Remember Me

CHAPTER 2: A HEART OF ICE

Evelyn’s body felt weightless as darkness swallowed her whole. The cold seeped into her bones, but it was nothing compared to the hollowness in her chest.

Somewhere, in the distance, she heard muffled voices. Footsteps. The sound of an umbrella snapping open.

Then—warm hands.

For a brief moment, she thought it was Adrian. That maybe, just maybe, he had come back for her.

But the voice that followed shattered that illusion.

“Pathetic.”

The deep, emotionless tone cut through her like a blade. She barely opened her eyes, her vision swimming as the blurry figure of Adrian stood over her. He was shielding himself from the rain with an umbrella, but he didn’t offer it to her.

He didn’t even kneel.

Instead, he looked down at her like she was nothing more than an inconvenience.

She tried to speak, but her throat was raw from the sobs she had choked on earlier.

“You’re still here?” His voice was sharp, laced with irritation. “Do you have no dignity left, Evelyn?”

Dignity.

She wanted to laugh. Did he really think she had any left after what he had done?

She gritted her teeth, forcing her weak body to sit up. “Why…” Her voice cracked. “Why are you doing this to me?”

Adrian exhaled sharply, as if she was exhausting him. “You’re wasting my time.”

A lump formed in her throat. “I—I loved you, Adrian. I gave you everything.”

His eyes flashed with something unreadable, but it was gone before she could decipher it. “That was your mistake.”

Her chest tightened. “You used to be different…”

He let out a dry chuckle. “Did I?”

She nodded, desperation clawing at her. “Yes! You used to hold me when I cried. You used to say my name like it meant something. You—you told me you’d never leave me.”

Adrian tilted his head, as if he were trying to recall something long forgotten. Then, his lips curled into a cruel smirk.

“That Adrian is dead.”

Evelyn felt as if the ground beneath her had been ripped away.

She shook her head. “No… no, you’re lying.”

His gaze darkened. “I don’t lie, Evelyn.”

Her hands clenched into fists. “Then tell me why. Tell me why you changed. Why you hate me.”

For the first time since their encounter, something flickered in his expression. A shadow. A ghost of something buried deep inside him.

But it disappeared as quickly as it came.

“You wouldn’t understand,” he muttered.

“Then make me understand!” she screamed.

He took a slow step forward, the tip of his polished shoe barely touching her drenched fingers. “Understanding won’t change anything.”

She flinched at his tone, but she refused to back down. “I deserve the truth, Adrian. If you’re going to destroy me, at least tell me why.”

A tense silence stretched between them.

Then—

“You destroyed me first.”

Evelyn’s breath caught in her throat.

What?

She stared at him, searching his face for any sign of deception. But Adrian wasn’t the type to joke.

She could hardly process his words before he turned on his heel. “Don’t come here again.”

“Adrian—”

“Next time, I won’t be this merciful.”

And with that, he walked away, leaving her trembling in the rain.