Marrying A Secret Zillionaire Happy Ever After (Linsey)

Chapter 1126:

Reining in her anger, Hester closed her eyes, a sudden thought creeping into her mind.

“Are you afraid that Kase will hold it against you later?” Hester asked, her voice calm but perceptive.

Joanne didn’t even try to deny it. “Of course I am.”

She turned away, her movements slow and deliberate, walking toward the window. Her voice dropped to a soft murmur. “Kase acknowledges me as a Walton. That status grants me access to Grester’s elite circles. But in truth, he doesn’t care about me. I’m just a pawn to him—a tool to bring greater benefits to the Walton family.”

As the words fell, Joanne paused by the window, her silhouette outlined by the fading light. She stared blankly into the distance. “Even for tonight’s engagement party, he declined to attend, citing poor health as an excuse.”

The room fell into an almost reverent silence. The only sound was the faint rhythm of their breathing.

seated on the sofa, directly facing Joanne’s figure by the window. Just two hours earlier, she had mockingly downplayed the importance of the engagement party to defend Dolores, using its simplicity to strike at Joanne. But now, she realized the truth cut deeper than she had

to being undervalued. Instead of fighting for her own identity, she had reduced herself to the image

find the

had far less tolerance for sentiment. The longer she listened, the more

Joanne had fallen for some other wealthy bachelor, she might have been able to convince her to stay

she expected Joanne to be harboring feelings for Jeffery. Jeffery was not only married, but about to become a father, and his relationship with Alicia was widely known to

aware of all this, still harbored deep feelings for

vividly recall Joanne’s lingering gaze on Jeffery earlier that night. It sent a

go easily. And when things spiraled out of control, Dustin

mother, Hester couldn’t allow that. He

she made her decision. The engagement

Hester said coolly. “I won’t expose your feelings for Jeffery. Let’s