Dark Revenge Of A Jilted Bride: Till Life Do Us Part!-Chapter 49: Mrs. Newman...

"Thanks for accompanying me, old man..." Gianna said as the car doors shut behind them, the soft thud echoing in the quiet evening air. Her shoulders loosened just a fraction. "Thanks for interfering..."

Old Mr. Thorne smiled warmly, tapping her hand gently. "You are welcome, my dear. And I am bent on interfering more, where necessary..."

Both laughed, the sound easing some of the tightness coiled in Gianna’s chest.

"Just don’t hesitate to talk to me whenever you are in a hitch..."

A pause followed. A softer one. "And I am sorry about the valuables you have lost."

Gianna nodded stiffly, her jaw tightening as sadness threatened to overwhelm her, pressing at the back of her throat. "At least I will get half the money, eh..."

Old Mr. Thorne laughed alongside her, indulging the halfhearted joke she made, clearly meant to diffuse the sad atmosphere, even though they both knew the loss cut deeper than money ever could.

When they got to the Thorne mansion, Gianna was all too happy to be embraced by the familiar welcomeness of the house, far too happy that she had a place like this, like home.

The feeling of relief tinkered on oblivion, however, the instant she spotted Zane walking toward them.

Her face automatically schooled into a blank slate.

In this house, in this environment, Zane and she were civil on all counts, careful not to put whoever was around them under pressure, not to invite tension into shared air.

"Zane!"

Old Mr. Thorne’s jovial tone, as he covered the distance between himself and Zane, made Gianna just a tad bit jealous; her petty side wishing—briefly, childishly—that he would join her in the hating game against Zane Whitman.

"...Fine, old man. Came to talk to Spider about something..." she heard Zane say, his voice easy.

She wondered if it was about the new shot in town—about Noah.

Already scoping a new business contact?

Gianna rolled her eyes and started moving toward the house, her steps faltering when she heard Old Mr. Thorne invite Zane to stay for dinner.

"No... I have a lot of work to catch up on, old man. Maybe next time..."

A sigh of relief escaped her lips before she even realized it, just as she had successfully escaped talking with him.

Even exchanging pleasantries with him in those months they had been forced—out of circumstances—to stay in the same room had been tiring, draining, like running a marathon she never signed up for.

And she knew those days were far from over, not until Ewan moved to the Giacometti mansion.

Last she checked, renovations were still being done. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Hopefully, it would be done soon enough so that she would stop seeing Zane unnecessarily.

"Hey, Mrs. Newman..."

Gianna rolled her eyes at Chelsea’s taunt when she entered the house.

Dropping her bag on the sofa in the living room, she went forward to join the family at the dining table. The refreshing bath could wait until she was done.

Because if she did take her bath now, it was straight to sleep—and she needed to be awake till midnight; had a lot of work to do.

"How are you doing, Mrs. Newman..." Areso teased, scooping food into her mouth.

Gianna ignored her friend as well, settling into her seat.

She drank a full cup of water before realizing Nathaniel was asking why she was being called Newman.

"Is there a name change, Aunt Gia?"

Gianna glared at her two friends who dissolved into fits of laughter. Even Florence couldn’t stop the smile that touched her lips.

"What’s making my girls laugh?" Old Mr. Thorne asked as he took his seat at the head of the table.

"Nate is asking if Gianna made a name change... Chelsea called her Newman..."

Old Mr. Thorne smiled, clearly enjoying this, making Gianna pout.

"I have told you all that we aren’t dating! He just played the socialites’ game and won, according to Spider."

"Are you going to debunk it?" Areso asked, looking at her suggestively as she took a sip of juice.

Gianna shrugged. "Not at the moment. It’s giving me the necessary PR, and considering the collection I am about..."

She paused, shutting her eyes for a second. Damn. She still said it.

"What collection are you talking about?" Chelsea pressed on, completely unaware of the mishap Gianna had just created for herself.

"Uhmm... just something I am working on..."

Florence’s brows furrowed. "Something apart from the show at the convention..."

Gianna risked a nod.

Silence fell at the table as her friends realized what was going on.

But to their amazement, Florence simply shrugged her shoulders.

"I am sure you are wise enough to pick what you can handle. You are strong, Gianna. But you will eat and rest properly. I will make sure of that."

Of course she will, Gianna moaned inwardly, already envisioning herself leaving the house with packed lunches like she was back in middle school.

"Seconded," Old Mr. Thorne quipped.

Gianna groaned aloud this time, drawing laughter from everyone at the table.

"I can really take care of myself, Gramps."

"You say that all the time... most people do... but then—"

"I know, I know..." she sing-songed, picking up her fork.

"So, how did it go? Were you able to retrieve the properties..." Florence sighed when sadness overtook Gianna’s countenance.

"That bad?"

Gianna nodded. "Some of the clothes and all the jewelry had been sold. And Sabrina burnt the pictures..."

"That’s bas—"

"That bit—"

Chelsea and Areso shut their mouths quickly, hands thumping lightly on the table when they realized the kids were looking at them.

"She will pay for it." They concluded, the words barely scraping through.

"Oh yes, they will," Gianna said, scooping food into her mouth. "I told them to refund sixty million... I’m thinking I should have added more..."

Silence fell at the table.

Then guffaws—loud, unrestrained—ones that made Gianna smile, a genuine smile this time.

"Girl, I love you!" Chelsea raised her glass.

Gianna clinked glasses with her, then with Areso.

"That’s half of the money done..."

Gianna nodded, cocking her head to the side when Spider joined them at the table.

A handsome fellow, she thought absently—probably would have rung her bells if he was closer to her age range.

She watched him talk with her family, laugh easily while dishing food for himself. Sometimes he had dinner with them once a week, sometimes two or three times.

She watched him engage the children about their recent code assignment and tuned out—it wasn’t her forte—but curiosity gnawed at her all the same.

"Spider..." She finally called. "Why did Zane see you? Anything to do with the newest big shot in town?"