Evelyn's POV
Days like these were exhausting, but simple.
At night, we’d gather around to eat. Nothing fancy—just warm food and casual chatter. No one asked about your past. No one cared who you were. Here, you were just a person doing the work.
I realized I hadn’t felt this relaxed in forever. No worrying about what Grace might say, no guessing whether Sebastian was off with some other woman, no reading people’s moods. Even Julian felt…distant, just a name hovering in the back of my mind.
Every now and then, though, a random memory would hit—like the way he’d stood in the doorway that day, or the way he spoke, slow and measured. I’d pause, then chuckle to myself.
Kind of ridiculous, but harmless.
**
By the fifth afternoon, the weather had turned a little heavy.
We went out for our
