Chapter 2

Evelina’s POV

After that night, everything changed. Kaelen started bringing women home.

Not one. Not two. Dozens.

He called them girlfriends.

I told myself it didn’t matter. Kaelen was just pressuring me to see the truth, to talk me into giving him up sooner.

But three months ago, everything shifted.

He proposed. Lilith Draven, his longest girlfriend, became his fiancée.

And half of my heart turned to ice since then. I’d known, deep down, that this day would come. But some foolish part of me had hoped I could get to his heart first. That maybe, if I stayed close long enough, I could be enough.

But that propose changed everything.

I started watching the way Kaelen treated Lilith—soft, attentive, different. More than he ever treated me.

It hit me hard. Was this what love looked like to him? Had I been wrong all along? Will he ever love me— the way I love him?

I laughed bitterly at the memory now. At the quiet, aching despair that came with it.

I even tried to joke once, forcing lightness into my voice. “Is this your way of telling me to give up on you?”

Kaelen didn’t hesitate. “Not everything is a strategy. I love her. I want to marry her.”

He said he loved her.

But if his words hurt, it was his actions that destroyed the other half of my heart.

He made sure I saw them—heard them.

He brought her home, walked her down the hallway, and took her into his room.

The giggles. The whispers. The sound of clothes falling. The moans. All of it, night after night.

My room was just across the hall. I heard everything.

It was a slow kind of torture. Like death by a thousand cuts. And he knew it.

He could have been kinder. He didn’t have to rub it in. But he did.

I knew Kaelen didn’t do mercy. The softness he once showed me—it only existed because he accepted me back then.

And now he tortured and humiliated me because he no longer sees me as someone to cherish, but someone to punish.

Maybe even someone he hated.

So today, I made the call.

I’m leaving the Draycotts.

Grandfather asked me to move in with him when I turned sixteen. I said no. Because of Kaelen.

Now, eleven years later, I’m saying yes.

Still because of Kaelen.

But more than that—it was because I wanted me back.

The girl who used to be free. Strong.

The one who might cry, but always wiped her tears and stood back up.

…

The door burst open.

It was Kaelen.

He froze when he saw me. “What are you doing at the casino today?”

I kept my tone even. “Just came by to finish some paperwork.”

After graduation, I’d started helping with one of the Draycotts’ casinos. This year, I’d finally been promoted to marketing manager.

He frowned, eyes scanning the office, but didn’t say anything. Just turned to leave.

I called out before the door fully closed. “Kaelen. Have dinner with me tonight?”

After all, I was leaving New York soon. This might be the last dinner we ever had.

His fingers tightened around the doorknob. But his voice stayed cold. “No. I have plans with Lilith.”

“Alright.” I sounded calmer than I felt.

The door remained half open. He didn’t leave. Instead, he said, “Evelina, I warned you. Don’t try to get closer to me than you should. I told you years ago—”

I cut him off. “Since when did dinner between family members become a crime?”

My voice came out sharper than I meant.

Kaelen turned, studying me. After a beat, he gave a short laugh. “If it really was a family dinner, there’d be no problem. But you and I both know that’s not what you meant. Don’t start this again. Lilith and I are getting married. I won’t let rumors drag the Draycott name through the mud.”

I held his gaze. “Actually, I was going to tell you something at dinner.”

He said nothing.

“I’ve saved some money. So I’m thinking of moving out of the Draycott Manor. Probably in a few days.” I paused. “You can move back into your old room.”

Kaelen had given me his bedroom when I first moved in. He said it had the best light. That it was the only room in the house big enough aside from their parents’.

For a second—just a split second—I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes. Regret, maybe. Or something close to hurt.

But then he blinked, and it was gone.

“I think that’s a great decision,” he said coolly.

And with that, he turned and shut the door behind him.

I sank back into the chair, every ounce of strength draining from my body.

But alongside the ache, there was something else. Something quieter.

Relief. Acceptance.

Some things in life can be earned with time and effort.

Love isn’t one of them.

And maybe leaving is the only real kindness left.

Will you be happy then, Kaelen? When I finally disappear from your life—for good?