She asked the question as if it were just an afterthought. “Soren, when are you coming home?”
Her tone was casual, almost like a wife asking after her husband.
Evangeline had asked Soren this, too–countless times before.
And every single time, his impatience was barely concealed. “Evangeline, do you ever realize how annoyingly persistent you are? Just mind your own business. I can’t stand people meddling in my affairs.”
Whenever she tried to tell him she was worried, he’d just hang up on her.
Soren always said he hated when people tried to parent him.
But now, after Poppy asked the very same question, his mood didn’t change in the slightest. In fact, his voice was almost gentle. “I won’t be able to make it back tonight.”
Evangeline smiled quietly at that.
It wasn’t that Soren hated people interfering in his life.
He just hated it when it came from someone he didn’t love.
Hearing Soren’s words, Poppy sounded a little disappointed. “Are you staying at the old house, then? But don’t you have an important meeting tomorrow morning?”
“It’s fine, I’ll make it in time-”
“Ah!”
Soren hadn’t even finished his sentence when a sudden scream echoed from the
other end of the line.
Evangeline saw his expression twist with concern in an instant.
“What happened?” Soren’s voice was tense. “Poppy, are you okay?”
But there was no reply.
The call was cut off immediately.
Of course there was no answer. Evangeline could see right through this game–Poppy was doing it on purpose, to lure Soren home.
But Soren didn’t realize that. After several more calls went unanswered, his worry
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became all too visible.
Finally, he stopped hesitating and turned to leave.
But he’d barely taken a step before he paused, grabbing Evangeline’s hand. “You’re coming back with me.”
Evangeline let out a disbelieving laugh and jerked her hand away. “Soren, if you want to go rushing into disaster, be my guest. But I’d rather stay alive.”
Soren’s frustration turned almost mocking. “You want to live? If something happens to Poppy, how could you even live with yourself? Don’t forget, all of this is your
fault-”
“Oh, I owe you and Poppy, do I?”
Evangeline cut him off with a cold smile. “You’re always so sure I’m to blame. But have you ever stopped to think–if your love for each other was really unbreakable, how could I possibly have torn you apart?”
“If your relationship fell apart, maybe it was never that strong to begin with.”
“If it wasn’t me, it would’ve been someone else.”
“Soren, you never loved her as much as you like to pretend.”
The words tumbled out–everything she’d wanted to say for so long, but never
dared.
Soren froze.
Of course he’d thought of these things before, but only in passing, never letting
them take root.
He would never admit to being wrong. It was always easier to blame Evangeline.
But now, she’d dragged the ugly truth out into the light.
His anger flared, desperate for a retort. “What are you talking about? You’re just trying to wash your hands of it!”
Evangeline sneered. “No one forced you down the aisle. If you really didn’t want to marry me, you could have left, gone to her. But you didn’t.”
“So don’t pretend your love was some kind of grand, unshakeable thing. You never had the courage to fight for her, or the guts to give up everything for her!”
Soren wanted to argue, but facing the steady determination in her eyes, the words died in his throat.
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He felt like a lump of cotton was stuck in his chest, making it hard to breathe.
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