Chapter 2
Everyone gaped at Linda, stunned.
‘Did we hear that wrong?‘ they wondered. ‘Linda, canceling the engagement?‘
They couldn’t believe their ears.
“Linda, what did you say?” Eleanor asked gently, squeezing her hand.
Linda met Eleanor’s concerned eyes, her voice firm as she repeated, “Mom, I’m calling off the engagement.”
Eleanor touched Linda’s forehead gently.
‘No fever. So why the wild talk?‘ she wondered.
“Linda, what’s going on?” Eleanor frowned. “Didn’t you just say you’d only marry Jasper?”
She glanced at Edith. “Linda, if you want to marry him, no one’s stopping you.”
Charles put an arm around Linda’s shoulders.
He said, his voice warm. “Sweetie, don’t listen to your grandma’s nonsense. Your engagement to Jasper was set by both families‘ granddads when you were born.
“They wouldn’t dare look down on you. Besides, my amazing daughter? Jasper’s the lucky one–lucky for a lifetime!”
Charles had a strong, square–jawed face, commanding and intense.
His seven sons were powerhouses in their fields, yet they all trembled before him.
But this tough guy? Total softie for his wife and daughter.
Linda’s heart warmed as she looked at her parents.
‘I’m so lucky,’ she thought.
Back in the day, Eleanor Granger was Riverdale’s ultimate beauty.
Suitors practically lined up at the Granger family’s door.
In the end, Charles, equally impressive and from a top–tier family, won her over, and she became a Preston.
After marriage, they were glued at the hip, having seven sons in a row.
Still, they longed for a daughter.
When Eleanor got pregnant an eighth time, the ultrasound showed another boy. Eleanor was depressed.
Worried she’d slip into prenatal depression, Charles took her to a quiet small town for a break.
But then, near full–term, Eleanor took a bad fall.
They rushed her to the nearest hospital, where she gave birth–to a girl.
Eleanor and Charles were thrilled.
Twenty years ago, small–town hospitals weren’t top–notch.
Eleanor had to share a room.
That gave rise to a huge mistake.
The other woman in the room saw their wealth and schemed.
While Eleanor slept, exhausted from labor, and Charles was outside sharing the news, she swapped her baby with the Prestons‘ daughter.
Just like that, Elaine became Miss Preston.
And Linda, the true heiress, was raised by a lazy, no–good couple in a dead–end village.
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9:26 AM
Chapter 2
A month ago, the Prestons found Linda, and she finally came home.
Since then, her parents had been doing everything to make up for twenty lost years, showering her with love.
Linda was so happy to be back with them.
But in her past life, she’d been foolish, obsessed with that jerk Jasper.
Soon after returning to the Prestons, she married into the Vaughn family, dedicating herself to Jasper and their marriage.
It ended with her dead.
Her dad cut off the Vaughns, friends for decades, never speaking again.
Her mom, heartbroken, stopped sleeping, her beautiful face etched with wrinkles.
‘I was an awful daughter,‘ Linda thought, fists clenched.
This time, she just wanted to stay close to her parents, be their little girl.
Jasper could take a hike.
Dad,
Dad, Mom, I’m too young to get married,” Linda said, eyes teary. “I want to call off the engagement.”
“Little liar. I see, you still want to marry her, but you know you can’t,” Edith smirked.
Then she scoffed, “You know you don’t deserve him!”
Her silver hair framed a wrinkled face, and she held a cane by her side.
She should’ve looked like a sweet old lady, but there wasn’t a drop of warmth in her.
Especially for Linda–she was all sharp words and judgment.
But then she turned to the girl beside her, her expression softening.
Patting Elaine’s hand, Edith smiled. “My Elaine and Jasper? They’re perfect together.”
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