Chapter 25

Olivia gasped when she heard Evelyn's words. "Evelyn, Nathaniel, what in heaven's name are you talking about?"

"I mean every word." Evelyn's lips curved into a bittersweet smile. Her gaze drifted toward the endless ocean stretching before them, where waves of nostalgia crashed over her.

"This is where Alexander and I made our childhood promise," she murmured before correcting herself with a hollow laugh, "Or rather, where my foolish one-sided love story began."

Olivia's breath hitched. The realization dawned on her. "So this is Pinecrest Heights... where you first met."

Evelyn gave a slow nod, closing her eyes against the golden sunlight that painted her delicate features. "He told me that day, 'Lillian, when we grow up, I'll make you my bride.'"

Her voice cracked as she reopened her eyes. Silent tears traced paths down her pale cheeks like morning dew on rose petals.

Olivia's hands balled into fists. "Men are all the same! Alexander learned to deceive women before he could properly tie his shoes! And you—you fell for it!"

"I believed him completely," Evelyn whispered. "Not just believed—I staked my entire heart on it."

"Evie, you have to let him go. That man doesn't deserve an ounce of your love," Olivia pleaded, her chest tightening at her friend's devotion.

Yet Evelyn's smile remained, fragile as sea foam. "Twelve years, Liv. Twelve years I've loved him. How do I simply stop breathing?"

Her love had seeped into her bones, become the rhythm of her pulse.

How could she excise what had become her very essence?

"So you'd truly give your life for that man?" Olivia's voice turned sharp.

A sudden icy wind whipped between them, its chill piercing Evelyn's heart.

"If it means his happiness."

She'd been lost from the moment their childhood eyes first met across this very shore.

"Evie, I... I don't think I'll get to hold my baby." Evelyn bent to retrieve a seashell, her fingers trembling. The ocean's melody brought back Alexander's laughter, his promises. She smiled through fresh tears.

"No more chasing after him. Let him find happiness elsewhere. I'll be content too—with my baby. We'll sleep forever in these waves, cradled by the memory of when he loved me..."

Olivia studied Evelyn's face—the serenity there, the acceptance. It terrified her. What kind of love made death seem peaceful? What kind of man inspired such devotion while giving nothing in return?

After parting with Olivia, Evelyn returned to Blackwood Estate.

Nathaniel was waiting at the gates, his handsome face lined with worry. "Evie! Where have you been? I've called a dozen times!"

Evelyn's heart ached at his concern, but Alexander's cruel words echoed in her mind. Before she could respond, a familiar dark car pulled up.

Alexander emerged like a storm given human form, his all-black attire mirroring the darkness in his eyes. "Nathaniel Sterling. After all these years, still sniffing around my wife?"

His mocking tone dripped with venom.

Humiliation burned through Evelyn. She stepped between them. "Nathaniel and I are innocent. Mr. Blackwood, have some respect—for your wife and your former classmate."

The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.

"Wife?" Alexander's laugh was jagged. "You remember that title now? Then why do I find you cozying up to your old flame at my doorstep?"

Exhaustion weighed Evelyn down. She wouldn't justify herself anymore—but she wouldn't let Nathaniel suffer. "Alexander!" Her voice shattered the twilight. "For the last time—there has only ever been you!"

The raw pain in her scream hung in the air as she fled inside.

Minutes later, Alexander followed.

His presence filled the foyer, dark and glacial.

Evelyn braced for another verbal assault. Instead, his voice came low and measured—more terrifying than any shout. "Evelyn. We need to talk."