Chapter 63

Evelyn couldn't bear to listen any longer.

"I need some air." She set down her glass and stood abruptly.

The admission burned in her chest. Envy. Jealousy. Ugly emotions she'd never wanted to acknowledge.

For twenty-four years, happiness had been a foreign concept. Childhood meals were always cold. Schoolyard bullies became high school tormentors.

She'd learned early that some things were never meant for her.

Like a mother's love.

If others had to fight for it, she knew she'd never stand a chance.

Especially not with someone like Dominic Blackwood.

Adulthood brought no liberation, only heavier chains of reality.

"Evelyn, you must've committed terrible sins in your past life," they'd whispered. "That's why you're paying for them now."

The mansion had bathrooms everywhere - courtyard, first floor, second floor.

She just needed to splash water on her face.

The courtyard bathroom was occupied by unfamiliar female classmates taking selfies. "Hurry, get one of me in this stall! Celeste the movie star made out with her boyfriend right here!"

Sharing a celebrity's bathroom space seemed to thrill them.

Evelyn turned away silently.

More classmates crowded the first-floor restroom, reapplying makeup. These were the same girls who'd pulled her hair and mocked her motherless state years ago.

Time had erased their memories. Evelyn had no desire to remind them.

Standing before the second-floor mirror, she studied her pale reflection and shut her eyes.

Her phone buzzed. Robert Sinclair.

"Dad, you should be asleep." Her voice cracked.

He asked about the blind date.

"I can't see myself with a foreigner. He proposed marriage and moving overseas within minutes." She leaned against the sink. "It felt... desperate."

Her father's warmth returned through the phone. "My fault entirely. An old friend made the introduction without proper vetting. He sounds unstable."

"Just an awkward dinner." She didn't want his guilt.

After hanging up, Robert called Beatrice.

The mahjong tiles clacked as Beatrice's phone rang. Her expression hardened at the caller ID.

"Excuse me, darlings." She draped her Prada shawl over her shoulders gracefully. "Continue without me."

In the corridor's shadows, Beatrice hissed, "I told you never to call this number."

"What kind of predator did you set my daughter up with? Marriage proposals at first meeting? Moving abroad? Have you lost your mind, Beatrice?"

Robert's lung condition made his angry wheezing worse.

Silence.

"You heartless woman!" He coughed violently. "She's your flesh and blood, not some stray you can discard!"

"Robert Sinclair, you forfeited all rights to judge me when you impregnated me. From her first breath, that girl ceased being my concern. I'd adopt a hundred strays before claiming your bastard. Meeting you was my greatest regret - must I keep proving it?" The venom flowed freely.

Robert slammed the phone down.

Beatrice smirked, gazing indifferently at the moonlit gardens.

Dominic was her only child.

Everything else - everyone else - could burn.

The phone rang again. Robert's number flashed.

"Enough!" Beatrice snapped. "If you're begging for money, name your price! Just swear you'll never contact me again. To me, you're already dead!"

"Listen carefully, Beatrice." Robert's voice turned deadly calm. "I may be worthless, but I never wronged you. Hurt my daughter again, and I'll expose every skeleton in your closet with my dying breath."

He knew her game.

After two strategic divorces, Beatrice had clawed her way into T Corporation's inner circle. She'd spent years silencing her impoverished ex-husband.

Now that their daughter was grown, Beatrice feared the girl might come knocking. Shipping her abroad was the perfect solution.

"Evelyn knows nothing," Robert said. "She thinks you're dead. Keep it that way."

Beatrice exhaled. "This arrangement suits me perfectly. Don't test me, Robert."

Back in the mansion...

Evelyn exited the bathroom straight into a solid chest.

Dominic leaned against the doorframe, cigarette dangling from his fingers. His frown deepened as he studied her.

Nervous under his gaze, she murmured, "I should go."

"Wait." His large hand closed around her trembling wrist.

Before she could protest, he'd spun her around and shoved her into a dark room. The lock clicked ominously.

Pinned in the corner by his broad frame, she felt his warm breath at her ear as he undid another shirt button. "I noticed you watching me play basketball back in that small-town high school. I've wanted you since then."

Lightning shot down Evelyn's spine.

"I..." Denial died on her lips.

"Shh." His finger pressed against her mouth. "I couldn't claim you then - not when my life wasn't my own. But now?" A dark chuckle. "Now I'll spoil you rotten every damn day."

In the darkness, she couldn't see his expression, only felt his heat as he captured her lips, tasting her like the sweetest addiction.