From His Wife to His Uncle's Wife novel Chapter 159

When Eleanor saw the photo from Mrs. Clarkson, she almost dropped her phone. Her hands felt sweaty, and her heart was racing. She had no clue how to reply. There was no way she could just admit, Actually, that woman is me, but I’m not Mr. Clarkson’s girlfriend. She knew that would only make things messier.

[Eleanor, are you asleep?]

Mrs. Clarkson wasn’t about to let it go. Eleanor took a deep breath and forced her nerves down. She typed back, Marleigh, I got the photo. I’ll keep an eye out.

Marleigh sent back a flood of thank-yous, finally satisfied enough to set her phone aside. She was already plotting. Now that Max was comfortable enough to bring a date out in public, it was only a matter of time before she found out who this new girlfriend was. And as long as the woman was single, Marleigh was ready to play matchmaker and get them married off as soon as possible.

***

Jessie Goff stormed into her family home, still fuming.

“Why did you send that five hundred million to Peter Clarkson?” she blurted out to Kennedy. “You’re making it look like I did something wrong by accepting his gifts. Do you think I’m some kind of homewrecker?”

Kennedy barely looked at her, keeping his voice cool and even. “Jessie, is that how you talk to your brother?”

Jessie hesitated, her anger faltering for a second. Adam was always the one she leaned on, the one who spoiled her the most. Kennedy was more like their strict father. But honestly, all three men in her family had always protected her. Today, though, she was too upset to care about manners.

“Kennedy, I’m mad because you don’t trust me. You actually think I’m a mistress?”

Kennedy slipped off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, sounding tired. “Jessie, it doesn’t matter what we think. The point is, Eleanor is still Peter Clarkson’s wife, and she’s planning to sue you. Her lawyer is Linden. If it were anyone else, I could handle it, but Linden doesn’t play games. Do you really want this to go to court and have a judgment forced on you?”

Jessie had come home angry, but when she left, all that was left was confusion. She had no idea what to do. If she could go back, she’d never have begged Grady to take her skiing. Maybe then he’d still be alive. If Grady were still here, she knew he’d never let her suffer like this.

***

After Autumn got out of the hospital, her mood lifted when Peter told her that the Goff family had returned the five hundred million. She’d spent a lot of time in her hospital bed thinking about Jessie Goff. Back when Grady was wooing Jessie, he’d spent a fortune, and their engagement and wedding had been the talk of the town. Everyone knew how much Grady adored the Goff family’s treasured daughter.

Once Jessie married in, Autumn had always gone easy on her, mostly because of her background. Even though Jessie and Grady had been married for years without kids, Autumn never pressured her about it and always treated her better than Eleanor.

Then Grady died in a car accident during a trip abroad with Jessie. Autumn kept reminding herself not to blame Jessie for it. Even less than a month after Grady’s passing, when Jessie, still grieving, wanted to go out and dragged Peter and Olga along, Autumn never said a word.