CHAPTER 3:The first move
270 Words
The Ashford estate buzzed with carefully disguised cruelty.
Laughter filled the hall, polished and hollow, as Evelyn descended the stairs. Every step echoed—soft, deliberate. She wore a simple dress, yet her presence cut through the room like a blade drawn from its sheath.
Whispers followed her.
“She’s still alive?”
“Didn’t she faint last time?”
“Poor thing. Such a waste.”
Evelyn heard them all.
She simply didn’t care.
Her father stood near the center, surrounded by investors. His brows furrowed when he noticed her.
“Evelyn,” he said sharply, “this isn’t—”
She raised her hand.
The room froze.
No one had ever interrupted him before.
“I won’t attend the engagement announcement,” Evelyn said calmly.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Her former fiancé stiffened, disbelief flashing across his face. “Don’t embarrass yourself.”
Evelyn turned to him slowly.
The look she gave him was empty—like gazing at dust.
“You were never worth embarrassment,” she said. “Only regret.”
The words landed like a slap.
“Ding. Task completed: Sever Emotional Attachment.”
Reward: Business Analysis Module (Basic).
Her father stared at her, anger warring with something dangerously close to unease.
“This family gave you everything,” he snapped.
Evelyn smiled faintly.
“No,” she replied. “You gave me a lesson.”
She stepped back, eyes sweeping the stunned room.
“A lesson on who deserves mercy—and who doesn’t.”
She turned and left.
And for the first time, the Ashford family felt it.
They had lost control.
- Writer
