The Billionaire Ex-Wife and the Beggar He Became novel Chapter 158

Julian nodded.

"I'll head home, then," Felicity said.

"Alright!"

She wished, just for a moment, that Julian would offer to walk her out. But he didn't. Felicity glanced over at Tiana, who immediately hurried to her side and wrapped her arms around Felicity's leg. "Miss Felly, I don't want you to leave. Can you stay with me tonight?"

A bit of warmth finally returned to Felicity's heart.

She pinched Tiana's cheek gently. "Tia, your dad's not in the best mood lately. He needs someone to keep him company. Be a good girl and look after your dad, okay? If you need anything, just call Miss Felly, alright?"

"No! I want you to stay with me!" Tiana protested, clinging tighter.

"Come on, sweetheart. You have to listen. If you're a good girl, Miss Felly will like you even more—understand?" Felicity coaxed her, as if calming a little animal.

Tiana nodded obediently. "I'll be good. Bye, Miss Felly."

"Goodbye." Without looking back, Felicity left the Nicholson house.

She drove home, tearing down the streets far faster than she should have. When she arrived, she locked herself in her room and refused to come out.

"What's wrong with Felly?" Teague and Henrietta stood outside her door, knocking anxiously.

From the other side, Felicity's sobs came through, raw and unfiltered. "What did I ever do wrong? I've worked so hard, all my life! I try every day—living, studying, working, taking care of my real parents and my adoptive ones too! But her… she doesn't want any of us! Julian doesn't even love her, so why does she insist on coming between me and Julian like this?"

Her parents knew immediately she was talking about Winona.

Henrietta burst out, furious. "Her again! That wretch. She should've gone back to her little mountain village, but no—she insists on staying in Greenwood City just to ruin your happiness. After all she's done, why hasn't she been struck by lightning yet? Has God gone blind?"

At the project site, she and Julian still worked together seamlessly. In public, Julian treated her with the same warmth and care as always. They appeared the perfect couple, and Felicity convinced herself that Julian's coldness the previous afternoon was just a bad mood—not something deeper.

Besides, what did Winona have anyway? No education, no manners, just cheap tricks to get a man's attention. Even Tiana wanted nothing to do with her—why would Julian? If he'd ever been interested, wouldn't six years have been enough?

She realized she'd been overthinking it.

Her confidence and spirits returned.

Over the next three days, Felicity and Julian's team secured three excellent development sites. Everyone was in high spirits.

On the fourth day, as she and Julian prepared to acquire another crucial plot, they ran into Yves Prescott and Winona at the site.

"Winona, are you trying to get Yves Prescott to compete with us again?" Felicity was genuinely angry this time. "I really want to know—what exactly do you two plan to do with all this land?"