chapter 4
702 Words
The driver stopped in front of a quiet restaurant not far from the estate.
Evelyn stepped out without a word and walked inside. The place was modest compared to the Ashford mansion, but it felt… normal. No one looked at her with calculation. No one lowered their voice when she passed.
She chose a table by the window and sat down alone.
A waiter approached politely, handing her the menu. Evelyn glanced through it briefly before ordering a light meal.
The food arrived quickly.
She ate in silence, her movements calm, composed. Around her, conversations flowed naturally, laughter rising and falling in soft waves. It felt distant, like something she no longer belonged to.
When she finished, she set her utensils aside and stood.
“Take me to the Calder mansion,” she told the driver.
The ride was quiet.
As the familiar gates came into view, something in her chest tightened. She had lived there her entire life. Every corner, every room, every memory—it had all belonged to her once.
But as she stepped out of the car and walked toward the entrance, the feeling was gone.
The house looked the same.
It just didn’t feel like hers anymore.
The doors opened, and the servants greeted her.
“Miss Evelyn.”
“Welcome back.”
“Where’s Mom?” Evelyn asked.
“They are having lunch in the dining hall,” a maid replied.
Evelyn nodded and walked toward it.
As she neared the dining area, the sound of cutlery and quiet conversation reached her. When she stepped inside, the sight made her pause for a fraction of a second.
The table was filled.
Dishes arranged neatly. Food served in abundance.
Her parents sat comfortably, mid-meal.
A feast.
A strange bitterness rose within her.
Her parents were eating like this… while she had stood in another house, being told there was no food because she did not count.
“Oh, Eve,” Hilda Calder said, surprised. “How come you are here? You didn’t inform us of your coming. Has Silas come with you? Where is he?”
Evelyn looked at her.
Not a single question about her.
Not even a glance that held concern.
“No,” she replied evenly. “I came alone to retrieve some of my things.”
Hilda nodded,
Evelyn did not stay.
She turned and walked out.
Her room was exactly as she had left it.
Neat. Familiar. Untouched.
She moved through it without hesitation, pulling out what she needed—documents, files, a few essentials related to her work.
When she came back downstairs, ready to leave, she saw her father.
“Eve,” Thomas Calder said. “Come to my study.”
She followed him.
“The project is getting a lot of demand,” he said. “The Vales are offering three billion. Why are you rejecting it? Do you even understand how much that is? Do you think you’ll get a better offer?”
Evelyn met his gaze calmly. “I’m not selling it.”
Thomas’s expression hardened. “Then what are you going to do with it? If you think you can mass-produce it with our funds, that’s impossible.”
“I have my own plans.”
Her tone remained steady.
That seemed to irritate him more.
“I’m selling it,” he said sharply. “Whether you like it or not. You are not capable of making decisions like this.”
Evelyn’s patience snapped.
“You can’t,” she said, her voice firm. “It’s in my name. If you try to sell it, I will sue you—and the buyer. If I take action, you won’t like the outcome. So don’t push it.”
The room fell silent.
For a moment, Thomas simply stared at her.
Evelyn did not look away.
“You forced me into a marriage,” she continued, her voice lower now but no less sharp. “But you don’t get to control everything. Not anymore.”
A brief pause.
“I have the Ashfords behind me now.”
The words hung in the air.
She didn’t wait for his response.
She turned and walked out.
This time, no one stopped her.
- Writer
