Chapter 4
1424 Words
"Alex...?"
The trembling voice shattered the silence of the corridor. Alex flinched, but he didn't immediately release his grip on Evelyn’s waist. He only turned his head slowly, meeting Cindy’s gaze. She stood a few meters away, her face as white as a sheet. Tears began to well in her eyes.
Evelyn didn't miss this golden opportunity. Instead of feeling ashamed of being caught, she leaned even closer into Alex’s body, looking at Cindy with a deadly, thin smile.
"Oh, look. Your fiancée has come to fetch you, Alex," Evelyn said with a thick, mocking tone.
"Alex, what are you doing?!" Cindy shrieked, her voice high-pitched with unbearable heartache. "You left me in front of everyone just to do... to do this with your ex-wife?!"
Alex finally let go of Evelyn, but his eyes remained fixed on the woman he had just kissed, as if Cindy’s presence were merely a minor annoyance.
"Cindy, go back inside. This is none of your business."
"None of my business?! I’m your fiancée! Mother has already prepared our engagement for next month!" Cindy approached them, her hand trembling as she pointed at Evelyn. "And you, Evelyn! You are truly a shameless woman! You’ve been discarded from the Archer family, why are you still seducing a man who no longer belongs to you?!"
Evelyn let out a crisp, irritating laugh. She stepped forward, passing Alex, and stood directly in front of Cindy.
"No longer belongs to me? Are you sure?" Evelyn tilted her head, looking at Cindy with feigned pity. "You saw it yourself, didn't you? Who dragged whom into this hallway? Who couldn't stop themselves from kissing me? Your 'honorable' Alex here... he can't even see me smile at another man without losing his mind."
Evelyn then turned to Alex, who remained frozen, his breath still ragged.
"Take your fiancée away, Alex. She looks quite pathetic. And remember..." Evelyn leaned into Alex’s ear, whispering loud enough for Cindy to hear. "You can marry anyone you want, but you will never possess them the way you crave me."
Evelyn turned and walked away gracefully, leaving behind a shattered Alex and a hysterically sobbing Cindy. Behind her back, Evelyn’s smile faded, replaced by a hollow stare. She was satisfied, but her heart felt colder than ever.
.
.
That same night, the grand Archer residence turned suffocatingly tense. Cindy sat slumped on the living room sofa, her cries explosive as she recounted every detail of the incident in the hotel corridor. Madam Viola stood motionless, her hands gripping the edge of the table until her knuckles turned white. Her face was flushed crimson with immense shame and fury.
"He kissed her, Mother! Right in front of my eyes! Alex didn't care about me at all!" Cindy screamed through her sobs.
Just then, the front door opened. Alex stepped in looking disheveled—his tie removed and the top buttons of his shirt undone. He tried to pass through the living room in silence, but his mother’s baritone voice halted him.
"Stop right there, Alex Archer!"
Alex let out a long sigh, meeting his mother’s gaze with a blank stare. "If you want to discuss what happened earlier, I’m not in the mood."
"Not in the mood?! You humiliated me! You humiliated Cindy! You dragged that barren woman in front of our business associates?!" Madam Viola walked over and—SLAP! A hard strike landed on Alex’s cheek.
Alex didn't flinch. He only turned his face slightly, then looked back at his mother with a gaze that was now bolder—perhaps even more crazed.
"She isn't barren, Mother. It was only I who couldn't give her a child yet," Alex said coldly, a confession that left Madam Viola stunned.
"You dare talk back to me for that woman?! She did it on purpose, Alex! She used another man to bait you because she wanted to ruin your marriage to Cindy!" Madam Viola pointed toward the door emotionally.
"Tomorrow, I will deal with her myself. If you can't stay away from her, then I will make sure that woman disappears from this city!"
"Don't you dare touch her, Mother," Alex threatened lowly, his voice sounding like the growl of a wild beast.
"Oh, look! You’re threatening your own mother?!" Madam Viola laughed cynically. "We’ll see about that tomorrow. I’ll make sure that little boutique of hers is leveled to the ground if she dares show her face in front of you again!"
Alex didn't answer. He turned toward his room, locked the door, and immediately smashed a glass on the nightstand. His mind was a wreck. On one hand, he hated his mother; on the other, he knew she never made idle threats.
Evelyn... if I can't protect you the easy way, then I will have to force you to come with me, Alex thought as he stared at Evelyn’s photo on his phone.
.
.
Evelyn downed the last of her wine. After the chaos at the reunion, her frustration had reached its peak. She needed something to drown out the noise in her head.
"Stop. You’ve had too much, Evelyn." Jovan held her hand as she tried to pour more of the dark red liquid into her glass.
Evelyn only laughed. The alcohol began to take control, crumbling the walls she had built so carefully.
"Where is my husband, Jo?" Evelyn asked, her voice turning hoarse and slurred.
"Are you two still in love?!" Jovan snorted in exasperation, his voice rising an octave. For the past month, he had willingly played the pawn in Evelyn’s game to make Alex jealous, hoping she would eventually develop feelings for him. But what was this? She still loved Alex?! Were they insane? Why separate if they still felt this way?!
"Why do you insist on being divorced if it's like this?!" Jovan continued, annoyed. "Both of you are absolutely mad!"
"Hic... I... I miss my husband, Jovan~" Evelyn rambled, resting her heavy head on the bar counter.
"You’re completely drunk. You said you hated him and would make him regret discarding you..."
"Hng! I hate him, but... I love him too, hehe..." Evelyn giggled softly, a sound that was deeply tragic. Tears began to stream down the corners of her eyes, ruining the makeup she had worn to look strong in front of Alex.
Jovan shook his head, feeling like a fool for hoping for too much. Without another word, he draped Evelyn’s arm over his shoulder, supporting her as he led her out of the dim bar. He had to get her home before she did something even more embarrassing.
Evelyn continued to mumble, her voice fading as her consciousness slipped away. "Alex... you’re mean... you’re a coward..."
Jovan only sighed, focusing on guiding her steps so she wouldn't fall. He didn't notice that in the darkest corner of the parking lot, a black sedan with heavily tinted windows was stalking them.
Inside the car, a man with a low-slung cap pressed a phone to his ear.
"They just left the bar, Sir. Miss Evelyn is heavily intoxicated. The lawyer is taking her into his car now."
On the other end of the line, Alex’s voice sounded cold and flat, yet laced with a heavy threat. "Follow them. Ensure she reaches her apartment safely. And remember... if that man tries to enter her unit or touches her more than just to help her walk, you know what to do."
"Understood, Sir."
"One more thing. Send me a photo of every interaction. I want to see just how far that man dares to play with fire regarding what is mine."
The henchman immediately ended the call and started his engine without turning on the headlights, tailing Jovan’s car through the night streets.
Meanwhile, at his residence, Alex sat in the darkness of his study. The glow from his phone screen, displaying Evelyn’s GPS coordinates, was the only light in the room. He gripped his whiskey glass until his knuckles turned white.
"You miss me, don't you, Evelyn? Don't worry, soon there will be no more distance between us. I will free you from that man, and from the world that made you forget who your true owner is," Alex whispered into the silence.
- Writer
