003_The Lion’s Den

Evelyn's POV

I checked the time. It was barely noon. In my past life, I would have spent this time at a luxury spa, complaining about the temperature of the water while Marcus sent me suggestive texts. Today, I was sitting in the back of a car, clutching a small velvet box containing Caleb’s sapphire cufflinks.

He didn’t actually need them—he had dozens—but it was the only excuse I had to get into the building without an appointment.

When the car pulled up to the glass-and-steel monolith that was Kingston Enterprises, my stomach did a somersault. The security guards at the front desk looked at me with immediate, visible discomfort. They knew my face. They knew me as the woman who once made a scene in the lobby because the elevator was "too slow."

"Good morning," I said, offering a small smile to the guard. "I'm here to see my husband."

The guard blinked, looking like he expected me to start screaming. "Uh, yes, Mrs. Kingston. Let me call up to Margaret."

"Thank you. I appreciate it," I said.

I headed for the elevators. As the doors closed, I caught a glimpse of the two guards whispering to each other. I couldn't blame them. I had been a nightmare for years.

When I reached the executive floor, the atmosphere changed. It was quiet, smelling of expensive coffee and high-stakes stress. At the end of the hall sat Margaret. She had been Caleb’s assistant since he started the company. She was sixty years old, sharp as a needle, and she hated my guts.

She didn't even look up from her screen as I approached. "Mr. Kingston is in a meeting, Evelyn. He won't be out for another hour, and his schedule is full until the Gala."

"I can wait, Margaret," I said softly.

That made her look up. Her glasses slid down her nose. "You’re going to wait? Usually, you just barge in and demand he takes you shopping."

I took a seat in the leather chair across from her desk. "I know I’ve been... difficult in the past. But I just wanted to bring him these. He forgot them this morning." I held up the velvet box.

Margaret looked at the box, then back at me. Her eyes were narrowed, searching for the catch. "Put them on the desk. I'll give them to him."

"If it's all the same to you, I'd like to give them to him myself. I’ll just sit here quietly. I won't be a bother."

An hour passed. I didn't play on my phone. I didn't huff or puff. I just sat there, watching the clock. Margaret kept glancing at me like I was a bomb about to go off. Every time she looked, I just gave her a polite nod.

Finally, the double doors to the boardroom opened. A group of men in suits walked out, looking exhausted. Caleb was at the back, talking intensely to his head of legal. He looked up, his eyes landing on me, and he stopped mid-sentence.

"Evelyn?" his voice was flat, colored with immediate irritation. "What are you doing here? Did something happen to Leo?"

"Leo is fine," I said, standing up. "You left these on your dresser. I thought you’d want them for tonight."

I walked over and handed him the box. Caleb didn't take it at first. He looked at my hand, then at my face, as if he expected me to drop the box and start a fight. Slowly, he reached out and took it.

"You drove all the way down here for cufflinks?" he asked.

"And to ask you something," I said.

He sighed, turning to his legal head. "Give us a minute, Frank." Once the hallway cleared, Caleb ushered me into his office and shut the door. He didn't sit down. "Look, if this is about the jewelry budget for the Gala, the answer is no. We discussed this."

"It's not about the budget, Caleb." I walked toward him.

He stepped back, his back hitting the edge of his mahogany desk. The man who terrified the city’s top investors was actually flinching because I moved toward him. My heart broke a little more.

"I wanted to ask if we could go together," I said. "In the same car. With Leo. I want us to arrive as a family."

Caleb stared at me. "You hate the family car. You told me it makes you look like a 'boring housewife.' You insisted on taking your own limo so you could leave early to meet your friends."

"I was wrong," I said. I reached out, my fingers trembling slightly, and straightened his silk tie. He froze, his breath hitching in his chest. "I want to be there with you tonight. Not as an obligation, but because I’m your wife."

I looked up at him, making sure he saw the sincerity in my eyes. For a split second, the icy mask he wore melted. I saw a flash of the man who had proposed to me years ago—the man who had actually loved me before I gave him every reason to stop.

"What are you playing at, Evelyn?" he whispered. His voice wasn't angry anymore; it was confused. Pained.

"I'm not playing," I said. "I’ll be ready at six. Please be home to pick us up."

I didn't wait for him to argue. I turned and walked toward the door. As I opened it, I looked back. Caleb was still standing against his desk, clutching the cufflink box so hard his knuckles were white.

"See you at six, Caleb," I said.

I walked past Margaret’s desk. She was staring at me, her mouth slightly open.

"Have a nice afternoon, Margaret," I said.

I felt her eyes on my back all the way to the elevator. It was the first time in five years I had left that office without someone crying or shouting. It was a small victory, but as I stepped into the lobby, I knew the real battle was only a few hours away.

I had to get home. I had a drive to fake, a son to comfort, and a "best friend" to outsmart.