Chapter 94

Evelyn stepped out of her apartment, heading straight for the kitchen.

Olivia followed closely behind, announcing she'd wash her hands in the bathroom first.

Once certain her brother was seated at the dining table, Olivia crept back into his bedroom.

She grabbed the laptop bag, fingers fumbling with the lock. The security mechanism refused to budge without the passcode.

The bag's material proved unusual - no ordinary fabric that scissors could slice through.

"What's this sneaky bastard hiding?" Olivia seethed, tempted to smash the device against the wall.

Night had descended.

Dominic's black Range Rover glided through the bustling city streets.

His sharp profile looked even more severe under the stark contrast of his black suit and white shirt. That perpetual air of detachment clung to him like a second skin.

Evelyn sat silently in the passenger seat.

"Mind if I smoke?" Dominic's request came with polished courtesy.

His politeness put Evelyn in an awkward position. "Do whatever you want, Mr. Blackwood," she replied stiffly.

The intimacy they once shared had evaporated into this strained formality.

Dominic's mood had been foul all evening. As he lit his cigarette, they hit a red light.

The halted car amplified Evelyn's discomfort.

Halfway through his cigarette, the light turned green. Dominic's grip tightened on the steering wheel. "Anything you want to say to me?"

A chill ran down Evelyn's spine. "Did you take my grandfather to Blackwood Manor? When will he return? Or should I come get him—"

"I didn't force him to stay," Dominic cut in, his tone grim. "That's his decision."

The implication was clear - he bore no responsibility for the old man's choices.

Evelyn refused to escalate things further. If this was ending, it should end cleanly.

When they reached her apartment complex, Dominic pulled over.

Before exiting, Evelyn steadied herself. This was it - severing ties with a relationship that never should have been.

Staring straight ahead, she forced out the words: "Let's make this clean. We're officially over."

The car door slammed behind her before she could see his reaction.

Dominic remained motionless, watching through the windshield as that slender figure disappeared into the building. His knuckles turned white against the steering wheel.

The apartment greeted Evelyn with hollow silence.

Dominic had become like an abnormal growth on her heart - something that shouldn't have been there, something society deemed unethical.

So she'd cut it out.

Now her heart bled freely.

Would time heal this wound or let it fester?

Evelyn dropped her bag and collapsed onto the sofa, leaving the lights off. Moonlight provided the only illumination.

A headache pounded behind her eyes, but closing them brought no relief.

When she opened them again, a cigarette case and lighter on the coffee table caught her attention.

She recognized Dominic's preferred brand.

'If he came to pick up Grandpa, he must have left these here...'

Childhood memories surfaced - lighting her grandfather's pipe, asking when she'd be old enough to smoke.

"Girls don't smoke," Grandpa had said, patting her head. "It's bad for your health, remember that, Evie."

Yet he'd taken several deep puffs afterward.

Twenty minutes ago, Dominic had sat in that same torment. While she'd stared out the window, he'd smoked to suppress his emotions.

'Does it really help?'

On this lonely, heartbroken night, Evelyn found herself reaching for his cigarette.

The first drag made her cough violently.

Smoke filled her mouth and nose.

It brought no comfort - only intensified the ache.

By the time she finished the cigarette, tears streamed down her face.

"Dominic, that's enough..." Julian snatched the nearly empty rum bottle.

Getting drunk to numb pain - something a man of Dominic's pride and intellect would normally never do.

Dominic didn't fight for the bottle.

His trembling hands lit another cigarette instead.

To him, Evelyn was like water to a parched man - her sweetness secondary to how she sustained him, revitalized him.

Rain began pattering outside.

Julian scanned the hotel suite. No women in sight - not even staff. Should he stay with this emotionally shattered man?

"Should I call Evelyn?" It seemed the only solution.

Perhaps she held the key to this situation.

Julian dialed her number.

When she answered, he rushed out: "Evelyn? It's Julian! My brother's had too much to drink, can you—"

She cut him off mid-sentence.

After listening briefly, Julian hung up with a sigh. He wouldn't call again.

Evelyn's words echoed: "From now on, his affairs don't concern me. Don't ask why - I don't know either. Goodbye."

Then the line went dead.