The Billionaire's Rental Wife Is A Hot Shot

[Reign Mansion]

The atmosphere at Reign Mansion felt no less than a festival. Laughter and chatter filled the air as everyone celebrated the triumphant return of Gracia. Evelyn clung tightly to her mother, her heart brimming with joy. Theodore and Penelope, who had been waiting at the house, couldn’t help but break into wide smiles as their daughter narrated Gracia’s dramatic entrance like a movie scene.

Lucius and Zevian, who had been in the study, walked over, having just finished extracting the video. Rita followed behind them, equally awed by Gracia. Evelyn had always been her favorite, but tonight, Gracia had taken that spot. Lucius handed the video to the butler, who played it on the TV and donned the entire wall.

Evelyn rested her head on Gracia’s shoulder and watched the show with a contented smile. Gracia herself had no idea where that sudden strength had come from, but she was glad to have not messed up upon seeing Sophia. She had faced her demons and emerged victorious.

"Then divorce her."

Gracia’s casual comment broke the entire room into laughter. Penelope almost teared up, seeing her friend back, bold and taking a stand for herself. Moving closer, she hugged Gracia tightly.

"You were brilliant, Gracie!" Penelope murmured, her tears spilling onto Gracia’s fur coat. Gracia, with a smile, hugged her friend back, the elder women sharing a relieved moment.

"Alright!" Avery got up from her seat. Clapping her hands, she grinned, "This calls for a party! Let me go get some wine from Uncle’s cellar."

Jonathan nodded, permitting her to finally enter it. With a squeal, she rushed over, dragging Rita along to help her pick a few. The butler, with a worried expression, followed the ladies, afraid they might break some precious bottles that might anger his master. It was one of Jonathan’s treasured collections, and he needed to look after it.

"I will cook for you tonight," Evelyn suggested to her mom, wanting to celebrate grandly. Though it was just the beginning, her happiness was barely contained.

"No, let the men cook tonight!" Rosalind suddenly declared, making everyone turn to her.

Jonathan, sitting beside her, looked at his wife and pointed a finger at himself. Rosalind smiled and pinching his nose, she replied, "Yes, honey. You all will cook something special for us."

"Yeah!" Penelope agreed, smiling as her husband sulked at the idea. But unlike the older men, Zevian seemed excited about it. He nodded and stood up, earning a glare from his father.

"Learn something from your son." Rosalind pinched Jonathan’s arm, who winced with a scowl.

Lucius enjoyed his comrade’s reaction, but his smile faltered when Rosalind decided to join him in the gang.

"You too, young man!" Rosalind declared with a nod. When Lucius pouted, she added, "I have heard from Della about your culinary skills. Don’t try to escape."

Jonathan pressed Rosalind’s arm, as she had accidentally opened Lucius’s scars. Della was a darling, and it was sad she had passed so quickly, an incident that had not just shaken Lucius but even Damien’s life.

Lucius nodded with a sad smile. Zevian wrapped an arm around his neck and murmured, "Come, you will be the main chef!"

The tension in the room dissipated as Lucius chuckled and allowed himself to be dragged away. Just then Avery walked back, curious to see all the men walking to the kitchen. When her mom told her about Rosalind’s idea, she jumped to her aunt and hugged her tightly.

"Rosy is the best!" The women chuckled out loud, candidly chatting about other things, majorly about Kiana, who was fast asleep even before their arrival. The little girl had a sports day coming up and she had been working extra hard to reach the finals.

The moment was broken as the security called the butler and informed him that William Wright was making a scene at the main gates.

Rosalind worriedly looked at Gracia, who wore a tense expression too. She decided to let her husband handle the matter and said, "Let me call Nathan and Zev. They will handle him."

Evelyn agreed with a nod, holding her mother’s hand tightly. Though Gracia had already confronted him, she knew having a one-on-one conversation would be difficult for her. But to everyone’s surprise, Gracia stopped Rosalind.

"It’s fine," Gracia murmured, and with a sigh, she asked, "Can you arrange for us to meet in the garden?"

Rosalind worriedly looked at Evelyn, who was equally confused. But with a sigh, she nodded in response.

William paced in the garden though a seating arrangement had already been made for him. After a few frustrating minutes, Gracia walked on the pavement to the garden. Unlike earlier, she had changed into some warm clothes, with a shawl draped over her body by Evelyn. She looked simple yet elegant.

"Gracie!" William called out.

He tried to reach out, but Gracia stepped back, creating some distance between them.

William sighed out loud, having mulled over many questions for her, where she had been and how she had been all these years. More importantly, he realized that she was acting like this because he had moved on.

"I know you are angry that I married Sophia," he started, making Gracia frown. "I made a mistake and needed to take responsibility for it, Gracie. And I promise, I will sort this out soon."

Gracia stared at him in disbelief. With a small sigh, she shook her head, wondering if he was really the man she had loved in the past. It seemed like over the years, his brain had rotten direly.

"Seriously, William? You thought I was disappointed because you moved on?" Her questions left him blinking in confusion. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "For the past two decades, all I prayed was for you to move on. To find someone who would not just love you but also treat our daughter with the same passion."

Shaking her head, Gracia murmured, "But you brought in a snake to make my poor bunny suffer."

"So it was Evelyn." William wondered aloud, leaving a scoff. When his wife stared at him, he continued, "She filled you with venom about Sophia. You can’t jump to conclusions without hearing my side of the story, Gracie."

Gracia scoffed at his words. "And what perspective do you have about her? That she is evil and is trying to create a wedge between us?"

"Of course," William replied almost immediately, fueling Gracia’s frustration.

"If I had known you would treat her this way, I would have never agreed to adopt her, William. She would have had a better childhood, a more peaceful life in the orphanage," Gracia confessed, her voice bitter with disappointment.

William looked at his once beloved wife in disbelief, her words making him frustrated and annoyed. She was trusting an outsider over him? Her own husband? With a sigh, he added, "Yeah, I wish we never adopted her. It disgusts me that we even gave her our real daughter’s place."

Crossing her arms, Gracia asked, "Your real daughter? Annabelle, you mean?"

William surprised that she was aware of this news too, nodded, his heart ached for the poor soul. After years of separation, enduring all that torture under the maid, his sweet Anna was finally able to meet him, only to leave all too soon. He couldn’t hate but blame Evelyn again. If they hadn’t adopted her, Gracia’s wounds of losing their real daughter in that tragic accident wouldn’t have healed so quickly. That would have pressured them to maybe eventually find Annabelle.

"Let me clear it up. She was fake and brought to stir distance between you and bunny." When he looked with a frown, she continued, "Annabelle was never our daughter we lost in that accident, William."

"What do you mean?" William asked with a frown.

Gracia looked at him for a brief second before answering, "You should go ask your wife. She was the one who brought her." With that, she turned around to leave.

William looked at her back in confusion. What did she mean? Did Sophia really have something to do with Annabelle? He also couldn’t help but recall how strange she had been acting ever since her death as if fearing someone.