Chapter 70

Hearing the phrase "Because you're about to marry my dad" from a girl about her age made Charisse feel a bit awkward. Still, her face only froze for a split second before returning to normal. "I see. Nice to meet you, Miss Ellis." "Come on, don't be so formal. Just call me Madeline," Madeline said warmly. "We're gonna be family soon anyway. You saved Daniel—seriously, I can't thank you enough. If anything had happened to him, I don't even wanna imagine what it would've done to Ethan." She gave a little pat on her chest, like she was still shaken by the thought. Then she glanced outside, lowered her voice, and added sneakily, "But hey, don't tell Ethan you're gonna be my stepmom, alright?" Even though she was kind of mentally prepared, that phrase—"stepmom"—still caught Charisse off guard. "Just… don't let him find out there's any connection between us." "Why not?" Madeline leaned in, her voice quieter. "Daniel's always been against me and Ethan being together—because my dad's Clayton,"