Chapter 59

Margaret finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming Evelyn's health was stable.

The test results showed no pregnancy. The elderly woman sighed wistfully. Her great-grandchild would have to wait at least another month.

Seeing his plan unravel, Benjamin refused to give up. He stepped forward aggressively. "Nathaniel, before you arrived, Evelyn was lying in this bed with another man. Who knows what they were doing before we interrupted? You should divorce that shameless woman!"

Nathaniel turned slowly, his gaze icy. "Why aren't you in class today? And why are you so obsessed with my wife?"

Benjamin shivered under that stare. "I-I took the day off!"

Nathaniel's eyebrow arched. "To stalk my wife?"

"It was coincidence!" Benjamin stammered. "I saw her meeting another man and followed-"

Nathaniel's expression remained impassive. "Benjamin Rivers, let me make this clear. Evelyn is my wife, not my prisoner. She's free to go anywhere, meet anyone. And as her husband, I trust her completely to respect our marriage."

"But she didn't!" Benjamin shouted. "We saw them together on that bed!"

Abigail chimed in, "Brother, she really was-"

Nathaniel cut her off with a glare. "Why are you conspiring with Benjamin? Dragging Grandma here in her condition? Do you realize how dangerous this was for her health?"

Abigail paled. "I didn't-"

"Take her home. Now." Nathaniel's tone brooked no argument.

Gabrielle watched the confrontation unfold differently than she'd anticipated. She stepped forward with false concern. "Nathaniel, they're just kids who care too much about you."

"And you?" Nathaniel's cold stare shifted to her.

Gabrielle stiffened. "I... I care too..."

"You're not a child," Nathaniel stated flatly. "Act like it."

"But we all saw Evelyn on that bed!" Gabrielle protested.

"She came for the exhibition and rested here when she felt ill." Nathaniel's voice held steel. "Is that a crime?"

Gabrielle's eyes darted nervously. "You trust her that much? Over what we all witnessed?"

"I trust my wife more than bored gossips," Nathaniel countered.

Gabrielle stood speechless. This wasn't the first time she'd seen Nathaniel's devotion to Evelyn - that dinner had been proof enough. But this absolute trust? It shook her to the core.

Evelyn was indeed a formidable opponent.

The confrontation ended abruptly. Abigail escorted Margaret home while Gabrielle dragged a protesting Benjamin away.

Only two men remained in the lounge, tension thick between them.

After a long silence, Jonathan flashed a charming smile. "Nathaniel. It's been too long."