Chapter 52: No Longer Madam Easton

“Ellis, where are you?” Sophia’s sudden question caught Ellis off guard. She clearly remembered picking Sophia up from the airport yesterday, but they hadn’t made any plans for today.

After a brief pause, she replied, “Mom, I’m still at work.”

“Easton didn’t tell you? I asked both of you to come to my place for dinner tonight,” Sophia immediately guessed what had happened. “That brat! Watch me beat him senseless later!”

Ellis didn’t dare admit that she had already deleted and blocked all of Easton’s contact information. Even if he wanted to reach her, he wouldn’t be able to. Not that he ever reached out much anyway. It had always been her calling or messaging first. And even when she did, it didn’t mean anything. If Easton was in a good mood, he might reply; otherwise, he would ignore her.

“Mom, I have to work late tonight. I can’t make it,” she said apologetically. “I’ll come see you this weekend instead.”

“Then tell Easton to let you off work early,” Sophia suggested matter-of-factly.

“I don’t work at Hudson Group anymore. I’m at Tate Group now,” Ellis saw no reason to hide the fact. “Easton’s not my… anymore. Lois is.”

“Why did you leave Hudson Group?”

Ellis didn’t answer. Probably only Maya truly understood why she had quit. No one else would ever understand just how much that near-death experience had changed her.

Sophia’s silence stretched, and then her tone became sharp. “Ellis, tell me honestly. Did Easton do something to betray you?”

Another difficult question. Ellis considered telling her the truth—that Easton had cheated during their marriage. But then what? Sophia was Easton’s mother, not hers. Was she expecting Sophia to get justice for her? And besides, if Sophia truly cared about what she had suffered, why had she let Easton bring Victoria to see her yesterday?

“Mom, my boss is calling me. Let’s talk on the weekend,” Ellis lowered her voice, pretending Lois was right beside her, just to throw Sophia off. Before Sophia could say another word, she swiftly ended the call.

As if on cue, Lois appeared the next second and gestured for her to follow. “Let’s go.”

Ellis said nothing and followed Lois downstairs to the car.

In high society, the venues for social gatherings were always the same. Since Lois was hosting tonight’s dinner and the other party was also from the upper class, Ellis had picked a restaurant that suited both Lois’s preferences and the client’s expectations, ensuring it wouldn’t be off-putting in any way.

They arrived earlier than the client. After they had settled in, their guests arrived shortly after. Unfortunately, the client hadn’t come alone.

One of the guests was Tom, someone Ellis had once had an awkward encounter with. Or, to be precise, it wasn’t exactly unpleasant—just one that hadn’t looked good. Ellis felt a little uncomfortable but covered it up well.

Tom, on the other hand, showed no such hesitation. He looked at her with open amusement and said, half-teasing, “So, Madam Easton, you changed jobs? Not assisting Mr. Easton anymore?”

Ellis wanted to dig a hole and crawl inside.

At the beginning of the year, she had attended a business dinner with Easton, and Tom had been present as well. At the time, she had been too blinded by love to think rationally. Easton always gave her a deep sense of insecurity, and whenever a woman with even slightly good qualifications appeared around him, she couldn’t control herself. She had to assert her presence, silently warning others to stay away from him.

That night, Tom had poured Easton a drink. Without thinking, she had snatched it out of his hands and downed it herself, even speaking on Easton’s behalf. She didn’t know how others had perceived her that night, but Easton had clearly been displeased. He hadn’t said a single word to her afterward.

Back then, she couldn’t understand why, but now she did. She had embarrassed him. And now, thinking back on it, she felt just as embarrassed. The more desperately she had tried to hold onto something, the more it had slipped through her fingers. And in the process, she had made a fool of herself. Whenever she acted like that, Easton’s usual response had been to ignore her. Not that he had ever been the most attentive person to begin with, but when he deliberately acted as if she didn’t exist, when no matter what she did, he wouldn’t acknowledge her—she had only spiraled further.

Looking back, it was ridiculous. Without love, she no longer let her emotions be dictated by Easton. She could finally be a normal person. Love was an illusion. She had chased it once, and that was enough. From now on, making money would be her top priority.

With that thought, Ellis pushed down the awkwardness and replied, “That’s right. I changed jobs. I’m Madam Lois’s secretary now.”

Lois spoke up. “That’s right. Ellis is my secretary now. Mr. Tom, call her Ms. Ellis.”

Ellis had been struggling to correct Tom’s way of addressing her, not wanting to be associated with Easton anymore. Lois had taken care of it for her. Grateful, Ellis smiled at her.