MasukEVANGELINEFor one second, Gael froze completely. His eyes widened. His lips parted. No sound came out.Then chaos exploded."What?" he shouted. Every head turned.My mother stood so quickly her chair nearly fell backward.Mrs. Dettling gasped.My father dropped his glass.Mr. Dettling rose with military seriousness.Cordelia lifted her wedding dress and ran toward me despite Morris nearly fainting from stress."Don't run!" Morris cried. "You're pregnant too!""I know!" she shouted back. "I'm not stupid!"Gael knelt in front of me, both hands hovering uselessly, terrified to touch me and terrified not to. "Are you in pain? How often are the contractions? Did you feel this before? Why didn't you tell me? No, don't answer. Save your strength. Wait, answer one thing. Are you okay?"Despite the tightening in my abdomen, laughter bubbled up. "My love, breathe.""I am breathing.""You are not."He inhaled dramatically. Then forgot to exhale.I squeezed his hand. "Gael."He exhaled all at onc
EVANGELINEThe ceremony began beneath a sky so clear it seemed specially chosen.Music drifted through the garden.Guests rose from their seats.The aisle stretched between rows of flowers, and Morris stood at the end of it beside the officiant, looking as if his knees were only surviving through divine intervention.My father sat beside my mother, holding her hand. Mr. and Mrs. Dettling sat on the other side, both composed at first glance, though Mrs. Dettling had already used three tissues and Mr. Dettling's jaw was tight in the way that meant emotion was threatening his dignity.Gail and Evan had been trusted as ring bearers. This was a decision everyone immediately regretted.They began well, walking down the aisle in matching suits, each carrying a small pillow with exaggerated seriousness.Gail's brows were drawn together as if escorting royal treasure. Evan smiled at every guest like a celebrity greeting loyal admirers.Then Evan waved too enthusiastically, causing one ring to
EVANGELINESome endings arrived quietly. Others wore white dresses, caused family arguments over flower arrangements, made grown men cry before the ceremony even began, and threatened to go into labor in the middle of someone else's wedding.That morning, I woke with the strange certainty that life had a sense of humor. Not a cruel one this time. A warm one, the kind that sat back and watched a family that had survived grief, illness, betrayal, danger, misunderstandings, and near-disasters now panic over whether the wedding cake should be placed closer to the windows or farther from the children.Cordelia and Morris's wedding was taking place at the new Dettling family estate.A lot happened within the last six years, including Sebastian and His Father’s DownfallAfter the truth came out and Gael recovered, Sebastian and his father were completely ruined.Gael didn’t press charges against Sebastian for stabbing him, but that mercy wasn’t forgiveness. Over the next six years, Gael quie
EVANGELINEThe car ride felt unreal.I sat beside him with the envelope clutched tightly between my fingers, watching the city blur past the window.Gael drove faster than usual, though not recklessly.His jaw was firm, his eyes fixed on the road, one hand occasionally reaching for mine as if to steady me without needing words."Are you scared?" he asked."Yes.""Of him?"I thought about it. "No." I looked down at the envelope. "Of what this means."His hand covered mine. "It means you're choosing your own ending."My eyes stung. I looked out the window again, breathing carefully, as the airport signs appeared ahead.As soon as Gael parked near the entrance, I opened the door and got out quickly."Evangeline, don't rush," he warned behind me.I heard him. I truly did. But this was my last chance, one final opportunity to give away the letter I should have surrendered years ago, one final chance for a new beginning that did not include running from a memory.I clutched the envelope tig
EVANGELINE"I was wrong."Those were the first words I managed to say.They came out small, but they carried the weight of everything I had been holding since yesterday: the road, Evan's terror, Thaddeus's voice, the secret I had asked my children to keep, and the lie I had told Gael that morning while looking straight into the eyes of the man who trusted me most.Gael didn't interrupt. He only nodded, telling me I could continue.His hand remained over mine, warm and steady, his thumb moving over my knuckles in a soft, patient stroke, as if reminding me that he was listening now, that he had returned, that he was not going to walk away again."I was afraid and nervous at the time," I continued. "I didn't know how to react properly. Everything happened so quickly. Evan in the road. Thaddeus saving him. Seeing his face after all these years." My throat tightened. "The shock made me afraid of your reaction, so I stayed silent. I didn't want to worry you, and at the same time, I was afra
EVANGELINESilence returned.Gael was waiting for an answer I didn't have. Because I didn't know. I didn't know whether forgiveness would free me or wound me again. I didn't know whether letting go meant peace or betrayal.I didn't know whether I could forgive Thaddeus without betraying the terrified woman I had been. And I didn't know how to explain any of that while Gael's pain stood between us like a wall.My silence answered him in the worst way.A brief, sarcastic smile appeared on his mouth and disappeared almost instantly. "Your silence suggests only one answer.""Gael, you...""By forgiving him," he said, eyes fixed on me with a harshness that felt painfully unlike him, "you'll lose me forever."My throat tightened. He had misunderstood everything. "Gael, no. That isn't..."He turned and started walking away.Panic shot through me. I tried to catch up with him, but he increased his pace. "Gael, you have to listen to me. Please don't leave like this. You misunderstood."Gael en
EVANGELINETime passed in pleasant conversation.Thaddeus stayed for another hour. We talked about books we'd both read, about everything except the obvious tension that had filled the room when Gael was present.When he finally announced he had to leave, I walked him to the door."You're coming to
EVANGELINEMy body began to tremble as violent memories flooded back.How could he bring me here? To the very place I'd seen him with Seraphina, where I'd watched them embrace and kiss with such passion that it had shattered something inside me? Where I'd fled in heartbreak only to be cornered by t
EVANGELINEMy eyelids felt impossibly heavy but I had to force them open to see what was happening to the man beside me.I blinked slowly, trying to focus through the drowsiness that still clung to me.Gael's chest rose and fell unevenly. Sweat covered his forehead despite the cool air from the ope
EVANGELINEThe scrape of his teeth made me flinch.My hands shoved at his shoulders, but he only growled low in his chest, pinning me harder into the mattress.His lips trailed lower, over my collarbone, rough and insistent.The thin straps of my nightgown slipped easily under his fingers and cool







