Chapter 239
Chapter 239
Wilhelmina Lopez struggled to contain her frustration. She knew that no matter how angry she got, no matter how many tears or tantrums she threw, it would never sway Ablett. Years ago, when he’d broken off his engagement to the Harvey family, she’d tried every trick in the book-and he’d simply walked out, never to be heard from again for years.
“And yet you’re marrying a divorcée with a kid? There are plenty of decent young women from good families,” she pressed, her tone sharp.
She glanced at Rebekah, hoping her daughter would chime in and help talk some sense into her brother.
Rebekah sat quietly, conflicted. Of course she didn’t want her brother marrying a woman who’d been divorced. But when she thought of Eddy and his obsessive attachment to his ex-wife, her own chances with him seemed slim to none. And now, with the ex-wife suddenly back in the picture, those chances had dwindled even further.
But if the ex-wife remarried…
The possibility flickered through Rebekah’s mind, and suddenly, Blanche didn’t seem so detestable after all.
“You object to my marriage?” Ablett glanced at Rebekah, his voice calm and
unhurried.
“I’m not against you getting married. I’m against you marrying her.”
Just then, Ablett’s gaze shifted to the figure standing at the bathroom doorway. His tone was even, but resolute. “I intend to marry her, and no one else.”
“If you oppose Laney, you oppose my marriage altogether.”
“And I accept that,” he added, his eyes now fixed on his mother, whose face had gone pale with fury.
“So you’d rather let our family die out than listen to me?” Wilhelmina’s voice trembled with anger. “Are you trying to force my hand?”
“There’s always Rebekah,” Ablett replied coolly, picking up his paper to signal the conversation was over
Wilhelmina shot her daughter a glare. Compared to Ablett, Rebekah was a disappointment-apart from a passing resemblance, she had none of the qualities
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she valued. It was unfair to think this way about her own child, but Wilhelmina
doubted Rebekah could carry on the McCarthy family’s legacy of intelligence and prestige, let alone bring it to greater heights.
Rebekah’s eyes widened in alarm. “Don’t even think about it! I’m nowhere near ready to settle down.”
Not that she didn’t want to marry Eddy-he simply had zero interest in her.
Wilhelmina’s frustration only deepened. “Just wait until your father gets home. We’ll discuss this then,” she snapped, dragging her hapless daughter out with her.
Moments later, the bathroom door finally opened, and the fresh scent of shower gel drifted into the room.
It was the same scent that lingered on Ablett, and yet, for some reason, when it clung to her, it seemed just a little sweeter.
“We need to talk.”
Ablett set his files down on the coffee table, his expression solemn. He’d already declared he would marry her and no one else-it was time to put everything out in the open.
No more hiding, no more running.
Blanche obediently walked over and sat down across from him.
He never wanted to hear the word “divorce” from her lips again. It was as if their marriage was forever on the verge of falling apart.
“Mamie calls me Dad. She’s accepted me. If she keeps changing father figures, it’s going to mess with her stability,” he said quietly.
Blanche pressed her lips together. “I have no intention of finding Mamie another father.”
If she left Ablett, she wouldn’t look for anyone else. She couldn’t have made it
clearer.
For the first time in his life, Ablett felt at a loss. He stared at Blanche in silence.
Blanche, uncomfortable under his steady gaze, felt inexplicably ilty. He’d just stood up to his own mother to protect their marriage, while she kept bringing up divorce. “Director, you have my word. If you want me to hold on, I’ll hold on,” she promised, her voice earnest.
She was determined, mostly because she knew he was under a lot of
pressure.
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Chapter 239
Ablett’s expression seemed to soften, but he was always so composed that she couldn’t really tell if he cared what she said or not.
After a long pause, he frowned. “If you’re going to stick it out, you’ll need to do it right.”
“Do it right? How?”
“Start by changing how you address me.”
Blanche considered this seriously.
Ablett looked at her, some trace of anticipation in his eyes.
Just then, the secretary’s voice called from outside the door. “Director, Miss Griffiths, the Simmons family’s young master has been standing outside in the rain for an hour.”
“There are a lot of reporters, too.”
“We’ve put up barricades, but they’re not keeping them out.”
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