He Remembered, But No One Else Did

Chapter 7 Outsider Looking In

The plane landed in Winsdale City, and Eveline caught a cab straight to Gomez Manor.

As the second most powerful family in the city after the Murphys, the Gomezes had money and status that no one could question.

She stood outside the tall, carved wooden gate, listening to bursts of laughter spilling out from inside.

Gomez Manor was in full swing for their New Year's party. Every few moments, the warm, sweet scent of roasted meats and desserts floated through the air.

Eveline patted her flat stomach and lifted her hand toward the doorbell.

Boom! A shower of fireworks shot up from behind the high walls and exploded across the sky.

Clare's excited voice rang out. "Come on, everybody! Hurry up and look—Frederick's starting the show!"

More voices followed, warm and teasing. "For goodness' sake, it's not even fully dark yet. You can barely see them. Only Frederick would let you get away with this kind of nonsense."

"Claudia, that's not fair at all. Frederick spoils our daughter rotten, and here you are giving him a hard time as her mom?"

"Frederick, don't burn through all my End-of-the-World Starlight ones. I'm still saving a few to impress the ladies!"

Eveline's arm hung frozen in the air. Suddenly, she couldn't bring herself to press the button.

She was the real daughter of the Gomez family—the one tied to them by blood.

Yet on her very first day back, her parents and brother had laughed it off and told her lightly, "The whole world already knows the Gomez family has only one daughter, so there's no need for you to take the name. If you need anything, just ask us. But don't go competing with Clare, understand?"

Eveline could see why they had chosen this approach.

After all, Clare was the daughter they had raised with care, the one they were proud of. Compared to her—a stranger who had grown up in the mountains—the choice was obvious for any ordinary family, let alone one that valued status and interests above all.

She understood it. But understanding it didn't stop the hurt from cutting deep.

When the Gomezes had climbed the mountain to bring her home, Eveline had been full of hope, dreaming of the warmth of a real family. She had said goodbye to Maeve and followed them to Winsdale City.

She had thought her parents felt the same longing for a reunion. Instead, they had only gone looking for her because the old hospital scandal about the switched babies had finally blown up and dragged their name through the mud. Public pressure had forced them to accept her with gritted teeth.

Heartbroken, she had left home for Soren City with Brenton's encouragement.

At least she had told herself she might not have family love, but she had a boyfriend who stood by her no matter what.

To show him how much that meant, she had worked herself to the bone and managed to save enough for a house down payment right before the New Year.

The night before she left for her ski-instructor job at Kestrel Peak, she had lain awake picturing the cozy little home she would buy so she could finally give Brenton a real place to belong.

Now that dream was smashed to pieces, and the ugly truth stared her straight in the face.

There had never been any Brenton who needed her protection. There was only Frederick, the man who had played her like a fool from the very beginning.

Eveline let her arm drop. She tilted her head back and stood there in the cold, watching the brilliant fireworks paint the night sky.

Along the roadside, a few white magnolia buds hung heavy with dew on their branches, drooping slightly. Yet those delicate petals still fought to open, refusing to give up.

One after another, the fireworks streaked upward, dazzling for a moment before vanishing without a trace.

Eveline turned away and slipped back into the darkness, as silent as when she had arrived.

Seeing the thank-you payment from Tucker now sitting in her account, she decided it was time to be kind to herself for once.

She went straight to the most famous hotel in Winsdale City and booked the best 360-degree ocean-view suite they had.

For dinner, she ordered a full seafood feast. When the bill came, she pulled out Brenton's bank card without hesitation.

He had told her he worked as a sign language teacher at some institute and that every paycheck went straight into that card.

Back then, he had handed it to her with honest eyes and promised, "I'm giving you my whole life and every future I have."

She had been so touched that she accepted it like a sacred promise.

In the three years they were together, she had never spent a single cent from it. Instead, she added her own money to it every month like clockwork.

Now she could only laugh bitterly at how much trouble Frederick must have gone through—setting up a fake job just so the card would look like it had real wages coming in.

Her phone began to vibrate. On the screen glowed an incoming video call from Brenton.