+25 BONUS
Chapter 274
Chapter 274
Evangeline noticed Walter first and gestured toward the dining table. “Two more dishes to go, but they’ll be ready in a moment. Just hang tight a little longer.”
She looked like a devoted wife, so at ease with cooking and waiting for her husband to return from work that Walter felt like this had always been their routine.
“Sure.”
He was about to take a seat when Evangeline, with a touch of shyness, said, “Oh, I forgot to mention, you might want to wash your hands before we eat. It’s just cleaner that way.”
Walter had beelined for the kitchen as soon as he got home, not pausing to wash up. Her gentle nudge took him back to his childhood–those days of playing hard and rushing home, only to be caught by his mom before he could attack the dinner table, all because he had not washed his hands.
This time, it was not his mom’s caring scold he faced, but his dear wife, Evangeline. A wave of warmth washed over him, and he struggled to find the words for how he felt. Her name, Evangeline, seemed to echo in his heart, making it soft and warm. W nat, he obediently turned and headed off to wash his
hands.
Evangeline listened to the soft sound of water running in the bathroom and could not shake a mix of surprise and awkwardness. It was kind of silly, frankly. Walter was a grown man. He did not need her acting like a nosy neighbor, reminding him to wash his hands before eating. To her amazement, he actually listened to her nagging and did it!
The dinner table was quiet, almost too quiet. They both kept their heads down, focused on their own plates. Walter seemed like he wanted to break the silence, to say something to Evangeline. However, every time he glanced up and saw her intently eating, he just could not get the words out.
Evangeline caught his starts and stops and felt a twinge of discomfort. They rarely shared a meal like this, and it should not have been so tense.
However, with all that had happened between them, small talk seemed impossible, especially with the surrogacy contract weighing on her mind. How could she get Walter to agree to it?
As soon as they finished eating, Walter got up and started clearing the table before Evangeline could even react. With no role for herself in the kitchen, she headed back to their bedroom, a room that seemed frozen in time since their wedding day.
Sitting on the bed, her feelings were completely different. The romantic dreams of her youth had disappeared, replaced by the image of Cole’s face, full of hope for a cherished great–grandchild.
She stepped into the bathtub with a heavy sigh. She might as well freshen up. After all, she had a mission to accomplish tonight. Without any fancy lingerie to choose from, Evangeline slipped into a simple cotton nightgown.
Walter had cleared the dinner table and headed upstairs, where he lay on his bed, his gaze locked on his phone screen, lost in whatever he was viewing. Evangeline slipped back into the bathroom, gave herself another spritz of perfume, and then stepped out.
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