Chapter 275
All eyes snapped to Alexander as his commanding voice cut through the tension.
His chiseled features were set in glacial severity, those piercing sapphire eyes like shards of ice.
"Sebastian, I'm marrying Vivian regardless of objections," the older man stated calmly, his resolve unshaken.
"That marriage won't happen." Alexander's measured response carried more steel than his uncle's declaration.
Evelyn arched an eyebrow. "What gives you the right to interfere, Mr. Blackwood? Who are you to oppose our union?"
His lips compressed into a thin line as that arctic gaze pinned her. The intensity in his stare bordered on predatory.
"I refuse to let someone with your face become my aunt."
His tone brooked no argument, his expression carved from marble.
Evelyn let out a derisive laugh. "So I can't marry your uncle because I resemble your late wife? By that logic, should I only consider men who look like you, Mr. Blackwood?"
Alexander's jaw tightened. Their gazes locked, electricity crackling between them.
"Don't flatter yourself thinking you could ever marry our Alexander!" Margaret Blackwood sneered suddenly, her voice dripping with condescension. "In all of Willowbrook, only Miss Sophia Montgomery is worthy of being Mrs. Blackwood! Their wedding is imminent. You? Hah! Any woman bearing resemblance to that wretched Evelyn Sinclair brings nothing but misfortune."
Alexander's expression darkened at his mother's venomous words. "How many times must I repeat myself? The engagement with the Montgomerys is terminated. I won't marry her."
Margaret's triumphant smirk faltered, replaced by shocked indignation. Flushing crimson, she wheedled, "Alexander, I know there were misunderstandings between you and Victoria, but stop being unreasonable. She bore your son Ethan! How can you abandon her now? She adores you completely—where will you find another woman so devoted?"
"Do you imagine she's the only woman capable of loving me?" The question came out glacial. Only one face flashed in Alexander's mind.
No one could ever love him as fiercely, as completely as Evelyn had.
She was irreplaceable.
Margaret gaped, momentarily speechless.
A shrill ringtone shattered the silence.
The moment Margaret answered, frantic screams erupted from the speaker. Evelyn recognized Eleanor Kingsley's hysterical voice shrieking about Victoria.
"Oh god!" Margaret's face drained of color. "Alexander, hurry to the hospital! Victoria's threatening to jump!"
Victoria Lancaster—attempting suicide?
Evelyn's lips curled sardonically. This was clearly another performance. Victoria always had an agenda, and securing the Blackwood name remained her ultimate prize.
"Alexander, Victoria has stood by you for years and given you Ethan! Her face was disfigured because of you! You can't turn your back on her now! If she actually jumps, you'll carry that regret forever!"
Regret.
The word struck Alexander like a dagger.
Evelyn's dying words echoed in his memory.
'Alexander, you'll regret this.'
He couldn't bear that weight again.
Not even a fraction of it.
Evelyn.
Her name was a wound in his chest. Abruptly, he turned on his heel and strode away.
Evelyn tracked the minute shifts in Alexander's expression—the barely concealed panic, the fear of loss.
Her heart plummeted as she watched him rush off.
'Alexander, you still care so deeply for her.'
'Is that terror I saw in your eyes? Fear of losing her?'
'Hmph!'
Her rosebud lips pressed together, storm clouds gathering in her gaze.
From the sidelines, Henry Blackwood observed Evelyn thoughtfully before sighing and shaking his head.
Sebastian would have stayed, but urgent matters demanded his immediate departure.