The Rose He Showed Off Is Putting Down Roots in a Garden of Her Own novel Chapter 199

The moment Elara stepped back inside, Eleanor immediately started singing Zane's praises.

Elara sighed, rubbing her temples. "Mom, my divorce isn't even finalized yet. Inviting him into our home like this, treating him like family... what are people going to think?"

"What's inappropriate about it? Your court date is right around the corner anyway," Eleanor replied dismissively.

Elara decided not to hide the truth from her mother. "Julian came to see me a few days ago. He agreed to return my dowry and liquidate whatever he can't hand over in cash."

Eleanor looked instantly alarmed. "What did you tell him? Did you forgive him? Elara, you absolutely cannot afford to be soft-hearted right now."

Elara paused. Her mother's default stance had always been to save the marriage rather than end it.

Had one dinner with Zane completely flipped her allegiance? What kind of impossible promises had Zane fed her mother to make her pivot so drastically?

"Mom, I need to secure the family's money first."

Terrified her daughter might waver, Eleanor shot back, "Money is important, but your happiness matters more. You can fight for the money later, but if you let a good man slip through your fingers, you might never find another."

Elara narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Mom, what exactly did Zane say to you?"

"Zane didn't say a word to me," Eleanor sighed heavily. "It's about Julian's mistress. She's pregnant. She showed up right at the gates of the Sterling Estate. Your soon-to-be ex-mother-in-law tried desperately to keep it under wraps, terrified the scandal would leak, but there are no secrets in this city."

Elara was genuinely stunned. "You know about that? How did you find out?"

"Don't worry about how I found out. It's the absolute truth. The girl is already showing," Eleanor said firmly. "The fact that you two never had a child together turned out to be a massive blessing in disguise. Hurry up and finalize the divorce."

Elara didn't argue further, but her frustration deepened.

The following day, Elara instructed her lawyer to contact Julian regarding the return of her funds. Julian's legal team claimed to know absolutely nothing about the arrangement.

Annoyed, Elara called Julian directly. "What's the deal, Julian? Was agreeing to return my money just a drunken whim, or did you forget what you said?"

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