Chapter 6

"Evelyn!"

Darkness swallowed her. Just before she lost consciousness, Evelyn thought she heard Lucas calling her name.

Lucas carried her to his car and headed for the hospital.

A black luxury sedan cut him off on the road.

"Mr. Bennett, where are you taking my wife?"

Because Evelyn was unconscious, Lucas had to hold her upright in the back seat so she wouldn't fall.

The sight drove Graham nearly mad with jealousy.

"Mrs. Prescott became ill. I was taking her to the hospital."

Graham pulled Evelyn forcefully from the car. "My wife doesn't require your assistance."

For reasons he couldn't explain, Lucas remained uneasy.

Then he noticed a spreading bloodstain on Evelyn's white dress.

"She's bleeding!"

Graham's chest tightened, and his arms trembled around her.

But when he saw her closed eyes, another thought occurred to him.

"Evie, stop pretending.

"Your cycle should have started around now."

Evelyn woke again in Graham's car, still trapped in waves of pain.

Relief crossed his face, followed by an expression that said he had known she was faking.

He questioned her coldly. "Why did you leave with him?"

"Evelyn, are you that eager to attract other men?"

Evelyn could no longer tell whether her body or her heart hurt more.

The pain clouded her mind until she couldn't distinguish the nightmare from reality.

"Because I don't want to die.

"I'd rather leave with anyone but you..."

Graham laughed in fury, his eyes turning nearly black. "Fine. Very well."

He handed Evelyn over to the household staff.

"Mrs. Prescott has forgotten how to keep proper boundaries with other men. Lock her in the windowless reflection room until she understands."

No one knew better than Graham how deeply Evelyn feared the dark.

That was why he had chosen the brightest house in Silvercrest for their marriage. Every room was always illuminated, as though night could never reach her.

Now he personally ordered her into the darkest room in the entire estate.

After the door closed, he instructed the staff.

"Her cycle has started.

"Bring her warm tea and a heating pad during the three days she's confined."

For three days, Evelyn drifted in and out of consciousness.

She felt as though she had sunk into a bottomless ocean where pain filled her lungs.

She believed she would die there.

Somehow, she survived.

Three days later, she stepped outside.

When the first ray of sunlight touched her face, Evelyn felt as if she had been born again.

"Mom, Dad, I'm going to Alder County Courthouse for the final divorce decree. Meet me at the airport."

She brushed the dust from her clothes and walked forward without hesitation, leaving behind the home where she had spent four years and the man who had shared it.

It was all right. This was only another storm to cross.