Se connecterEvelynI drove to my father's house the following afternoon. The gate was already open when I arrived, and Darlene's car was parked in the driveway beside Pedro's. I kept my hands on the steering wheel for a moment after stopping, looking at the house I had avoided for so long. The last time I had been there regularly, Mum was still alive, and most of my days had been organised around taking care of her. I remembered carrying water to her room, helping her change, and sitting beside her when she could not sleep. Those memories had never become easier to revisit, and I wondered whether returning would bring back more than I was ready to face.I took my bag from the passenger seat, stepped out of the car, and walked toward the front door. Before I could ring the bell, it opened, and Bruce appeared in the doorway. He looked older than I remembered, with more grey in his hair and a tiredness around his eyes that had not been there the last
Kendall"Evie, I'm not going to decide your relationship for you, but I am going to tell you when I'm worried about you…” I began. “You can care about Damien and still recognise that what he did frightened you. His apology doesn't erase the fact that he destroyed your belongings and grabbed you when you tried to move away. You don't have to make a final decision tonight, and you certainly don't have to return to him while you're still upset. Stay here, get some rest, and we'll talk when you've had time to think."“You make it sound like Damien did something wrong. This was all my fault, Kendall.”Screw that.“No, enough of that! That’s your problem… see? You’re always blaming yourself! It was not your fault, Evelyn. Like everyone else, you’re only trying to figure things out.”She leaned against me, and I held her while she cried again. I did not tell her that part of me was relieved she had left Damien's flat. I had never belie
KendallEvelyn called while I was finishing some work at home. I almost let the call ring a second time, thinking she might be checking whether I was free to talk, but something in the way her name flashed across the screen made me answer immediately. Her voice sounded strained, and when she told me she was five minutes away, I stopped what I was doing and got up from my desk."Evie, what's happened? Are you still at Damien's flat? You sound as though you've been crying, and I can barely hear you properly. Talk to me. Do you need me to come and get you?""I'm in the car. I'm coming to your house, Kendall. I'll explain everything when I get there, but I really need you tonight."As soon as we ended the call, I moved a pile of clothes from the spare room and pulled fresh sheets over the bed. I had barely finished when I heard her car outside. She came in carrying a bag over her shoulder, her face tired and swollen from
Evelyn My wrist was sore, and I kept rubbing it gently while tears ran down my face. "No, Damien. I need you to stay where you are for a moment." I wiped my cheek with my free hand, trying to keep my voice steady. "You said you wanted me to be honest about my feelings, and I have been trying to do that. I know I have hurt you, and I know the visit was a mistake to keep from you. But I cannot marry you while I am still uncertain about what I feel, and I cannot move toward marriage while I am frightened of how you might react when we disagree. I need time to think about all of this." He looked at me with an expression I could not quite read. "Are you saying you want to end the engagement? Is that what you have decided after one visit with Adrian? I need you to tell me whether you are leaving me, Evelyn, or whether you are asking for time." "I'm not ending our relationship," I replied. "But the wedding needs to be put on hold. I cannot promise to marry you while I am uncertain,
EvelynI could barely look at Damien after he stopped speaking. I had seen him upset before, but I had never returned to find the room in pieces because he had been unable to control himself. I wanted to explain that I had not gone to the prison to betray him, yet the sight of the painting torn from its frame made every explanation feel inadequate. I had hurt him by hiding the visit, and he had frightened me with his reaction.Damien stared at me, and I watched his expression harden. "So that is what he has done now. He is sitting in prison, and he has found another way to reach you without asking you to do anything. He can tell you to go and live your life, and you will spend the rest of the day wondering what he meant by it. You come back here with his words in your head, and I am left standing in the middle of it all trying to understand whether the woman who said yes to me actually wants to be here."I reached for his hand, hoping that a smal
DamienShe set her bag down slowly, and I watched her struggle to decide what to say."Yes, I went to see Adrian. I know I should have told you, and I'm sorry I didn't, but I needed to talk to him. I've been trying to understand my feelings since the trial, and I thought seeing him would help me work through them. I wasn't trying to hurt you, Damien. I knew you would be upset, and I didn't know how to tell you I needed that conversation."I let out a short, bitter laugh and looked away before turning back to her. "You didn't know how to tell me, so you lied by omission and went behind my back. You accepted my proposal, Evelyn. What was I supposed to think when I discovered you had spent the morning with the man you keep trying to convince me you've left behind?"Her eyes filled with tears, but she did not move toward me. "I meant what I said when I accepted your proposal. I wanted to marry you…”“Wanted?”Fuck.She rushe







