The Jilted Heiress' Return To The High Life

Chapter 1693:

They had stepped into the Astley family’s estate prepared for anything—whether welcome or war. Though, it seemed fortune had tipped slightly in their favor.

The Astley family didn’t approve of this marriage, and their cold shoulder came as no surprise.

If the Ford family wanted reconciliation, being humble was their only recourse, but whether the Astleys would offer clemency was another matter entirely.

Thankfully, Franco’s plan worked.

Jules had endured his share of turbulence, but at least his suffering wasn’t for nothing.

As Franco and Corrine spoke quietly by the marble archway, her eyes drifted beyond him, catching a glimpse of someone.

Her brows drew together.

Was that… Leif?

Noticing the shift in her expression, Franco instinctively turned to follow her line of sight—but the space beyond was empty.

Was his intuition wrong?

No—it couldn’t have been.

Before he could question it further, Corrine glanced back at him. “Franco, I need to take care of something. Please excuse me.” She didn’t wait for a reply.

She slipped away, weaving through the crowd, her eyes never leaving the figure at the far end of the hall. But after a few steps, a waitress collided with her, sloshing red wine across her dress in a careless sweep.

“Oh—I’m terribly sorry, Miss,” the waitress blurted, fumbling for a cloth and dabbing uselessly at the stain. It only made it worse. “Please, let me escort you to get changed. It’s entirely my fault.”

Corrine’s reflex was to wave her off—her mind still locked on Leif—but her gaze dropped to the cloth in her hand. Something about it made her curious.

changed her

trouble at all, Miss Holland. Please, this way,” the waitress said,

Once changed, she stepped out of the dressing room to find the

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘁

for you at

nodded once. “Thank

banquet hall, a chill crawled beneath Franco’s

his focus. With his cigarette poised between his fingers, he frowned and made a call. “What do you

do you ask?” Nate’s voice came through the line—cool,

the garden below. Through the glass, he spotted

you know she has ties

know,” Nate

as odd? Corrine’s lived her entire life in Lyhaton. Leif disappeared off the radar years ago.

Leif turned his back on the arranged marriage and disappeared without a word, the Mendoza family had steadily withdrawn from the public eye, their

absence of a capable heir and chose to step back quietly, steering the family

he’d embraced the weight of the Mendoza

in Nelting had crumbled. They clung

of Corrine’s connection to Leif. By all logic, their worlds never should have intersected. They

through the phone. “What

to leave, though the air between them didn’t carry the weight of goodbye. After a pause, Franco ventured,

for me,” Nate said, his

responded casually, “Relax. Nothing’s going to

soft chuckle filtered through the line before Nate

the dial tone echoed in his ear, Franco

had that laugh

felt like a quiet dismissal, as if Nate didn’t

pair growing smaller in the distance, eyes clouded with unreadable emotion. Word of

he was seen with—Corrine? Walking