Evelyn always wondered if that cold-hearted bastard had something he was bad at. Contrary to her who would hardly do anything right, he seemed to never fail at anything.
An arrogant man like himself would never let himself taste anything other than victory.
These pancakes he made, although it was a simple recipe— why did they taste so good to the point her stomach turned into an endless pit?
The delicious food put her in a better mood and got her to act more civilized.
"Why do you suddenly want me back?" Evelyn questioned.
Looking for her after so many years, she would be a fool to believe that were no hidden motives. He didn't lack woman by his side, and each of them were a better match for him than her. As someone who detested trouble, there had to be something large that propelled him to make this decision.
Him missing her? She would rather believe that the Earth is flat than this.
"It's about time you go home. I have given you enough space."
"Go home. Go home. Can you stop parroting that? And what home? That agonizing place? What makes you think I will go there after all that happened? I don't know if you are too overconfident or dense, Mister." She sneered.
"It won't be the same."
"It won't be the same? Do you think I care about it anymore?" Evelyn gave a sardonic laugh.
She then continued, "Do you think I would be like back then? Obedient and be at your beck and call, do whatever you want for you?"
"You were never obedient," he voiced out.
She wasn't obedient!? What has she not done and sacrificed for him? After all that, he had the audacity to utter these words!
"I hate you, Mister. I hate you to the point it disgusts me to take your name. Have you forgotten how I tried to kill you before leaving? Do you think the years have caused me to become mild? Let me tell you, Mister, I still want to end that life of yours desperately."
Evelyn wasn't lying. She did wish to take his life with her own hands. Before she left, she recalled pointing the gun at him and shooting the bullet at him, but because of his mere good luck, he ended up with simply a wound on his arm.
That cold-hearted bastard stared at her silently as though he was a bystander and had nothing to do with the situation while she was close to being hysterical. This is how it always went. Even when she pointed that gun and shot at him.
And it was pissing her off further.
Forget about being classy!
Standing up, she slammed her hand on the table and pointed towards the door, almost screaming, "Leave! Just leave right now if you don't want anything bad to happen to you! You fucking bastard!"
"I will give you today to say goodbyes to your colleagues and friends and for resigning."
It was as if both of them were in different dimensions. He ignored her words and tried to assert his ideas. The calm and overbearing attitude he showed was suffocating. Three years ago, she was used to him being like this, but now, if he asks of her to stay away from fire, she has no issues with jumping into it.
Stomping over to him, she fiercely glowered down at the man sitting on the chair and grabbed on to shirt's collar harshly. She couldn't act cool at the end. It was impossible for her to do so when the memories associated with this cold-hearted bastard flooded her mind at the sight of him.
The gate broke, and everything she tried to suppress flooded her senses.
"Why can't you fucking understand that I am not going back with you?"
"Can you then pay ten million for breaching the contract?"
Ten million? She hardly has hundred dollars saved in her bank account!
"Legally punish me for it then," Evelyn said. After all, it was her fault for being foolish and signing papers without reading anything.
"Everything that happened before was due to my negligence, and it won't be repeated."
"You are too late."
And too perfunctory.
Evelyn stood up straight and was about to walk away when he voiced out, "Don't you want to meet Lia?"
Stumbling at the mention of that, she stared at him with wide eyes and in disbelief. Her knees went weak, and she was almost about to fall when he stood up and held her hand to stabilize her.
"I will let you meet her. That's why, go back with me this time, alright?"
Tears started to well up in her eyes.
"L-Lia," she stuttered out.
"Yeah, Lia."
There was lot she wanted to say. Evelyn was on the verge of exploding. But she held it all in. The emotions inside of her were a mess, and she couldn't organize them. She didn't have the strength to do so.
°°°
As Evelyn stepped out of the office, her wrist was grabbed.
"You are resigning? Why? Is it because of me? Do you feel uncomfortable?" Maverick sounded panicked.
If her emotional state was normal, she would have smiled and said few words to him jokingly, but now, all she wanted to do was desperately leave this place. She didn't have the mood or energy to deal with these unnecessary troubles.
"No," Evelyn answered, "I have to go back to my hometown. There's someone I have to see."
Somewhat frantic, Maverick questioned, "Then, what about us? Are you going to return? Do you—"
Before Maverick was able to continue, Evelyn was pulled away from him, and Maverick stared at the man in confusion.
"What are you doing?"
"I don't think it is appropriate for you to touch my wife like this."
Maverick involuntarily shuddered at that bone-chilling voice. As those cold eyes were on him, he felt as though he was being stared at by a calm yet ferocious beast.
"Wife?"
Maverick's shocked eyes fell on Evelyn, waiting for an explanation, but Evelyn was in no mood to entertain him.
"It's done. Let's go back then," Evelyn voiced out.
°°°
Sitting in the plane, she leaned her head against the window and had her eyes closed. Upon opening them, they fell on the attractive and cold man seated beside her who typed away in his laptop.
This got her to think about how the ill-fated relationship between them started over a decade ago. Back when she was fifteen.
On the day the two of them interacted for the first time, it was snowing. Evelyn had been pushed into the sports equipment room and locked there by the fellow classmates. The occurrence wasn't a first time for her, so she wasn't exactly surprised or distressed.Growing up, she could hardly recall a time she was well liked by her classmates. At first, it started with them alienating her, and then the matters escalated. They started to bully her physically and mentally.At this point, instead of hoping for the harassment to stop, Evelyn's mindset changed to wish for the bullying to be lighter.It was concerning how instead of being mad at her classmates for locking her up in the room, she felt grateful and pleased that they didn't beat her upThat night was particularly cold, and she was shivering. The thin jacket she wore did very little to provide her with warmth. Rubbing her hands together, Evelyn whispered to herself that it would be fine.Just when her eyes were about to close, whe
The second interaction between them happened when Evelyn was carrying a large of notebooks to the teacher's office all by herself. As she walked through the staircase, she had a hard time looking at her path and balancing the notebook.She knew that she would be done for if one of the notebooks fell and incurred damage. Regardless of how careful she remained, the books wobbled, and her steps were unsteady.However, before any damage was inflicted, a hand was placed on her waist to stabilize her before someone grabbed more than half the books from her hand, lessening the burden."Where to?"Surprised at Landon's presence, she stared at the teen with widened eyes. He raised one of his eyebrows, waiting for her response."Ah, uhm, the teacher's office on second floor," she stuttered out before turning her head the other way. Her cheeks heated up while her heart went out of control.By the time she snapped into her senses, she realized that Landon had gone few steps ahead of her, and she
"What is a young lady like you doing here, standing all on her own? Is the party that dull?"Evelyn turned her head to face a cordial old man. She failed to recognize him. His words left her thinking on how to appropriately respond.A silly laugh left her mouth as she patted the back of her head and said, "It's not that it is dull. I don't know how to get along with people."Back then, Evelyn was a little foolish. She always had an honest mouth, saying the first thing that came in her mind for the first time. Nonetheless, despite what she went through, she had those pair of bright eyes."What about you, Mister? Do you not get along with people as well?"Amusement crossed through the man's eyes."Do you not recognize me?"Evelyn frowned. Creases appeared between both of her eyebrows, and she shook her head. At that, the man only laughed."What an adorable child."This only made Evelyn grin.Following that, the two of them conversed. Despite the large generation gap between the two part
Evelyn stood with the Stone family, waiting for the arrival of the guests. The guests seemed to be pretty prestigious given the level of enthusiasm and carefulness shown by everyone.The main branch of the Stone family had Richard and Susan Stone, both being Evelyn's grandparents; Caspian Stone, her birth father; Janice Stone, Annalise's mother; Annalise and her although she was hardly counted to be a part of the family; and Evan Stone, her half-brother in elementary.Evelyn's mother died before her birth, and there was nothing Evelyn knew of her, not even her name. This was because her birth mother was considered a stain, and that's why, measures were taken to erase her existence.Back when she was a child, she did request to see the woman, but that ended up with her receiving an deep injury to her forehead which needed stitches. From then on, she knew not to cross the boundaries.Evelyn stared down at her hands. They were covered up in bandages. She didn't treat them with much; she
"Marie's daughter? What do you mean? Are you confusing Evelyn with someone else? She is my and my wife's daughter."Marie? Was that her birth mother's name? Evelyn looked at Chairman Parker with anticipation and curiosity in her eyes. She wanted to know more of the woman who gave birth to her."I am not here to play games. I am here to take Marie's daughter back. She shouldn't stay in this filthy family anymore."Take her away?"Evelyn, I am sorry for being late. Won't you go with me?"Evelyn wanted to.For the first time, someone was so warm with her, and she wanted to follow along. Also there was Landon who came with Chairman Parker. Of course, she knew that the rest wouldn't spare her once they left and she was here all alone."I respect you, Chairman Parker, but you are going too far. Evelyn is going nowhere. She is my daughter. I can take care of her, and if you are going to force it, I will have to involve the legal department."The old man's expression changed to become more en
Throughout the car ride, the old man talked to Evelyn softly, trying to ease her nerves. She had to admit that she appreciated and felt touched by the effort, but it did very little to soothe the uneasiness.Even though she was welcomed by him, what about the rest of his family members? They shouldn't be fine with a stranger suddenly coming to live with them. There was a Landon as well.Despite being nice, it couldn't be that Landon w as s willing to be tied to her. The boy was so outstanding, and then, there was her— way below the average.Every glance at Landon only made her self-esteem go lower. However, at the same, a tiny hope of what if bloomed in her chest, spreading its roots more gradually.The car stopped in front of the mansion, and Evelyn entered. Her bag was taken away by the housekeeper, and Landon has been ordered by his grandfather to show her around.Although he maintained a nonchalant attitude, he introduced Evelyn to every corner of the mansion slowly and let her ha
"Chairman Parker, good morning," Evelyn greeted."Chairman Parker?" The old man laughed, making Evelyn's cheek heat up. "Now, don't be so formal and call me grandpa."This made her eyes widen yet feel welcomed at the same time. Seeing the old man look at her with anticipation in her eyes made Evelyn swallow the saliva.Then, she proceeded to reluctantly and slowly enunciate, "G-Grandpa."He smiled widely."Now, that's a good girl! Come, come, sit and eat. You must be starving."She nodded with a smile.And the weekend went by extremely well for Evelyn. For the first time, she had so much warmth in her life, and she could see that even though grandpa was busy, he tried his best to accompany her.Although she didn't get to see Landon much, the small glimpses she got of the teenager was enough to satisfy. She did feel like a stalker with how her eyes kept following him around.After that, with the weekend gone came the school days for her, and Evelyn dreaded it. Annalise would be sure to
Evelyn stared at the frozen lake. Her mind was contaminated with thoughts when she felt the push on her back. It was with a lot of strength, and it got her to harshly fall on the ice before sliding.And that's when she felt the ice beneath her cracking. This got her eyes to widen, and before she could manage to get herself off of there, she submerged in the ice-cold water.She heard a scream overpowering hers and did recall seeing Annalise's face last before falling into the water. Was Annalise finally scared after doing something to her?She shouldn't be. But if Evelyn were to be dead, that's something even Annalise can't escape from. Then again, Evelyn wouldn't know. The power of money was boundless.Her entire body was freezing, and she had a hard time breathing. It felt terrible, and she wanted to get away from there. She wanted to get out and started to struggle, panicking in the process.That's when, people started to gather, and the rescue came.Evelyn, who was slipping between