Rebirth: Love me Again
Chapter 339 - 339: The Day My Wedding Bells Turned into Alarm Bells

[ESTELLE]

Evangeline Frizkiel. So that's who you were all along?

I clutched the champagne glass tighter, the chill from the flute seeping into my skin as I made my way through the crowd. I had waited for the perfect moment to confront her, and now that I stood face-to-face with Eve, I wasn't sure if I wanted to throw the drink in her face or toast her for pulling off the greatest surprise of the decade.

Everyone who had been gathered around her just moments ago had magically dispersed. Of course, they did. No one dared interfere when a Frizkiel and Fay-Johnson confrontation was brewing. Everyone except her overprotective brothers—Dante and Dean—and, of course, my boyfriend, Damien, who was glued to her side like a personal guard dog.

"Estelle," Eve greeted me calmly, her expression unreadable. Her voice was soft, almost unnerving. Shouldn't she at least be surprised to see me here? I mean, come on, I was practically a Fay-Johnson here and the cousin of her beloved Cole Fay.

"Does Cole know all about this?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

I knew my cousin. He was Cole Fay, after all—he always knew everything. Secrets, scandals, underground movements, who was dating who in the industry—nothing ever escaped him if he wanted to find out about something. So there was no doubt in my mind that he already knew about this. About Eve. About the Frizkiels. About everything.

The real question was . . . why wasn't he here?

Cole was possessive. Domineering. Over-the-top dramatic, in the way that only men with too much power and not enough therapy could be. And Eve? She wasn't just some girl to him—she was the girl. The one he wouldn't shut up about, the one he stalked from a distance like a lovesick panther in designer shoes.

So why wasn't he glued to her side right now? Why wasn't he here throwing a tantrum and threatening the royal guards just for letting another man breathe near her?

Unless . . . something happened.

Something big enough to stop Cole Fay. And that, in itself, was terrifying.

I saw Damien's face darken immediately, and Dean let out a sharp breath. Dante's usual expressionless face crumpled slightly into a frown. Oh. So they knew. They probably knew Cole and Eve were dating.

Of course they did. They were Frizkiels. They probably knew everything.

Dean stepped forward like he was about to pounce.

"Listen here, you. I don't care who you are or where you came from, but that man's name is forbidden in this house," he growled.

What was going on? I knew they were her brothers, and of course their job was to be protective of their long lost sister—but this? This felt excessive. Zachary, my brother—he'd never been this hostile toward my suitors before.

Were they really going to be those kinds of brothers? The kind who'd glare daggers at every guy within a ten-foot radius of their sister? The kind who'd scare off potential husbands until she turned into an old maid living alone with four cats named Mr. Whiskers, Tuna, Boots, and Sir Meowington?

I couldn't decide if it was sweet, infuriating, or completely irrational.

But Eve lifted a hand, stopping him.

"It's fine," she said with a soft smile that somehow chilled my bones. "I'm sure everyone knows about it by now. Including Cole. It doesn't matter anymore. He's in the past. He can't hurt me anymore."

I blinked again. That was new to me. Past? Like, they broken up?

Okay, sure, I'd been away from New York since December and yes, it had been months—but still. Last I checked, Eve and Cole were a thing. And now? She's a Frizkiel. Not a Rosette? And they weren't together now. How the hell does that even work?

"Eve? What's going on here? What happened between you and Cole?" I asked. Panic laced my voice, not because I cared about their doomed love story, but because if my dear idiot cousin messed this up, then how the hell was I supposed to marry Damien and become her sister-in-law?

I tried to soften my tone. "Look, Eve, I know Cole is an idiot—he is, trust me, we share DNA—but whatever it is you guys are fighting about, I'm sure it's all just a big misunderstanding. He probably forgot your birthday or said something dumb again or done something idiotic, but it's nothing that can't be fixed with ice cream and alcohol."

"It's not a misunderstanding," Dante muttered.

Ugh. Of course he had to talk. He was my least favorite brother—not because he did anything wrong, but because he was always so serious. Like, crack a joke once in a while, dude.

Eve just smiled at me—a polite, diplomatic smile. The kind you give someone you barely tolerate at charity events.

"Like I said, Cole is in the past," she said smoothly. "Enjoy the party, Estelle. I still have to greet everyone."

And with that, she floated away like some ethereal princess, her perfect hair bouncing like it was in a shampoo commercial, leaving me standing there opening and closing my mouth like a fish.

I stared at her retreating figure, then turned back to Damien, who was already moving to follow her.

Cole that idiot. That absolute idiot.

I snatched his hand before he could fully ignore me. "Hey. Look. Whatever Cole did, I have no idea. I didn't know what happened between them, okay? But I hope that . . . whatever it was, it doesn't affect us."

Damien looked at me. That blank, unreadable stare was back. The same one from the first time we met. Gone was the warm smile, the glint in his eyes when I made him laugh, the softness he'd reserved for me in recent days.

He was ice.

Wait—was he seriously about to punch me for something Cole did?

What kind of twisted logic was that? I wasn't the one who broke her heart, ghosted her, or whatever my idiot cousin had done this time. I was just the poor, innocent bystander caught in the blast radius of whatever nuclear mess Cole had left behind.