Chapter 30 Silent Victory: Waiting for You
At Lena's apartment, after calling her contact for help, he assured her he would resolve the issue and call back when it was done.
Evelyn sat on the floor, nervously chewing her nails as she stared at Lena's phone, waiting for the call. Lena, munching on instant noodles with her mouth full, rolled her eyes.
"If you're that hungry, why don't you eat the cup of noodles instead of chewing on yourself?"
Evelyn sighed exasperatedly. "Lena, it's already getting late, and I can't go home until I resolve this issue."
Lena rolled her eyes again. "I'm still wondering why you didn't ask Roman for help. That guy literally has everything—money, power, connections. If you'd asked for his help, this wouldn't have escalated to this stage."
Evelyn replied worriedly, "You don't understand. I'm no longer a naive little girl. Although Roman is nice to me, I still can't trust him completely. I mean, even my own family abandoned me. What if tomorrow he decides to leave? I'd just remain a helpless little girl."
Lena paused her eating. "If Roman doesn't want you in the future, I'm still here though. And you know I love you more," she said with a smile.
Evelyn smiled, comforted by her friend's words, then stiffened. "Wait—I hope it's not what I'm thinking..." She gave her friend a suspicious look.
Lena laughed, nearly choking on her food at her friend's horrified expression. "Relax, it's not that kind of love. I have no such interest in you—you're my friend. But... just in case—"
"No no no no!" Evelyn said, eyes widening.
Lena laughed harder. "I was just teasing you, okay? Now eat something. You haven't put anything in your stomach since you arrived."
Evelyn groaned, resting her head and back lazily against the couch. "Ahhh, you don't understand." She covered her face with a pillow. After a moment, she dropped it and sat up straight. "Lena, I really don't want to lose this fight to my sister. I want to be able to stand up for myself, by myself, without anybody's help. That was—that was—"
"That was why you didn't ask your husband for his help," Lena completed her statement. She also sat up straight. "Look, Eve, I know how important this is to you. The guy I contacted isn't just some ordinary tech guy you can call for favors. You don't know much about technical stuff, but I assure you, he'll resolve this issue. Now eat, and stop looking like Maya already stomped on your face."
"Eww, Lena, you know how much I hate that name," Evelyn said, reaching for the cup of noodles and chopsticks on the table.
She stared at the noodles, deep in thought. "Thanks," she told her friend with a slight smile.
As she was about to take her first bite, Lena's phone rang. Evelyn immediately jumped up to grab it, discarding her noodles. Lena rolled her eyes and snatched the phone back.
"Hello?"
"Hmm, okay, thank you so much for your help. I'll transfer your payment now."
Lena ended the call, staring irritatedly at Evelyn, who was trying to merge herself against her, to overhear the call from behind.
"I didn't know you liked women too," Lena said, staring at her friend with mock disgust.
Evelyn quickly let go and created distance between them. "What did he say!" she stared wide-eyed at Lena in exasperation.
"You know, the way you're ogling at me makes me feel like you actually have a crush on me."
"Lenaaa! Be serious!"
"Okay, okay, fine. You got what you wanted—all the evidence is now online."
"YES!!!"
"So what's next? Want to check the status of the situation online?"
“Nah,” Evelyn said, grinning. “I’m good. Let’s just enjoy our victory noodles.”
“Oh, these?” Lena said, snatching the cup of noodles and already taking a large bite. “I thought you didn’t want them. I was going to finish them.” She began walking lazily toward her bedroom.
Evelyn stood frozen, watching her friend and her dinner disappear. “Hey! That was mine!”
"So? Don't just stand there. It's late—go home and eat dinner with your husband. Although I don't have one, I at least have an extra cup of noodles to cheer myself up since I have no love," her friend said, slamming her bedroom door shut loudly.
When Evelyn finally moved, she smiled and jumped around because the issue had finally been resolved. She'd done it! She couldn't wait to get home and tell Roman she'd been able to handle it herself.
Her heart fluttered, not just from having the upper hand now, but from the thought of not disappointing Roman or failing to meet his expectations.
\---
When Evelyn arrived home, she was surprised to find that Roman hadn't returned yet. She felt a stab of disappointment. She'd gotten used to him always coming home early and had forgotten that he was the CEO of a huge company, he has a world outside of her, and he might not always be free or come home early.
Shaking off the feeling, she decided to channel her good mood into something useful. She headed for the kitchen. Mrs. Hartwell, her personal nutritionist, who was in the kitchen with the chefs, immediately tried to stop her from entering the kitchen. “Ma’am, with your condition, you shouldn’t be straining yourself!”
“I just want to cook something for when my husband gets home,” Evelyn insisted.
Seeing her bright smile, Mrs. Hartwell finally relented, and they all cooked together.
When they finished, Evelyn stood looking at the meals she'd helped prepare, grinning from ear to ear. She couldn't wait for Roman to come home so she could tell him she'd made it. It had been such a fun activity—she'd like to do it more often. She thought, without realizing she was actually looking forward to cooking for Roman regularly, to hearing his praise, not just because it was fun.
Evelyn waited and waited for a long time, but Roman still wasn't home. She looked dejectedly at the cold food, growing upset. Mrs. Hartwell coaxed her into eating a little to fill her stomach. After reluctantly taking a few bites, she got up and ran to their room, feeling dejected.
Roman hadn't even contacted her. Normally, he would always message or call, asking what she wanted him to bring home. She stared at her phone as she lay on the bed, sulking. She didn't want to call him—what if he was busy and ignored her? She stayed up like that, staring at her phone, also listening for footsteps outside the door. After a long wait, she finally fell asleep.
\---
Deep into the night, she felt a heavy warmth surrounding her. She stirred, frowning in her sleep, and turned around. Only to find Roman in bed, still wearing his office clothes. She was surprised to see him looking disheveled, with the scent of alcohol on him. She'd never seen him in this state since they'd gotten married.
Startled, Evelyn tried to pull away, but his arm was wrapped tightly around her waist in a strong grip, holding her close. He was murmuring something against her hair.
Since she couldn't move, she decided to draw closer to listen to what he was saying.
His voice was barely a whisper, thick with exhaustion and he... sounded vulnerable. "Sorry... didn't mean to let go… shouldn't have left you..."
Her heart clenched at his words. ‘Was he talking about... her?’
She realized that perhaps Roman had been fighting his own battles she knew nothing about. She tried to pry his arms off and get up.
But then, he whispered something that made her freeze, stone cold.
Author’s Note:
Quiet moments matter too 🤍
Thank you for staying with Evelyn.