The three of them got into the car.
The Rolls Royce slowly drove away from the mall.
The kitchen staff had not been informed that Max and the others would be returning for dinner, so they were throwing something together at the last minute.
Olisha came out holding a tray, stepping forward to greet them. "Mr. Hawthorne, Evelynn, Anne, you are back. Dinner isn't ready yet. I baked some cookies this afternoon. You can have some to hold you over."
"Just set them down," Max said.
"Okay."
Olisha turned quickly and placed the tray on the coffee table.
Felicia took Anne upstairs to change into a comfortable set of loungewear.
"Mommy."
Felicia straightened Anne's pants. Hearing her daughter's voice, she asked, "What is it?"
"Please do not be mad at Daddy because of Aunt Andrea, okay?" Anne asked. "Daddy doesn't even like her anymore."
Felicia looked at Anne's worried little face and smiled. "I’m not mad."
She had no reason to be angry. It was nothing worth caring about.
Hearing her mother's words, Anne finally felt relieved.
That minor incident did not affect Anne's mood. Daddy had bought Mommy jewelry today, which still made her very happy.
"Mommy, can we give this bracelet to Aunt Olisha?"
Olisha stood to the side. Hearing Anne's words, her heart skipped an excited beat.
Felicia looked at Anne. If Andrea had possessed even half of Olisha's gentle and unassuming nature, perhaps Anne would not have rejected her so fiercely.
"Of course we can."
Leaning back in the armchair and watching television, Max withdrew his gaze from the screen and looked at Felicia.
Felicia picked up the jewelry box and took out one of the necklaces along with it. She stood up, walked over to Olisha, and asked, "Do you like it?"
Looking at the diamond bracelet, Olisha could not hide the joy in her eyes. Although she had a wealthy father, she had not inherited any of his assets. Any jewelry she wore was merely borrowed for the occasion.
"Are you really giving this to me?"
Max kept his eyes on the computer screen. The glow from the monitor illuminated his handsome, sharply defined features, reflecting tiny halos of light in his dark eyes. His fingers did not stop clicking the mouse as he replied with a question of his own. "What do you want to say?"
Felicia got straight to the point. "In my opinion, their proposal will have a hard time passing even the first round of review at BlueMarble Investments. I do not know what Easton told you."
Passing the review was one thing, but whether they could actually secure the deal was highly uncertain. There were bound to be many companies with better proposals than GeoSmart. However, Caroline and Easton were probably already harboring incredibly high hopes.
Max paused his clicking and focused on Felicia. "Would someone as softhearted as you really refuse to help a friend?"
Felicia's eyes widened slightly. She stared at Max and immediately retorted, "Even if I wanted to help, I would not humiliate myself by coming to you."
Max narrowed his dark eyes. He tapped his index finger up and down on the desktop and asked, "Then who would you go to?"
Felicia took a deep, steadying breath. "I could introduce Easton to projects better suited for their company. Whether they succeed or not is up to them. I am not some bleeding heart who has to see everything through to the end."
Max stopped tapping his finger and suddenly let out a low chuckle.
Hearing the man's laughter, Felicia could not help but frown, completely unsure of what he found so amusing.
She then heard him speak. "Everyone knows about our relationship now. Right after going public, someone came to you for help. If I were to ignore it, you would be mortified, and I do not like people gossiping about me."
Max had just gone public with their relationship, and Easton had immediately approached Max's side, fully aware that he was leveraging his connection to Felicia. If Max ignored the situation, the news would undoubtedly spread quickly. People would see that Felicia's newly public status as the wife of Max held no real weight, which would inevitably invite gossip.

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Ugly Wife’s Stunning Comeback (Felicia and Max)
Is this coming to an end...
Oh nooo!! Don’t tell me Max will get washed ashore on a remote island then loses all his memory, then falls inlove with the local girl who saves him. Then when he meets Felicia again he won’t recognize her and breaks her heart again. Additional plot twist is that Felicia is pregnant with their 2nd child. Please pleaseee don’t give us this scenario.. LOL!!!...
If Max can be forgiven Darrin can be forgiven. And I do not like this marriage business but if it has to happen I hope after he gets stranded on some remote island alone while Felicia and his family fight over custody she wins and also gets half his estate. Then by time he comes back she's found having and remarried. Lol...
The writer is good. They're making me interested in Max. I won't say like yet....
It seems the only one who hasn't suffered is Max. Even his family fakes anger and disappointment all their own doing so they suffer a little. Everyone else has suffered. Luke and Jeremy unrequited. Felicia has suffered the most from family to unrequited to romance to long suffering Mother. Even baby Anne never had a mother til Felicia suffered then came back only to suffer some more. lol...
Oh no what did Colton do?... I have a bone to pick. When Olisha had to go the hospital why beg for Felicia? When she so loved Max? Seemed like she was in on the setup for Felicia to see a suicide for the 2nd time orchestrated by holden and his brother again. I might drop this series it's becoming endless with no real satisfaction for me. I don't need it to end because it's like a soap opera but if things don't end up making sense, tying up loose storylines it's gonna get old fast for me. Good luck author....
Anne, I think your baby brother is on the way. Thank goodness it doesn't say that Felicia is crying just like the last time but still, there's no willingness on her part. Max! You need to try harder. Make her fall in love with you again....
The writer did a big one with Jeremy's speech to Max. He said almost everything that needed to be said. I have wanted Felicia or someone who knows the past to just tell that whole stinking family what they did and how disgusting they are and what they're doing now how unfair it all is to Felicia. A pity it was only Max but he really needed to hear this (plus more)....
I love the chase of this novel, how you’ve build each of the characters. They almost seem like real. I feel like I know them irl. But however I would like to know what’s max’s pov and what’s going on in his head. I truly believe max’s just a grey character. And also please please please update more!!!...
I was really hoping that Max and Felicia would end up together, but why did Max do that to Felicia? 😭 Is that his way of making Felicia overcome the trauma Holden caused her? I don't think that's helping at all. I just hope Max's character has some redeeming qualities in the coming chapters....