Nathan's POV
Evelyn had no idea how much it hurt me to see her like that — broken, her tears falling like a river I couldn't stop.
She didn't know how tightly I had to hold myself, how much effort it took to keep my emotions locked away.
That was why I turned my back on her. Not because I didn't care.
God, I cared too much.
But because if I looked at her, if I saw her pain, I'd lose every bit of control I had left.
And after all these years of planning, of preparing for this moment, I couldn't afford to break.
Isabella had drilled that into me over and over. "You can't let her see your heart, Nathan. Not yet."
I had agreed to the plan, agreed to her playing the role of my fiancée. But it was never real. Not for a second.
My heart had always belonged to Evelyn.
