Chapter 476
She should have stopped caring about them years ago.
Yet when she saw Eleanor limping away, tears burned behind her eyelids.
After Alexander stormed out of Evelyn’s office, he barricaded himself in his suite at Blackwood Estate.
Yvonne and Margaret knocked relentlessly, but he never answered.
Day bled into night as he replayed his wedding footage with Evelyn on loop.
His grandfather had been right. He’d loved her since the beginning. Choosing her under Henry’s name proved it.
But Victoria had weaponized a childhood vow to manipulate him for six years.
She was never the one.
The girl he’d promised his future to was Evelyn.
Alexander slumped in his chair, then suddenly laughed—a raw, broken sound.
"The woman I loved then, now, always—it’s you, Lillian."
His phone buzzed violently.
"What? Evelyn almost crashed chasing Margaret?" His voice sharpened. "I’m on my way."
He tore through his closet for a fresh shirt.
Yvonne intercepted him with a dessert tray. "Alexander! Finally—where are you rushing off to?"
He brushed past her without a word.
Margaret blocked him at the grand staircase. "Going to Evelyn again? After she and Sebastian stole everything from us? Have you lost your mind?"
"My choices aren’t your concern," he said icily. "Interfere, and you’ll regret it."
She recoiled as he strode out.
Evelyn’s hands shook long after leaving Eleanor at the hospital. Distracted, she missed picking up Ethan.
Twilight painted the sky when Eleanor called.
This time, Evelyn answered immediately.
"Evelyn," Eleanor’s voice trembled. "I know you despise us. But come home tonight. Just once. Then I’ll never ask again."
"You saved me today," Evelyn said tightly. "Consider this debt paid."
Yet she knew the truth—she wanted to go.
Twenty minutes later, her car idled outside Montgomery Manor.
Alexander emerged from a black sedan, balancing a cake box.
Their eyes met. His gaze softened like spring sunlight.
He moved toward her—then froze when she smiled, all sharp edges and venom.
"How devoted. Even bankrupt, you remember your precious son’s birthday."
Alexander’s laugh was bitter. "If I were devoted, I wouldn’t have missed every one until now."
"Precious son." The words curdled on Evelyn’s tongue. Her chest ached.
"Victoria’s child gets everything. But mine?"
Her voice fractured. "Ten months of carrying her. Years of agony. And I never even held her. While you—you killed our baby to please Victoria."
Tears spilled over. Rage twisted her features.
"Alexander, I will never forgive you for that."
His response was a whisper.
"What if I brought her to you right now?"