Tangled Temptations

Eloise went back to the restaurant, just in time for her turn on the piano.noveldrama

Landon didn't hassle her, he waited until she was off work, and then found a place to talk about piano lessons.

Blake was a good kid, so Eloise agreed to teach her. The fee Landon offered was generous, and he paid for two months upfront, which improved Eloise's financial situation a bit.

She knew what was up - Landon was helping her out in his own way. She might have refused in the past, but she just couldn't afford to care about her pride right now.

When she got home, Michelle was not there. She called Michelle who said she would be back soon.

About half an hour later, Michelle came back. Eloise was about to prepare some late-night snacks for her but noticed that Michelle's arm was badly swollen.

"What happened to your arm?" Eloise helped Michelle to sit down.

Michelle played it down. "I'm getting old, and my arm swells up when I do some work."

Eloise got a knot in her stomach. She immediately checked Michelle's palm. Her usually well-kept palm had several shiny blisters.

Eloise just stared at it, shocked. After a while, tears started to fall. She wiped them off hastily but couldn't control her emotions. She treated Michelle's blisters and gave her some cash for living expenses.

She didn't want Michelle to work anymore.

That night, Eloise cried a lot. When she got up, there were obvious dark circles under her eyes. No amount of concealer could hide them.

At breakfast, Michelle advised her, "It's okay if you can't handle the hard work. If it's really too much, I could sell the apartment."

Eloise reassured her, "It will be better after a while, Michelle. I'll be careful."

Michelle didn't say anything else.

Eloise finished eating, packed her bag, and headed to Crescendo Sound Workshop. As soon as she punched in, a coworker whispered to her, "A Ms. Horigan is looking for you! Eloise, if you don't want to see her, we can tell her you're off today."

Eloise was taken aback, then she saw Orlena not far away.

Eloise didn't hate Orlena, but she also didn't want to deal with her. She had to ask her coworker to make an excuse for her.

But Orlena had already seen her. Orlena walked over gracefully, a playful expression on her face. "Eloise, I wonder why you didn't want to play at my birthday party. Don't you like me?"

When she finished asking, it went quiet. Everyone at Crescendo Sound Workshop knew about Eloise and Max's past. Now, Max's fiancée was asking Eloise if she didn't like her - it was too cruel.

The sympathetic and pitiful looks from her coworkers made Eloise extremely uncomfortable. She told Orlena quietly, "I was busy that day, Ms. Horigan. Sorry, you should find someone else."

Orlena didn't give up. While Eloise was at work, she sat outside, drinking coffee, waiting until Eloise's lunch break to corner her.

"Eloise, let's have coffee together!" Orlena was relentless.

Eloise was usually patient, but she couldn't keep cool with Orlena. She headed straight to her usual fast food joint.

Orlena, dressed in fancy clothes, followed closely in her high heels, saying in an annoying tone, "If you can't attend my birthday party, can you at least help me choose a wedding dress? Landon said you have great taste, Eloise. Can you give me some advice? Max will be here soon, we're having lunch together. Can you give us some suggestions?"

Eloise's face turned even paler. She was betrayed by Max, her father was facing jail time, and Max was forcing her to be his mistress.

Orlena had no idea about any of this, and yet she was still demanding Eloise to like her like everyone else. It was like pouring salt on her wounds!