All Chapters of One Night Stand With My Hubby's Cousin: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Evelyn's POVSomething flickered in his gaze—something I couldn’t quite read.For a second, I froze.Lake Como.That night.His expression—surprised, almost… pleased.And then—disappointed.“Oh,” I let out a cold laugh. “So that’s what you meant.”I shook my head slightly. “Guess I walked straight into it.”“Exactly.” His voice dropped, slower now. “You started this.”His thumb brushed lightly against my jaw.“You came to me.”A beat.“You don’t get to decide when it ends.”There was something different in his tone now.Less mocking.More dangerous.“I’m just getting started.”“Asshole.”A faint smile. “Yeah. I am.”His fingers slid from my chin, tracing slowly along my lower lip—unhurried, deliberate. His breath was closer now.Too close.I knew exactly what he was about to do.“Then let’s talk terms,” I cut in, steadying my voice. “What would it take for you to pretend none of this ever happened?”His eyes sharpened.A flicker of interest.“Anything,” I added calmly, “except sleepi

Evelyn's POV“What? You’re not going after new men anymore?”Maddie yanked off her Cartier rimless glasses so fast it was almost aggressive, her voice jumping at least three octaves. She dropped them onto the table with a sharp clack, loud enough that the couple at the next table actually paused mid-conversation to glance over.I, on the other hand, took my time.I lifted my latte, slow and unbothered, and took a small sip. The foam left a soft warmth against my lips, grounding me for a second before the interrogation began.Before she could spiral into the conclusion that I’d suddenly given up my entire revenge plan—I decided to salvage my reputation.“Relax,” I said calmly, setting the cup down. “It’s not that simple.”Maddie narrowed her eyes at me immediately.The look was surgical.Like a cat about to interrogate a suspect.…Great.So I told her.Everything.From the beginning.Meeting Sebastian’s one of eight at the gala—Miss Ellery, all elegance and soft smiles—to realizing my

Evelyn's POV“Seven o’clock. You’re the daughter-in-law of the Langford family, and you’re not here ahead of time, not even prepared, yet you’re telling me you’re busy?”Her voice dropped, sharper.“Get here. Now.”Click.The line went dead.No room for a response. No opportunity to play the obedient daughter-in-law.I stared at the dark screen for two seconds, then rolled my eyes. To her, the most important “career” in human history was probably that dinner.I glanced at the time.18:04.…Damn.I’d actually lost track.Still that tone, like she was training a dog.I mentally added it to her list of offenses while already pulling off my gloves, grabbing my bag, heading for the car.From the rescue center to downtown, about forty minutes. If I skipped washing up, I could technically make it just in time. Technically. In reality, traffic moved like a massive, emotionally stable but painfully slow reptile, inching forward one car at a time.I wiped the sweat off my forehead with one hand

Evelyn’s POVThat was enough.Not because I cared—at least, that was what I told myself—but because if Julian said it like that, then Sebastian was definitely doing something he shouldn’t be.So I followed him.He didn’t take me back to the ballroom. Instead, we slipped through a side corridor, moving along a quieter passage before stepping out into the back garden, where the noise of the party faded almost instantly, replaced by something softer, more muted.Night had fully settled in.The lights were dim, scattered between trees and stone paths, casting shadows that stretched and overlapped, blurring the edges of everything until the world looked almost unreal. The air was still, and even our footsteps seemed to dissolve into it, as though the night itself was swallowing every sound.Julian stopped.“Look.”I followed his line of sight.And froze.Under a trellis, just at the edge of the light, stood Sebastian.He was close to a woman—too close.One hand rested casually at her waist

Evelyn's POVI took a slow breath, forcefully stuffing all that messy emotion back where it came from and trying to look like a reasonably functional human being again.Then I looked up at him.“And besides…” I paused, my tone settling back into polite, professional distance. “You don’t really have the standing to say that, Mr. Julian.”“No standing.”Julian repeated the words under his breath, like he was slowly rolling them around in his mouth, testing the flavor. Or maybe he was just saying them to himself.Then he gave a small laugh. Faint. A little self-deprecating.Honestly, I didn’t think the line was all that offensive. If anything counted as offensive, it was the barrage of barbed comments I’d just thrown at him earlier. Those had been more like chucking rocks straight at someone’s face. And yet he hadn’t reacted to any of that.But this?For some reason, this was what seemed to get to him.The emotion was subtle—but real.Before I could quite figure it out, he suddenly reach