His Ex Wife Is A Billionaire

Chapter 762

In the dead of night, Mr. Bartley summoned Alston to his study. Mrs. Bartley was already there, her presence a clear sign of the gravity of the discussion about to unfold.

“What? Call off the engagement?!” Mrs. Bartley shrieked in disbelief. “Timothy, are you out of your mind? The news has already spread like wildfire. I have the ladies from the country club practically fawning over me, showering me with gifts because our Alston is set to marry the Abernathy heiress!”

Her eyes blazed with the scandal of it all. “With the wedding just around the corner, you drop this bombshell on me. How am I supposed to show my

ace around them after this?”

“Dad! What’s going on? Why cancel the engagement?!” Alston, his face flushed with anger, recalled the evening’s humiliation. “Marilla had the audacity to hold hands with Mr. Ashbourne and dance with him right in front of me. I’ve been embarrassed already, and now you want to call off the wedding altogether?”

Edith had painted Marilla as a simpleton. But what sort of fool dares to flirt with another man in front of her own fiancé, to be so intimate in public?

The thought of it was maddening. He wanted to make her pay, to make her regret her indiscretion.

“If your dignity comes at the cost of my future, then I say your pride is a small price to pay!” Mr. Bartley’s words were shocking, his impatience written all over his face.

“What are you saying?!” Both mother and son stared at him, bewildered.

“Haven’t you seen it tonight? Aaron has fallen for that ‘simpleton‘,” Mr. Bartley said, sipping his tea with an air of self–satisfaction. “Suri approached me in confidence, asking me to break off the engagement.”

Emeric is also in the loop. If I refuse, they’ll

Mrs. Bartley was at a loss for words.

this arrangement is nothing but beneficial for us!” Mr. Bartley lounged on the couch, legs crossed, transforming from a dignitary to a rogue in a heartbeat. “Firstly, Alston won’t have to

influential Ashbourne family. It’s killing two

The Ashbournes have a formidable

that. He’s abroad for treatment and probably won’t last two

banshee, far more terrifying than her father!” Alston fumed, influenced by Edith’s opinions. “You might handle Frederic, but can you really contend with Evadne? She’s

let’s not forget, she has Thaddeus backing

any chance of securing this marriage? Look at the mess you made tonight, acting like a cornered animal in front of Mr. Frederic. I’ve taught you better! Even if it’s an act, you have to maintain your composure. But you lost your temper in front of everyone! Do you

Alston was speechless.

performance, a means to an end. Yet watching her

you’ve completely ruined your impression with Frederic. He’s known for holding grudges, and even if

his head in disappointment. “You don’t have what it takes to marry into their

inquired about the previous night’s events during his leisurely

including Suri’s lavish gift to Marilla and Aaron’s bold declaration

has been incredibly generous with our Miss Marilla. The welcome gift alone was

an engagement with the Bartleys,

him. “Bought by a mere trinket? Those Ashbournes probably have a vault full of such baubles. Emeric probably

than that Bartley boy,” Dennis scoffed. “Last night, Alston had the nerve to publicly criticize you. I wonder what’s eating at

mention of this. The comparison between the two suitors

Marilla. Why don’t we call off the engagement with the Bartleys? A match with the Ashbournes would be

down on the armrest, his face flushed with anger. “My son marrying an Ashbourne girl and my daughter wed to an Ashbourne boy? As if my children have

wisely chose to remain

sky was overcast, mirroring Frederic’s mood. If he set aside his personal feelings, he had to admit that Aaron, Suri’s son, was a far

all about family arrangements. But the way Aaron looked at Marilla, with such genuine affection,

wasn’t an

from his