CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

CLARK’S POV

The room felt too small after Rachel’s words.

Eva is engaged.

I sat there, staring at my desk, my eyes unfocused.

The broken pen lay between my fingers, ink slowly staining my skin, but I barely noticed.

What made me more angry was the fact that she was extremely excited about the news which she just shared.

Rachel was still standing in front of me, watching my face like she was waiting for permission to breathe.

“Clark?” she called softly.

“Did you hear me?”

I looked up at her...as a matter of fact, I glared at her.

She was still smiling….that polite, practiced smile she always wore in public.

The one that said everything is fine, even when it clearly wasn’t.

“You said Eva is engaged,” I replied slowly.

“Yes,” she nodded.

“Daniel proposed…Isn’t that… good news?”

Good news.

I stood up abruptly, my chair scraping loudly against the floor as Rachel flinched.

"Rachel??"

"Yes baby."

“Why are you still here?” I asked.

Her brows furrowed.

“I came to talk to you….About the wedding….Our wedding.”

Something in me snapped.

"The information you just shared a while ago, was it about our wedding??" I asked.

"No but babe, I just wanted to first share the good..."

“Leave,” I said quietly.

“Clark…”

“I said leave.”

Her lips parted, shock written all over her face.

“What is wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me?” I laughed bitterly.

“You walk into my office announcing another man’s engagement like it’s a celebration and you expect me to smile and then you switch up and say you came here for our wedding?”

Her eyes filled with confusion.

“I thought you’d be relieved.”

“Get out, Rachel.”

The silence stretched painfully.

“You don’t get to talk to me like this,” she said finally, her voice trembling.

“I just did.”

She grabbed her bag and walked out, slamming the door behind her.

The moment she left, the strength drained out of me.

I sank back into my chair and closed my eyes.

Eva is engaged.

The words echoed again and again, refusing to settle.

Without thinking, I picked up my phone and dialed her number.

No answer.

I tried again.

Straight to voicemail.

By the fifth attempt, my hands were shaking.

On the eighth call, she finally picked up.

“What?” she asked, her voice flat.

“Why?” I demanded.

There was a pause.

“Why what, Clark?”

“Why did you accept his proposal?” My voice cracked despite my effort to control it.

“When you and I both know who you really want.”

She laughed softly…it was not an amused or playful laugh but a detached laugh.

“You shouldn’t flatter yourself,” she said.

“That’s not an answer.”

“It is,” she replied calmly.

“You just don’t like it.”

“You don’t love him,” I said.

“You never did.”

“And you don’t get to decide that,” she snapped.

“You lost that right.”

The way she spoke… it was different. Distant and Guarded.

“Eva,” I said more gently,

“Don't do this to yourself.”

“I’m not,” she replied.

“I’m choosing peace.”

“So you love him?” I asked quietly.

“Yes.”

The word hit me harder than I expected.

“I love Daniel,” she continued.

“That’s why I said yes.”

It was a lie.

I knew it.

But she needed it to be true.

“I see,” I said after a long pause.

She didn’t say anything.

“Congratulations,” I added.

“I wish you happiness.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

The call ended.

I stared at my phone for a long time, waiting for the ache in my chest to fade.

It didn’t.

That night, I couldn’t sit still.

I paced my living room, poured a drink, didn’t touch it, then poured another. Eventually, I called Mark.

He arrived an hour later.

“She’s engaged,” I said immediately.

He exhaled.

“I was waiting for this conversation.”

“I can’t let her go,” I admitted.

“You don’t get to keep someone who’s moved on,” he replied.

“She hasn’t,” I said stubbornly.

“She’s forcing herself.”

“And you’re forcing a disaster,” he shot back.

“She belongs with me.”

“She belongs to herself,” he corrected.

“And right now, she’s choosing Daniel so let go!!”

I shook my head.

“If I walk away, I’ll regret it forever.”

“If you don’t,” he said slowly,

“You’ll lose both women.”

That thought stayed with me long after he left.

The next morning, I made a decision I couldn’t explain…only justify to myself.

I needed to see Daniel.

I drove to his apartment, my chest tight with anticipation and dread.

Maybe I just needed proof…Proof that Eva was lying…proof that this engagement wasn’t real.

I knocked.

Footsteps approached.

The door opened.

A woman stood there half naked, wrapped loosely in a bedsheet, her hair messy, lipstick smudged.

“Yes?” she asked casually.

The air left my lungs.

Behind her, I saw Daniel seated on the couch.

My hands clenched into fists.

And in that moment, everything shifted.