Chapter 137
Evelyn slept until seven in the morning.
The small town mornings were just as noisy as the city. The guest house stood mere meters from the main street, allowing every early vendor's shout to drift straight into her room.
She blinked awake slowly, taking in the sparse guest room. Only the narrow bed and open windows furnished the space, the air conditioner left off. Despite the discomfort of her period, she'd slept more peacefully than in weeks.
Her phone showed 7:15 AM when she checked.
Where was Dominic?
The landlady passed her in the hallway. "Up early, dear? Your husband's outside smoking."
Evelyn nodded automatically. Of course she meant Dominic.
After freshening up, she planned to grab breakfast before returning to the city. With Grandpa not in town, there was no reason to stay longer.
Yesterday's panic had given way to logic. Grandpa wouldn't have run away. If he'd wanted to ease her burdens, he wouldn't have vanished without a word - that would only worry her more.
No, he must be lost. Or worse... She couldn't finish the thought.
Dominic's words echoed: "No news is good news."
He returned from his smoke as she checked out. They walked to a nearby breakfast stall together.
He ordered without consulting her: "One unsweetened soy milk, one with two sugars."
The stall owner chirped an acknowledgement.
Dominic sat across from her, drawing stares. In this poor town, his tailored suit and polished shoes marked him as foreign as a magazine celebrity. The morning crowd - retirees, early risers, schoolchildren - couldn't look away.
Evelyn kept her head down, sipping through her straw. This stall hadn't changed since childhood, when Grandpa brought her here. Same owners, same taste.
Same two sugars in her soy milk.
Had Dominic guessed? Or was it coincidence?
"Can you finish those?" He nodded at her untouched donuts.
She shook her head. He wordlessly took and ate them.
The soy milk tasted nostalgic. What if she'd grown up with Dominic? As a Sinclair, a Blackwood, even an orphan - how different would their lives be?
With a brother like him, she'd have no shortage of eager sisters-in-law. And any suitor of hers would face his exacting standards...
"What's on your mind?" Dominic watched her over his breakfast.
"I was imagining if you were my brother-" she began earnestly.
His frown cut her off. "Are you suggesting incest?"
She clamped her mouth shut.
Why did she keep casting him as family? The melancholy in his eyes wondered if she had some unspoken kink.
A young couple sat nearby with a squirming infant. The husband fetched pudding while his wife struggled with the wriggling baby.
"Quit staring," the wife chided, then followed his gaze herself. The child nearly slipped free before she recovered. "Honestly, are you part eel?"
The husband kept sneaking glances. They looked familiar...
A middle-aged neighbor settled it. "Isn't that the Sinclairs' Evelyn? Back again?"
The couple exchanged looks. The husband had thought the man resembled his old classmate Dominic Blackwood, but the commanding presence intimidated him from saying hello.
If that was Evelyn Sinclair, then...
"Remember me? You gave me a basketball in high school," the husband ventured.
Both looked over.
Twenty minutes later...
Evelyn stood in the high school yard, memories flooding back. She'd spent countless afternoons peering over this wall, watching Dominic dominate the basketball court.
"I wasn't sure at first," the young father admitted. "But when Auntie said it was the Sinclairs' Evelyn, I knew. Are you two married now?" His smile mixed excitement and awkwardness at reuniting with his now-wealthy classmate.
His wife leaned in. "Yes, how did you two end up together?" She clearly imagined some romantic waiting-for-her-to-grow-up story.
Dominic nodded. "Married with two kids."