Chapter 402

Evelyn excitedly showed Gwendolyn several evening gowns she had chosen off the costume rack.

She said, “I think all these look great, Gwendolyn. Which one do you think suits me more?”

Gwendolyn’s lips curled into the ghost of a smile while she replied, “Well, you have to try them on to see if they suit you.”

“Oh yes, you’re right.” Evelyn immediately turned to a female sales attendant and instructed, “Please send these gowns to the dressing room. I’d like to try all of them.”

“Of course.” The sales attendant carefully gathered the gowns Evelyn had picked out and headed to the dressing room.

Once the sales attendant left, Evelyn hooked her arm through the crook of Gwendolyn’s elbow affectionately and beamed at the latter. “It’ll be difficult for me to put on the gowns on my own. Can you come to the dressing room and help me?”

Gwendolyn did not accept or reject Evelyn’s request.

Evelyn took her silence for consent and dragged Gwendolyn into the dressing room.

She had no qualms about undressing before Gwendolyn at all, making it seem as though the two had been bosom friends for years.

Gwendolyn leaned against a wall and stared coolly at Evelyn. She demanded, “You didn’t summon me here just to select a gown for you. I don’t like to beat around the bush, and since we’re alone now, why don’t you get straight to the point?”

Evelyn’s hand froze momentarily in the middle of picking up a gown, though she quickly composed herself and continued to dress herself elegantly.

“Gwendolyn, I bet you’ve been dying to know about the patron who has supported my meteoric rise in the entertainment industry since my debut at nineteen years old.”

Evelyn continued cryptically, “Actually, two patrons have been helping me at the same time. That gave me a tremendous amount of power in the industry.”

Gwendolyn remained silent.

Her silence hardly bothered Evelyn, who added, “You might have forgotten this, but I remember our first encounter. You were fifteen. We met in an alley, and you decided to care for me because you took pity on me. I liked you a lot too, but it didn’t stop there. I liked your father and your brothers, and my greed filled my head with a single thought—if you disappeared, I would be the precious princess, the center of attention in the Harris family.”

Gwendolyn’s brows furrowed in recognition; she had heard the exact same words in a dream.

Evelyn confessed, “So I secretly stole Kieran’s stimulant medication and invited you out alone. When you let your guard down, I stabbed the syringe in the back of your neck and pushed you into the ocean.

I failed to anticipate how lucky you were to escape death’s door.”

“Aren’t you worried that I snuck a recording device here?” Gwendolyn asked as she clenched her fists in anger.

Evelyn covered her mouth and laughed, looking as bewitching as a minx. She boasted, “Of course not, or I would never have told you all of that! Think about it. Would Dad and our brothers have taken so long to find you with the resources at their disposal?”

She dealt the final blow by adding, “In fact, our dear brother knew all about it from the beginning, and he quietly consented to my actions.”

Gwendolyn’s heart sank. Her fingertips had turned white from exertion. She suppressed her anger and willed herself to remain calm. “Which brother are you referring to?”

“Why don’t you guess?” Evelyn smiled darkly and whispered into Gwendolyn’s ear, “Maybe all three had a hand in it?”

A frosty expression appeared on Gwendolyn’s face.

Meanwhile, Evelyn sauntered toward the mirror and made several poses, admiring her reflection.

When she noticed that Gwendolyn was still frozen with shock, the disdain in her gaze grew. “How does it feel to lose the trust of your beloved brothers, hmm? But what can you do? They’ve wholly accepted me into the family. Asher covered up my identity as an illegitimate daughter to help me become the true heiress of the Harris family, and Kieran is always checking on my well-being. Even Treyton accompanied me to pick out a gown today. They’re no longer your brothers!”

She was absolutely bursting with conceit.

Gwendolyn lifted her eyes and shot Evelyn a cold glare. “Are you deliberately saying these things to agitate me? Well, you’ve achieved your goal, but it comes with a price!”

As she spoke, Gwendolyn suddenly stalked ahead and yanked Evelyn’s hair with her left hand, angling her head to receive a vicious slap.

Slap!

Evelyn was utterly dumbfounded. Her cheek throbbed in pain.

She had been on a strict diet since entering the entertainment industry to manage her weight. Her frail figure was no match for Gwendolyn’s strength.

Gwendolyn was far from done. She grabbed Evelyn’s dainty head and threatened, “You clearly don’t understand me well enough, Evelyn. Did you think agitating me would cause me to lose control and affect the well-being of my baby? Hmph! You’re way off-mark. I’m not one to swallow all these indignities quietly. Who cares if you’re some precious princess? If you piss me off, I will treat you like a punching bag!”

She threw in a couple more slaps to get the point across.

Evelyn teared up in pain but could not escape Gwendolyn’s grasp. Eventually, she shrieked, “Treyton!

Help me, Treyton!”

Gwendolyn merely jerked Evelyn’s head further back and spat sneeringly, “That man outside is the brother who has doted on me for over twenty years, Evelyn. Let’s see who he’ll fuss over first when he barges into this room.”

The challenge suddenly filled Evelyn with a sense of foreboding.

Barely several minutes later, Treyton charged into the dressing room.

The moment he pulled open the dressing room curtain, Gwendolyn shoved Evelyn away and fell back herself.

“Kiddo!”

Treyton did not even glance at Evelyn as he flew to Gwendolyn’s side and pulled her into his arms.

He had heard the sounds of slaps from outside the dressing room and immediately checked Gwendolyn’s face for injuries. He secretly sighed in relief upon ascertaining that her face was unscathed.

Then, Treyton discreetly grabbed her right hand and massaged her palm, which was swollen from how hard she had struck Evelyn.

Gwendolyn felt him stuffing something in her right palm and shot him a curious glance.

Treyton silently helped her to her feet before doing the same for Evelyn.

Then, he asked calmly, “What’s going on? Weren’t you getting along? Why did you start fighting?”

Evelyn threw herself into his arms and sobbed. Blood trickled out of a corner of her lips.

“Treyton! Gwendolyn accused me of stealing our brothers’ love and revealing her identity as the illegitimate daughter of a prisoner. She wants to punish me for it.”

He frowned and turned to Gwendolyn. “Kiddo, that was wrong of you. She’s the youngest in the family now, so you should be more considerate of her.”

Gwendolyn scoffed and opened her purse. She grabbed a wad of bills and flung them at Evelyn’s face, declaring, “Too late for that. That’ll cover her medical expenses.”

Then, she spun on her heels and left.

Once she was gone, Treyton grabbed Evelyn’s face rather crudely.

His tone was flat even as he uttered words of concern, “Let me check your injuries.”

Evelyn hissed in pain and frowned, whining, “Don’t squeeze my face so tightly, Treyton. It hurts.”

Treyton took the opportunity to release his grip. He continued expressionlessly, “Seems fine to me. It’s just more swollen than usual. Ice your face when we get home and apply some anti-inflammatory cream.”

While covering her face, Evelyn cried a fresh wave of tears and moaned, “Does Gwendolyn truly despise me, Treyton? I asked her to come gown shopping with me because I really like her. What did I do wrong?”

Instead, Treyton chastised her, “She’s your elder, and regardless of who’s to blame, you should humbly accept the punishment that she gives to you. You can’t hold a grudge against her for it or complain to anyone in the family about it, understand?”

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