Chapter 7

Dolly finally believed me.

She looked at me with concern etched into her face. "Eve, you… never mind. It’s good that you’ve woken up. You’ve suffered too much for Julian these past seven years."

I fell silent.

Unrequited love represented one of the most profound and cruel forms of emotional pain.

That pain unbalanced me, and the imbalance drove me to madness. The once-proud Evelyn White had never known failure, except for that catastrophic defeat at eighteen.

I didn’t know what the version of me from eighteen to twenty-five had gone through, but it didn’t take much imagination to guess it hadn’t been good.

I slowly said, "Dolly, help me. I want to return to the White family."

Dolly sighed and shook her head. "That won’t be easy… You haven’t contacted them in five years."

She hesitated, and I caught the flash of pity in her eyes.

I lowered my gaze, my chest aching with a dull, sour heaviness.

This body was grieving.

And why wouldn’t it be? That was my family—my closest family.

My eyes reddened as I whispered, "Dolly, please help me. I want to reach out to my brother first. He always loved me the most..."

Dolly’s expression shifted, darkening slightly. "Eve, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but… your brother won’t see you."

Before I could respond, a shrill, mocking voice cut through the café.

“Well, if it isn’t Mrs. Moore. What brings you to this shabby little place for coffee?”

The biting tone made me frown.

Dolly was quicker to react, jumping to her feet. "Rossie Dean, I’m warning you, don’t start something!"

The voice belonged to a stylish woman in a floral dress with fiery red hair. Her makeup was immaculate, and she carried several shopping bags in her left hand. Beside her stood two equally trendy young women, their faces mirroring Rossie’s look of disdain as they eyed me up and down.

I stood and gently tugged on Dolly’s arm. "I don’t know her. Let’s just go."

Before Dolly could respond, Rossie cut her off with a mocking sneer.

“Oh, don’t recognize me, huh? Evelyn, you really have a short memory! We go way back, you and I.”

I frowned. “Miss Dean, I’m afraid I don’t know you.”

Rossie let out a cold laugh and turned to her companions. “Did you hear that? She claims she doesn’t know me.”

The woman in a pale yellow dress chimed in, her tone dripping with malice. “Well, who cares? A desperate woman like her, groveling at Julian’s feet, isn’t worth knowing anyway.”

The trio burst into mean-spirited laughter, their eyes full of ridicule.

I kept my expression neutral and tugged on Dolly’s sleeve. “Let’s go. They’re not worth it.”

But Dolly had reached her boiling point.

She exploded, her voice sharp as she fired back.

“Who are you calling desperate? No one’s as shameless as you, Rossie Dean! You knew Julian was married and still threw yourself at him. And you, Lilian Frost, your family's been buttering Julian up at every turn, desperate for those Moore Group deals. The lot of you have no dignity!”

Dolly’s verbal takedown left the three women stunned into silence.

Rossie was the first to recover. She lunged forward, hands reaching for Dolly’s hair.

But Dolly wasn’t one to back down—her fighting spirit was legendary, and I’d witnessed it firsthand growing up.

Without hesitation, she grabbed the unfinished cup of coffee from the table and splashed it directly onto Rossie.

Rossie screamed, clutching her face as coffee dripped down her designer dress.

Furious, Lilian grabbed a shopping bag and swung it at Dolly.

Dolly didn’t notice, but I did. Instinctively, I stepped forward, blocking the bag with my arm. A sharp pain shot through me as it struck.

Dolly’s temper flared even hotter. “You lowlife trio dared to hit Eve? Are you all tired of living?”

“Stop this at once!” a commanding voice rang out.

Before I could react, a hand grabbed my arm and wrenched it back with brutal force.

There was a sickening crack, and pain exploded through me, forcing me to the ground. I crouched there, clutching my arm as the agony overwhelmed me.

My head buzzed, the pain dulling my senses as I vaguely heard Dolly’s furious voice. “Julian, are you out of your mind? Why are you grabbing Eve like that?”

A jolt of shock hit me—why was Julian here?

I tried to stand, but the dizziness overwhelmed me, and I collapsed toward the ground.

Before I could hit the floor, someone caught me, their grip firm yet gentle.

I barely had a chance to register what was happening when a deep, soothing voice said, “Stop it. She’s hurt.”

...

When I came to, the glare of the overhead fluorescent light was blinding.

“You’re awake?” Julian’s voice came from beside me.

Struggling to sit up, I winced as pain shot through my left arm. It felt limp and useless, throbbing with every movement.

Julian sat nearby, his sharp features set in a dark scowl as he watched me intently.

He noticed my slow, careful movements and let out a faint smirk, his lips curving slightly. “Finally awake. I thought you’d keep faking it a while longer.”

I froze for a second, then shot him a cold glare. “You’re right. I should’ve stayed unconscious longer—might’ve been able to milk some compensation out of it.”

Julian was visibly stunned, clearly not expecting my response.

The disgust in his eyes deepened as he leaned forward, his tone impatient. “Evelyn, go apologize. They’re threatening to call the police on you.”

I scoffed, the corners of my mouth curling into a bitter smile. “And why exactly should I apologize? I didn’t hit anyone. Besides, they’re the ones who started it.”

I might have lost my memory, but I hadn’t lost my wits.

Even if I didn’t remember Rossie, Dolly’s reaction made it abundantly clear those three women weren’t innocent victims.

"Besides, Rossie was the one who started it with her provocations, and Dolly only fought back. Rossie was the first to lose control and resort to violence. So why should I apologize?"

Clutching my injured shoulder, my expression was icy and unapproachable.

The pain in my shoulder was unbearable—it was probably dislocated—and yet my so-called “husband” stood before me, demanding I apologize to the instigator?

How absurd.

A hollow laugh escaped my lips.

Julian’s face darkened at my reaction, his anger flaring. He stood abruptly and grabbed my arm.

“Evelyn, enough! I’ve had it with you! Get back home right now and stop embarrassing me out here!”

The searing pain from his grip on my injured arm tore a scream from my throat.

Still half-convinced I was faking it, Julian scowled. “Go ahead, keep pretending. You’re perfectly fine. We’re leaving!”

The excruciating pain coursing through me made my scalp tingle as though it would explode.

At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to drag this despicable man down with me.

Anyone would go mad from the pain of being yanked by a dislocated arm.

“Let her go! Can’t you see she’s hurt?”

A figure strode forward quickly, grasping Julian’s wrist with a firm, unyielding grip.

Caught off guard, Julian released me instinctively under the pressure of the stranger’s hold.

Freed from his grasp, the pain overwhelmed me, and I broke down into uncontrollable sobs.

It was only then that Julian noticed something was wrong—my arm hung at an odd, unnatural angle.

The man who intervened steadied me gently, his voice calm and soothing. “Don’t worry, I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Clinging to him as if he were my lifeline, I gripped his arm tightly, desperate for relief.

A refined and gentle face appeared in front of me.

Between sobs that left me gasping for air, I cried, “My… my arm is broken! My arm is broken! I need my brother! I want my brother!”

Days of bottled-up emotions burst free under the stranger’s kindness, overwhelming me like a dam breaking.

Without thinking, I buried myself in his arms, just as I had done as a child when I ran to my brother, Nicholas White, after being wronged.

“Brother, I want my brother. Someone is bullying me! They’re all bullying me! Every single one of them—they’re shameless and cruel!”

Julian stood frozen, his expression unreadable.

Even the stranger seemed momentarily stunned by my emotional outburst.

I let out a wailing cry, louder and more unrestrained than ever.

I missed my parents. I missed the brother who had always protected me, the one who would stand by me no matter what trouble I caused.

No matter how bad things got, he would always fight for me, shielding me from anyone who dared to hurt me.

But now, I felt utterly broken.

Because I had lost them.

In the cursed void of these seven years, I had somehow lost the people I loved most in this world.