Chapter 102
Evelyn's fingers trembled uncontrollably, sending the key clattering to the floor with a sharp metallic clink.
Every wound on her body seemed to awaken simultaneously, the searing pain slicing through her like a thousand knives. The agony threatened to consume her sanity, leaving only one haunting image burned into her mind—Alexander callously smashing the urn containing their child's ashes with his own hands just days before.
The motion-activated lights flickered off, plunging Evelyn's world into darkness.
"Evelyn, I'm speaking to you," Alexander's icy voice cut through the shadows.
She flinched violently at his touch. When his fingers closed around her wrist, she recoiled like a defenseless animal, then suddenly collapsed to her knees before him, forehead pressed desperately against the cold floor.
"Mr. Blackwood, I was wrong! Everything was my fault! I never should have loved you, never should have crossed Victoria!"
"Alexander, please—I beg you—don't hurt anyone else because of me."
"Our child... you destroyed them so cruelly, erased their very existence. I'm pleading with you—spare my grandfather's ashes. I swear I'll never think of you again. I'll sign the divorce papers. I don't want to be your wife anymore—not in this life, not in any lifetime to come. Never again will I be your wife!"
Alexander stared down at the broken woman groveling at his feet, momentarily stunned into silence.
The flickering corridor lights cast shifting shadows across Evelyn's hunched form. This couldn't be the same woman—the proud, defiant Evelyn who'd once vowed revenge if he didn't kill her, who'd sworn to haunt him forever as his wife. Where had that woman gone?
His chest constricted strangely as he hauled her upright.
"Evelyn, what the hell are you doing?"
"Forgive me, Mr. Blackwood! I've displeased you again. I'll disappear immediately!"
Head bowed, she scrambled for the fallen key, fingers shaking as she struggled with the lock. She kept her face averted, refusing to meet his gaze.
She knew how repulsive she must look to him now—the once beautiful face now marred beyond recognition.
The apartment was tiny—less than 20 square meters—but immaculately kept. Yet even this small sanctuary offered no escape. The moment Evelyn turned, Alexander seized her arm.
"Evelyn, where do you think you're going? Did I say you could leave?" His voice held its usual steel.
When she continued avoiding his gaze, something twisted in Alexander's chest. He caught her chin, forcing her face upward.
The angry X-shaped scar glared back at him, the flesh still an angry red.
Two brutal gashes now disfigured what had once been perfection.
His breath caught. An inexplicable sensation crawled through him, like insects burrowing beneath his skin.
Seeing his focus on her scars, Evelyn tried to cover them. "I apologize for offending your sight, Mr. Blackwood. Just let me go, and I'll vanish completely—you'll never have to look at me again."
She struggled weakly, but Alexander pulled her against his chest instead.
"What happened to your face?" The question held genuine confusion. "Evelyn, tell me—who did this to you?"
"I deserved it! Don't trouble yourself, Mr. Blackwood. I won't contaminate your world any longer!" With a sudden burst of strength, she wrenched free and fled into the night.