Chapter 34
Evelyn unscrewed the cap and took a sip. The coolness traveled from her throat all the way to her stomach.
"I didn't add that ending last night. I finished the first draft three days ago. Last night I just revised the wording."
Cedric pulled his gaze back and nodded.
"The revision was right. The previous version was too clinical. Today's version had warmth. Mr. King's a sentimental guy. Your proposal hit his sweet spot."
Evelyn screwed the cap back on.
She wanted to say thank you. But she'd said "thank you" to Cedric so many times lately that even she found it hollow.
She was figuring out what to say when her phone buzzed.
A message from Sophie.
Evelyn looked down and opened it.
A photo.
The shot was taken from somewhere in the middle-right section of the hall, lens aimed at the back corner. The image was slightly blurry, like whoever took it had shaky hands.
Someone sat in that corner.
Baseball cap pulled low, the brim's shadow covering half his face. Dark hoodie with the collar turned up, almost touching his chin. Leaning forward, both hands resting on his knees, fingers laced together.
The half of the face visible beneath the brim—Evelyn knew those features too well.
Sebastian.
Sophie's text followed the photo.
[Your ex was at the pitch today. He sat in the third row from the back, corner seat, wearing a baseball cap. My friend got a shot of him.]
Evelyn's thumb froze on the screen.
She zoomed in on the photo.
Under the baseball cap's brim, Sebastian's line of sight was clear. He wasn't looking at his phone, wasn't looking at anyone beside him. He was looking toward the podium.
Looking at where she was standing.
That angle, that posture, the brim pulled down that low—it all meant he didn't want to be recognized. He'd deliberately changed clothes, deliberately sat in the farthest corner, and throughout the entire pitch never appeared anywhere she might notice him.
He'd come.
He'd hidden in the corner and watched the whole thing.
Evelyn stared at Sebastian's eyes in the photo.
Through the phone screen, through the blurry pixels, she still recognized that look.
Not anger.
Not jealousy.
Panic.
Something she'd never seen on Sebastian's face in three years of marriage. Sebastian was always the one in control, always above it all, always certain she'd never really leave.
But the Sebastian in that photo looked like someone standing on shore, watching a boat sail farther and farther away, suddenly realizing he didn't even have the right to chase it.
Evelyn locked her screen.
Cedric was still standing nearby.
He hadn't looked at Evelyn's phone, but he'd clearly noticed the change in her expression.
He didn't ask.
He just pulled his hand from his pocket and gave Evelyn's shoulder a light pat.
The touch was brief. Less than a second before he pulled back.
"Get me those three investment responses by tomorrow."
He turned and walked toward the exit.
His footsteps neither fast nor slow.
Evelyn stood in the mostly empty hall, gripping the water bottle. Her fingerprints overlapped with where Cedric had held it.
She looked down and unlocked her phone again, glanced once more at that photo.
Sebastian's fingers were clenched white on his knees.
When a system text popped up in the top right corner of Evelyn's phone screen, she was revising the third version of an investment response.
The text was from the court.
[Reminder: The cooling-off period for your divorce from Mr. Sebastian Ashford will expire in 7 days. On that date, both parties must appear together at the marriage registration office to receive the divorce certificate. If either party fails to appear, the divorce application will be considered withdrawn.]
Evelyn read the message once.
Seven days.
She exited the text and switched back to her email, continuing the revision.
When she got to the third paragraph, her finger paused on the keyboard. If either party fails to appear, the application is considered withdrawn.
That meant if Sebastian didn't show up in seven days, the agreement she'd signed would be void.
She'd have to file suit again. Go through legal proceedings. Waste time.
Evelyn turned this possibility over in her mind, then dismissed it.
He wouldn't. Sebastian had signed the divorce agreement himself. If he changed his mind and didn't show up, Parker Group's legal team could intervene directly.
She kept typing.
At the same time.
Top floor of Ashford Group Tower.
Sebastian's phone screen displayed the same court text.
He read it twice.
His thumb hovered on the screen for seven seconds. Then he locked it and made an internal call.
"Send Allen up."
Twenty minutes later.
The Ashford Estate's butler, Allen, sat on the sofa in the executive office, back straight, both hands properly placed on his knees.
Sebastian stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his back to him.
"How's Grandpa's health been lately?"
"Mr. Richard Ashford had a full checkup last week. His numbers are better than last month. But the doctor said he still can't overexert himself."
Sebastian didn't turn around.
"Has he mentioned Evelyn?"
Allen paused for a beat.
"He has. Last Wednesday evening, he sat in the garden for a long time and said something."
"What did he say?"
"He said if that girl's set on leaving, he won't stop her. But he has one condition."
Sebastian turned around.
Allen met his gaze, voice measured.
"He said to have Eve come to the estate in person. He wants to explain things to her face-to-face. About your mother, about Eve's mother, and the truth about that promise."
Sebastian's jaw tightened.
"He said after that, if Eve wants to leave, he absolutely won't stop her."
After Allen finished, he didn't add anything else. He'd worked for the Ashford family for thirty years. He knew when to talk and when to shut up.
Sebastian stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his fingers rubbing against his pant leg twice.
Allen left.
The office went quiet.
Sebastian picked up his phone.
He opened his contacts and found Evelyn's number.
A number his assistant had tracked down for him. Her new one. She'd deleted him on WhatsApp, blocked his calls.
But text messaging wasn't blocked.
Sebastian's thumb hovered over the text box for a long time.
He typed a line. Deleted it. Typed another line. Deleted that too.
The third time, he didn't delete.
[The cooling-off period has seven days left. Grandpa has some things he wants to say to you in person. About your mother. I owe you an explanation too. Would you be willing to come by?]
He stared at the message for ten seconds.
Pressed send.
Parker Group Tower, thirty-sixth floor.
Evelyn's phone buzzed on the desk.
She glanced down. Unknown number.
Opened it.
After reading it once, her finger didn't move.
After reading it a second time, she placed the phone back on the desk, screen down.
Her gaze returned to the computer screen. The cursor blinked in the document a dozen times.
She didn't keep typing.