Chapter 4: The Last Gift

Three days passed.

Evelyn had switched off her phone.

She ignored every message except the ones from her grandmother. She wasn't ready to hear anyone ask about the divorce or offer empty sympathy.

She wanted silence.

She wanted peace.

Most of all, she wanted to protect the tiny life growing inside her.

That morning, she decided to return to the Sterling Mansion one last time.

Not to see Damian.

Not to beg.

Only to collect the few things that truly belonged to her.

The security guard recognised her immediately.

"Mrs. Sterling..."

Evelyn smiled politely.

"You don't have to call me that anymore."

The elderly guard lowered his head awkwardly before opening the gates.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

She walked through the familiar garden, every step bringing back memories.

The roses she had planted herself.

The swing she had convinced Damian to install, hoping they would one day sit there together.

He never did.

Inside the mansion, the servants froze.

Some looked away in guilt.

Others greeted her with teary eyes.

They all knew she had been kind to everyone in the house.

"Welcome back, Mrs... Miss Hartley," one of the maids corrected herself.

Evelyn smiled gently.

"I'm only here to collect a few things."

She climbed the staircase slowly and entered the bedroom she had once shared with Damian.

The room looked exactly the same.

His suits still hung neatly in the wardrobe.

His watch rested on the bedside table.

Nothing had changed.

Except...

Her side of the wardrobe was almost empty.

Someone had already packed her belongings into two suitcases.

She stared at them for a long moment.

So...

He had been that eager to erase her.

Taking a deep breath, she knelt beside the dressing table and opened the bottom drawer.

Inside lay a small velvet box.

She opened it.

A simple silver bracelet rested inside.

It wasn't expensive.

It wasn't from Damian.

It was a birthday gift from her late mother, given to her just months before she passed away.

Evelyn smiled sadly as she fastened it around her wrist.

"This stays with me."

She zipped the suitcases shut.

As she turned to leave, something caught her eye.

A framed wedding photograph.

She and Damian stood side by side.

She was smiling brightly.

He looked distant even then.

She walked over and removed the photograph from its frame.

Without hesitation, she tore the picture neatly down the middle.

She kept her half.

She dropped Damian's half into the rubbish bin.

"I don't need memories that only belong to me."

Just as she picked up her luggage, the bedroom door opened.

Damian stood there.

For a brief second, neither of them spoke.

His gaze shifted to the suitcases.

"So you're moving the rest of your things."

"Yes."

"I thought you already took everything."

"I only came for what belongs to me."

His eyes landed on the torn photograph in the bin.

A strange feeling settled in his chest.

"You tore it."

Evelyn looked at him calmly.

"It was only a picture."

"No."

She met his eyes.

"It was only a marriage."

Her words left him speechless.

She lifted the suitcases and walked toward the door.

As she passed him, Damian spoke quietly.

"If you need money..."

Evelyn stopped.

A faint smile crossed her lips.

"Thank you."

"But what I needed from you..."

She looked straight into his eyes.

"...was never money."

With that, she walked past him.

Damian remained standing in the doorway.

For reasons he couldn't explain, the bedroom suddenly felt unbearably empty.

His gaze drifted back to the rubbish bin.

He bent down and picked up his half of the torn wedding photograph.

For the first time, he noticed something he had ignored for three years.

In the picture...

Evelyn had been looking at him with so much love.

He...

Hadn't been looking at her at all.

A heaviness settled over his heart.

It lasted only a moment before he pushed the feeling aside.

"It doesn't matter," he muttered.

"The divorce was the right decision."

But deep inside, a tiny voice whispered otherwise.

And for the first time, Damian Sterling couldn't silence it.