4.Chapter 4 What You Want In Return
Hearing that, Evelyn finally snapped back to reality.
The wound on her wrist came from the wildlife shoot the other day.
She couldn’t find any clinics in the wild, so she’d just patched it up. After the mess in her family since she returned, she didn’t get around to dealing with it.
Now, looking at the red and swollen wound, she couldn’t help but force a bitter smile.
The two people who were supposed to be closest to her hadn’t even noticed that wound. And yet, a man she’d just met saw it right away.
Evelyn gave a small nod, her lips pressed tight. “Thank you, Mr. Ford.”
She opened the first aid kit and began treating the wound.
Nathan walked back to his chair, looking relaxed yet commanding as always. He said, “That footage you shot, I’m impressed. Now, what do you want in return?”
Evelyn looked up at him and said firmly, “I heard Horizon Group has the best lawyers in Riverhold. They never lose. Can I have one of them take on my divorce case?”
Nathan looked at her with some interest. His gaze swept past her right hand, pausing briefly on the faint line where a ring had clearly once been.
“You sure that’s all you want?” he asked casually.
Evelyn nodded without missing a beat. “Yes. Just that one thing.”
“OK. I’ll have one contact you soon,” Nathan said, rising to his feet while checking the time. “Since it’s still early, I want all your wildlife footage.
“You gotta work with our team on editing it your way. The first teaser drops by the end of today.”
Evelyn nodded. “No problem.”
But it didn’t take long before she started second-guessing that quick agreement.
Staying in that big, empty office with Nathan alone had made her feel tense, let alone being in the backseat of a car with him.
She moved slowly toward the window, inch by inch, doing her best to put as much space between them as possible. By the end of it, she was practically plastered to the glass.
“Ms. Stevenson, am I really that scary?” Nathan’s voice was low and smooth, laced with actual curiosity.
He glanced sideways at the space between them—easily wide enough to fit two more people.
Evelyn flushed in embarrassment. She cleared her throat and replied, “No, not at all. I just wanted to… enjoy the view outside.”
It was the best excuse she could come up with on short notice.
Nathan let out a chuckle and didn’t push further.
The car settled into a quiet rhythm, with only the soft piano music playing in the background.
To Evelyn, it felt like a lullaby. After pulling an all-nighter, the drowsiness hit hard now. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she slowly let them fall, hoping for a short nap.
But just as she was drifting off, her phone blared out a sharp ringtone that made her jolt.
She glanced at the caller ID, frowned, and hit decline. But the phone buzzed again and again. By the third time, she gave in and picked up.
Adrian’s voice came through, cold and sharp as ever. “I want chicken soup delivered to Claire’s room in two hours. Do it, and I’ll overlook what happened earlier.”
Evelyn’s eyes turned cold, a sarcastic smile tugging at her lips. “You weren’t listening to a single word I said this morning, huh?”
“Evelyn, I told you I don’t have time for your games. If you know what’s good for you, just do what I said.” Adrian’s voice grew impatient, laced with condescension.
He added, “You really think you can keep living a carefree life without me? Don’t overestimate yourself.”
Evelyn’s voice suddenly shot up, hot with anger and thick with emotion she couldn’t even control. “Carefree life? What part of my life has been carefree?
“I’ve been a glorified nanny these past few years, taking care of you and Noah for free. What did I get in return?”
Her hand clenched around the phone, even her knuckles turning white. “If any of you had even a shred of respect for me, things wouldn’t have gotten to this point.”
Adrian let out a frustrated sigh, still feeling that Evelyn was being unreasonable. “Claire was just there for Noah’s school event. Don’t be so petty, okay?”
Evelyn let out a bitter laugh. “There’s nothing left to talk about. Hopefully the next time we meet, it’s in court.”
With that, she hung up and immediately blocked Adrian’s number.
That one phone call, filled with blame and judgment, was enough to completely ruin her mood.
Their marriage had lasted for six years, and Noah was four. Now, all six years of her life were wasted.
Evelyn never asked for much. All she wanted was to keep the family together and watch her son grow up. But even that had turned out to be impossible.
She felt great pressure in her chest, like an invisible hand twisting everything inside her, until it hurt so badly that her whole body trembled.
Just then, a tissue with a faint scent appeared in front of her. Nathan’s voice followed. “If you wanna cry, cry it out loud. Bottling it up will only make you worse.”
Evelyn took the tissue and blinked hard to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. She said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Ford. I didn’t mean to lose it in front of you like this.”
Nathan didn’t look up. He was still flipping slowly through the file in his lap. In the same calm tone, he reassured her, “Everyone makes mistakes and trusts the wrong people. But owning up to that and fixing it is what grown-ups do.”
Evelyn nodded hard, thinking, ‘I once gave all my love and care to them, but I can take it back.’
*****
The car soon pulled up in front of a tall building.
By the time they stepped out, Evelyn had pulled herself together again.
They were at one of Horizon Group’s branch offices now.
Nathan took this wildlife documentary seriously, so he followed up and oversaw everything himself.
Evelyn followed behind him through the lobby.
Her job today was simple: hand over the raw footage and offer a few creative suggestions for how it should be edited.
After a quick intro to the team and sharing her ideas, she left the room alongside Nathan.
But just as they stepped out, a sharp, twisting pain tore through the lower side of her abdomen.
It hit like a blade from the inside, and in an instant, she broke out into cold sweat. Her knees buckled slightly, making her barely stay standing.
Nathan caught it right away. He reached to steady her as she sagged forward and asked, “Hey, are you alright?”
Evelyn didn’t have time to answer. The darkness rushed in fast and swallowed her whole.
When she woke up, she was already lying in a hospital bed.
The room was empty, with just the harsh scent of disinfectant hanging in the air.
Evelyn turned her head slowly toward the door when a nurse walked in.
“Oh, you’re awake,” the nurse said gently.
Evelyn’s voice was hoarse as she asked, “What… happened to me?”
The nurse replied, “You collapsed from acute appendicitis. It’s pretty serious. You gotta contact your family right away to get surgery consent signed.”
Evelyn gave a faint nod, her face pale with effort.
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.
