Chapter 68 Blackout
Evelyn's POV.
My heart beat fastened as I recalled what Cecelia had told me when I went to visit her in the police station.
I steadied my breath by closing my eyes and taking in a deep breath.
My face snapped to the side and I was glad to see Adrian by my side. He has questions to answer.
“Did you invite her?” I asked.
By her, I meant Cassandra and he understood.
“No,” his voice was low, sharp. “The party is public, anyone can attend.”
Right. We decided to make the party not only with invitations because of the scandals, so it could get cleared, so that many people will be able to talk about this.
“And her?” Once again, he understood what I meant.
Adrian straightened his back, one hand tucked in his pocket. “I had her released.”
My eyes snapped to him immediately in disbelief but I said nothing and let him continue.
“Her husband begged,” he said. “She also promised to repent.”
“She threatened me, Adrian,” my voice rose immediately and he looked at me with a confused look. “She—”
My words were cut short by Cassandra's voice which rose with a gentle cackle.
“Hey, Evelyn,” she greeted like anyone would to an old friend.
I turned to her and my face was darkened, the anger from the talk with Adrian evident on my face.
“I know I didn't get invited and to be sincere, I feel bad,” she said. Who cares? “But I came anyways since it's open to all.”
“And here I am,” she looked around then laughed. “Stealing the spotlight of the day.”
My fists curled but I refused to let her make me get angry. I didn't want to ruin everything.
Cameras flashed from every corner and that served as a reminder that people were watching, a reminder that this was going to be on the tabloids.
I flashed a smile at Cassandra, ignoring Cecelia who had just stopped beside her.
“Sorry, I guess we skipped your name,” I smiled. “Thanks for coming.”
Cassandra nodded at me curtly before lifting her face to Adrian.
Adrian was staring at her without a word, his face unreadable.
She chuckled. “Don't worry, I'm not here to cause trouble.”
I decided to leave them to talk if they had anything to say to each other. The music resumed and I faced Cecelia.
“I see you got released,” I said without a smile.
“I told you,” she laughed. “My husband got me out.”
The arrogance in her voice made me want to throw her back into the police cell she had been locked up in but I couldn't do that without a reason, I had no such power.
Adrian appeared in front of me, blocking my view of Cecelia.
“You should apologize to her first.” His voice was calm. “You don't deserve to smile like you did nothing wrong in this entire damned world.”
He moved away and once again, I was faced with Cecelia. There was no longer a smile on her face. She gulped, afraid of Adrian's presence.
“I'm sorry about what I did,” she apologized. “I wasn't thinking straight.”
That was a goddamn lie. She was thinking so fucking straight and she even wanted to do it again.
No, she will still do it again if she had the chance, that Adrian doesn't know.
“Please forgive me,” Cecelia added. I decided to act along. “It’s fine.”
I walked away almost immediately only to have Cassandra following behind me.
“Happy birthday,” she greeted. “I hope it's not coming too late.”
I flashed her a smile, fake and calculated. “Thanks.”
A loud splash in the swimming pool grabbed everyone's attention.
The CEO of Denklings show had jumped into the pool, his arms spread wide with a loud grin on his face.
“Let's get the party started!” He roared.
People cheered, many others getting into the pool with him while the elite and classy ones only danced to the soft music with a glass of champagne in their hands.
I looked around, laughing as I watched Eva having fun in the swimming pool.
“You won't be joining them?” Someone asked.
“No, I'll rather watch.” A smile was on my face as I answered, not knowing who was asking the question.
I turned and was surprised to see Nathaniel. “You….” I trailed off.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
Nathaniel replied. “Of course, it's your birthday.”
I nodded. “You got an invite?” I asked.
“No, it's open—”
“For everybody,” my voice cut him off and I nodded. “Yeah, I know the drill.”
“Happy birthday, Evie,” His face suddenly turned serious. “I can't believe I missed celebrating this day with you for years.”
His words made my breath hitch, the air in my lungs getting taken away for a moment.
“I wish you a very long life, Evelyn,” he said. “And a happy married life.”
He handed something into my hands and when I looked, it was a flashdrive and a pair of earrings. I remembered the earrings, it was one of the memories I made with Nathaniel but for the flashdrive, it made me blink in confusion.
“You might need that,” he said then turned away, leaving me to stare at his back.
I didn't stare at the flashdrive twice and rushed over to him, grabbing him by the hand.
“What's this?” I asked. “What's in here?”
“Secrets you might want to know, Evie. Watch it alone when you have the time,” he gently yanked my hand away from him and took his shirt off, jumping into the swimming pool to join the others.
My face subconsciously lifted and I saw Adrian staring at me. It was obvious that he had seen me with Nathaniel just now.
I took a step forward, wanting to walk to him when the lights suddenly blacked out.
Everywhere became dark and everyone yelled, trying to figure out what was wrong.
Quickly, I brought my phone out, trying to use the flashlight but was surprised to find out it's not working.
“My flashlight is not working,” someone yelled. “Mine too,” another person said.
What's this? A general glitch?
Suddenly, someone bumped into me. The person walked past me but it didn't take long for me to realize it wasn't an ordinary bump.
The lights came back on almost immediately. I staggered backwards, my face turning to my stomach.
There was a knife stuck at the right side of my lower belly.