However, Adrian was a grown man with a family, and even then, he still couldn’t resist temptation from other
women
Evelyn blinked the tears back, forcing them down. She refused to let anyone see her fall apart.
Even if she lost everything, she was going to lose it with dignity.
Apologize to Claire,” Adrian finally said, breaking the silence. His tone was cold, commanding, like he was giving orders at work.
Ady, I’m not upset with Evelyn,” Clarissa cut in, her voice full of false grace. “She just had surgery. Take care of her, okay? I’ll leave.”
She dropped her gaze to hide the fake sadness in her eyes, then turned and walked toward the door.
Noah ran after Clarrisa, trying to grab her hand, but she gently pushed him back.
“Why don’t you just say sorry to Claire?” Noah snapped, glaring at Evelyn. “Dad and I were happy with Clarrie. Everything was fine until you came back. You made Clarrie sad. You ruined everything.”
Noah’s voice was full of anger. Evelyn had thought she was ready, that she could face whatever came from these two ungrateful guys. But the moment she saw that raw hatred in her son’s eyes, it cracked her wide
open.
“Get out,” she said, turning her head away, refusing to look at either of them. She didn’t even want to say one more word to them.
“Noah, go wait in Claire’s room. I need to talk to your mom,” Adrian said, patting his son on the shoulder before walking him to the door and closing it.
He took a deep breath, trying to steady the fire building in his chest. Looking at Evelyn’s pale face, he wanted to snap, but the words caught in his throat.
His hands went to his tie, yanking it loose in frustration. He stared down at Evelyn, who still turned her head
away
They’d been married for six years, so Evelyn could already guess what Adrian was about to say–same old manipulative, guilt–tripping words like always.
She used to believe that if she gave everything to them, Adrian and Noah would feel it and love her in return.
But life had shown her the truth–not everyone deserved her heart. Some people were born cold and ungrateful. Her care and love couldn’t earn their respect and trust.
She was done being the humble wife and mother, done breaking herself to keep the peace.
Adrian snapped, “What’s wrong with you, Evelyn? You ran off to the middle of nowhere and left me and Noah behind. You didn’t think once about Noah’s feelings. If Claire hadn’t come for the school event, do you know how hurt he would’ve been?”
19:20 Wed, Sep 3
Chapter 8
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He yanked a chair over and sat down beside the bed. Though Evelyn still refused to talk to him, he insisted on
a talk.
He said, “All the other kids had their parents there, but Noah had to watch everyone else with their moms. Can you bear to see his disappointed look?”
Evelyn let out a bitter smile, thinking, ‘Well, in his eyes, everything is still my fault. I’m irresponsible to my family‘
She retorted, “Adrian, you and Noah clearly need Clarissa more than me. Just work with my lawyer and finalize the divorce. And for the record, I don’t want to see your face again. Get out.”
After that, she closed her eyes. Her stomach clenched from the stress, and she had to grit her teeth not to cry
out.
Adrian jumped up, furious. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her toward him.
He barked, “What the hell is wrong with you? You’re totally unreasonable.”
“Ah…” Evelyn sucked in a sharp breath, her voice shaking. The pain from her incision tore through her like a knife, and she could feel warmth spreading across her gown. She bet the wound had opened again and was bleeding.
Even through the pain, she kept her tone sharp. “So this is how you get back at me? Just because I don’t apologize to your mistress, you’re going to rough me up too?”
Though her voice was trembling due to the sharp pain, her gaze at him was still harsh.
It was the first time Adrian really looked into her eyes. He frowned, “Stop pretending. Your incision is in your lower abdomen. I just touched your shoulders. It’s far from near.”
AD
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
