Chapter 101

The icy wind cut through Evelyn like a knife, freezing the blood in her veins.

She rushed back to her apartment, throwing clothes and essentials into a suitcase with trembling hands. Before dawn broke, she was gone.

Alexander Blackwood terrified her more than any demon ever could. Death didn't scare her - it was his cruel methods, the way he systematically destroyed everyone she loved before her eyes.

Standing before the mirror, Evelyn traced the faint scar tingling on her skin. She closed her eyes against the memory.

Alexander, how could loving you bring me to this?

As the year drew to a close, Blackwood Enterprises prepared for its annual gala.

Sebastian Whitman had insisted Evelyn accompany him, but she'd refused. Instead, she found herself at a karaoke bar with colleagues from her department.

The private room buzzed with laughter and drinking games. No one noticed Evelyn sitting alone in the corner.

The joyful atmosphere only made her isolation more painful. Slipping away to the restroom, she nearly collided with Alexander in the hallway.

Her heart leapt into her throat. Panicked, she turned and fled.

Alexander ended his phone call just in time to catch a glimpse of a familiar figure disappearing around the corner. Frowning, he followed.

Evelyn reached the safety of the karaoke room, her pulse still racing. Her coworkers remained oblivious, some already passed out drunk on the sofas.

As she sank into her seat, the opening notes of a familiar love song filled the room.

"Evil in Innocence."

The lyrics illuminated on screen mirrored her own tragic story. Unbidden tears welled in her eyes.

Outside the door, Alexander paused. Though he'd never paid attention to Evelyn's voice before, something primal recognized it now.

Through the round window, he saw her perched on a barstool, her frame painfully thin. Even under the dim lighting, he could see the tracks of tears on her cheeks.

"You would know, the cruelest things that have been done to me," she sang, her voice clear and heartbreaking.

Alexander's chest tightened as each word struck like a physical blow.

"It was you, who had turned me into an adult overnight."

Memories of Evelyn saying she hated him, that she didn't love him anymore, flooded his mind.

"Desperate innocence, instantly turning into scars along the way."

He watched her tears fall unchecked, an invisible weight pressing down on his lungs.

"I miss, my stupidity."

The song ended with Evelyn's voice breaking. "Although heaven and earth are not benevolent, if not necessary, wake your defense, wait a minute—"

She left unnoticed, just as she'd arrived.

The cab ride home passed in a blur. As Evelyn fumbled with her keys in the dim hallway, the motion-activated light flickered on.

A nightmare voice spoke from the shadows.

"Evelyn, who gave you permission to leave my sight?"