Rebirth Revenge Is Everything (Ariana) novel Chapter 528

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Throughout the entire evening banquet, Lambert didn't exchange a single word with Irene, completely ignoring her presence.

This cut her deeply.

She couldn't tell whether Lambert had truly fallen out of love with her or if he was still haunted by the past. The thought sent a sharp pang through her heart.

Madelyn, sitting beside Irene, watched her friend's distress with growing frustration.

"Don't lose heart, Irene," she urged. "I'm certain Lambert still cares for you."

Irene's eyes flickered with hope, only to dim again almost instantly.

After a pause, she gave a bitter smile. "He stopped caring long ago. It's been years. It's only natural he'd move on to someone else."

Madelyn scoffed. "Move on to a cheap imitation? Impossible."

Irene stayed silent, her expression heavy with dejection.

Seeing her like this twisted Madelyn's heart. Then, suddenly, an idea struck her. "Earlier, I spent some time with Lambert's older brother, Arnold," she said quickly. "While we were talking, he mentioned that Lambert still has feelings for you. He even brought up things from your past together. I bet Lambert must have confided in him—how else would he know? So Irene, you can't give up now."

A faint glimmer returned to Irene's eyes.

Yet in the end, she remained silent, not uttering a word.

Madelyn sighed, unsure how else to comfort her, and simply stayed by her side in quiet companionship.

After about three minutes, Irene finally spoke again.

She lifted her gaze to Madelyn, mustering a weak smile as she said, "Madelyn, how did it go with Arnold? Did you two hit it off? I think he's quite a catch—marrying him wouldn't be a bad deal." Madelyn, however, had always been proud and headstrong. By her age, most would have already settled down.

But she was willful, and her mother doted on her endlessly.

Even when it came to arranged marriages for business alliances, her mother would dismiss any suitor deemed unworthy, passing them off to her husband’s illegitimate daughters instead.

That’s why, to this day, Madelyn remains unmarried.

The main reason was that her father relied heavily on her mother’s influence, so he never dared to object. But this time, when the Stone family proactively proposed the match, her father saw it as a golden opportunity—one he refused to let slip away. Even when Madelyn protested and her mother spoke on her behalf, her father wouldn’t budge.

Seeing her husband’s rare firmness, Madelyn’s mother had no choice but to persuade her daughter instead.

Yet Madelyn still resisted.

Hearing her friend’s words, she let out a bitter chuckle and murmured, "I don’t like Arnold. I don’t want to marry him."

Irene’s expression flickered, but she quickly masked it, replacing it with a look of concern. "But I think Arnold is a good match. He’s decent-looking, and the Stone family leads the top four conglomerates in the city. You’d live comfortably with him."

Madelyn bit her lip. "But I don’t love him. And he already has a child."

Irene sighed. "Isn’t that normal in wealthy families?"

Madelyn pressed her lips together stubbornly. She simply didn’t want to marry Arnold. Even if he had seemed gentlemanly today, her heart refused to accept him. Her feelings belonged only to Lambert, though she knew she’d likely never marry him in this lifetime. Still, she wouldn’t resign herself to a haphazard match.

She didn’t know the full story about Arnold, but she was aware he held little standing in the Stone family. His ex-wife, Beverly, had even ended up in prison, though the reasons remained unclear.