smile. "So, Nora, where are we sitting?"