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.”

agree to hand Marilla over to her son, she’ll back my campaign in the upcoming election. Chairman Emeric is also in the loop. If

Mrs. Bartley was at a

crossed, transforming from a dignitary to a rogue in a heartbeat. “Firstly, Alston won’t have to marry the ‘simpleton‘ and demean himself. I’ll get what I want without owing the Abernathy group any favors, freeing us from Frederic’s influence.”

secures my campaign financing and aligns us with the influential Ashbourne family. It’s killing two

The Ashbournes have a formidable reputation.

abroad for treatment and probably won’t last two years. I’m not afraid of him,” Mr. Bartley retorted casually.

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

not forget, she has

shouted, “You think if it weren’t for Suri’s proposal, you’d have 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 think your

Alston was speechless.

it was all a performance, a means to an end. Yet watching her dance intimately with Aaron had stung him deeply. It felt like a betrayal,

ruined your impression with Frederic. He’s known for holding grudges, and even if I didn’t speak up, he’d never allow his daughter

don’t have what it takes to marry into

having wrapped up his engagements, inquired about

recounted every detail, including Suri’s lavish gift to

Miss Marilla. The welcome gift alone was worth over ten million,” Dennis

where. We’ve been planning an engagement with the Bartleys, and yet they’ve shown no

his pride getting the better of him. “Bought by a mere trinket? Those Ashbournes probably have a vault full of such baubles. Emeric

may be, but Aaron is leagues better than that Bartley boy,” Dennis scoffed. “Last night,

of this. The comparison between the two suitors was the

the Bartleys? A match with the Ashbournes would be a hundred times better. I bet you’d be over

face flushed with anger. “My son marrying an Ashbourne girl and my daughter wed to an Ashbourne boy? As if my children have

to remain

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

had no real affection for his daughter; it was all about family arrangements. But the way Aaron looked at Marilla, with such

wasn’t an

startling him from his