7  A Fragile Thing Still Fighting to Live

Nicholas waited in place for her to walk around the car.

“Can’t you move any faster?”

“Sorry.”

“You walk so slow it gets more annoying every second.”

He snapped at her, then turned toward the elevator. He took a few steps and stopped when he heard nothing behind him. When he looked back, Evelyn was hurrying toward him.

Maybe because he had scolded her, she quickened her pace.

She even jogged a little.

The underground parking lot had no heating. The winter air cut like a blade. By the time she reached him, her breath was uneven, puffing out in little bursts.

Nicholas stood much taller. When he lowered his gaze, he saw her ears reddened by the cold, her nose inhaling and exhaling quickly, and her hand pressed to her rising and falling chest.

She seemed especially easy to hurt.

Especially fragile.

He could stand in the freezing wind for half an hour without blinking, but she ran a few steps and her pale skin was flushed from the cold.

A weakling struggling stubbornly to stay alive.

The sight reminded him of his own childhood, the times he had been shoved into the mud and still fought with everything he had just to survive.

“Sorry… Mr. Drake…” she murmured.

Nicholas returned to the moment.

He glanced at her and saw her standing before him, head tilted back, looking up at him with sincere apology.

He said nothing more.

The elevator opened. He reached out to hold the door. “Get in.”

“Okay.”

She stepped inside obediently.

The elevator rose and stopped at the first floor. A wave of people crowded in. Seeing Evelyn retreat toward the corner, Nicholas reached out and pulled her toward him. Then he remembered her injury and loosened his grip, holding her arm gently through her coat and guiding her behind him.

Evelyn stood between his back and the elevator wall.

He left plenty of space for her.

Even with people crammed together, no one could so much as brush the corner of her sleeve.

When the elevator reached the fifth floor, she barely had time to react before a firm arm wrapped around her shoulders. Nicholas guided her out as the crowd instinctively made way.

The bright displays of merchandise filled her vision.

Evelyn looked around and then up at him. “Are we buying daily necessities?”

Yesterday she had gotten held up at the club, so today was supposed to be about wedding rings and a few sets of clothes. He had said her clothes were shabby and embarrassing.

Liam always handled daily necessities. What did he need to buy?

Nicholas ignored her.

He let go of her shoulders and walked ahead, expecting her to follow. This time he walked slower, making it easier for her to keep up.

At a boutique, Nicholas bought a thick winter hat, a wool scarf, and a pair of plush gloves.

He did not let the clerk wrap them.

He walked straight back to Evelyn and began putting them on her with quick, efficient movements.

He wrapped the scarf once. Felt it was not warm enough. Wrapped it again.

Tighter.

Evelyn lifted her hand and swatted his arm several times. “Too tight… I can’t breathe…”

Nicholas let go.

He tossed the unfinished scarf straight at her face.

Evelyn instinctively caught it.

She coughed a few times, then pushed the fluffy hat up so her eyes peeked out. Under his gaze, she adjusted the scarf properly, loosening it and wrapping it neatly.

Nicholas made a short noise of irritation.

Was she teaching him how to do it?

He only helped because he could not stand her slow motions. If she ever begged him for help again, he would not even look at her.

He picked out a pair of earmuffs last.

With the hat, scarf, gloves, and earmuffs, she now had the full winter set.

At checkout, Nicholas noticed her staring at a set of character themed accessories in the glass case.

“Like it?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes. It’s cute.”

He glanced at the sets. “Which one do you not like?”

Evelyn lifted her hand and pointed at the dark brown bear.

Before she could lower her finger, Nicholas told the clerk, “That one.”

Five minutes later, Evelyn walked out of the store wearing the ugliest brown bear set imaginable.

The unhappier she looked, the brighter Nicholas’s mood became.

He almost laughed.

Evelyn said nothing.

Upstairs in the jewelry store, the sales associate spotted them the moment they stepped out of the elevator.

“Sir, Madam, looking for wedding bands? We just received new styles. They would suit you perfectly.”

The diamonds glittered under the white lights.

The associate brought out several rings, all excellent in cut, color, clarity, and size.

“Madam, shall I help you try them on?”

Evelyn offered her hand without looking to Nicholas. She already understood his temperament well enough. He was domineering, proud, and possessive. Even in a marriage created by agreement, he would still provide the best.

The associate slid a ring onto her finger, then paused. “Madam has very slender fingers. Even our smallest size is loose. We will need to custom make yours. Please choose the style you like, and we will deliver it to your home once it is finished.”

Nicholas’s phone rang.

He checked the screen. Before he could say anything, Evelyn said, “Go ahead and take the call. I’ll keep looking.”

“Alright.”

He stepped out.

In the hallway, Aurora stepped out of the elevator with a friend.

“We’ll see when Evelyn gets home today. I’m going to teach her a lesson. What kind of journal did she write for me? Getting me exposed for plagiarism…”

“Calm down. She’s not worth the anger. You already submitted the recheck request. Evelyn promised everything was fine. When the results come out, you’ll be cleared.”

“That’s in three days. Three days.”

Aurora’s face twisted in frustration.

Ever since the plagiarism incident, the university forums had filled with posts mocking her. People in her circle whispered and sneered. She was going mad.

Just as she was about to complain more, something caught her eye.

Her gaze locked onto a silhouette.

A man standing in the hallway, on the phone. People passed by him constantly, but he stood out as if lit by a spotlight.

Aurora had met countless handsome men in college, had seen every type during her overseas exchange.

Her boyfriend was even known as the most handsome man at NYU.

But compared to the man before her, all others faded like shadows.

Aurora stared, heart pounding uncontrollably. She wanted to step forward and ask for his contact, but the man ended the call and strode into the elevator.

In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

“Stop staring. He left,” Oriana said.

Aurora still looked in the direction he had disappeared. She tugged her friend’s sleeve. “You saw him too, right? Is he from the New York circle? I’ve never seen him. He’s like someone from my dreams. So good looking.”