After the wedding, there were still two months of honeymoon vacation.
Now, the honeymoon was ruined.
During this time, the whole world was watching, and I couldn’t distract myself.
So, I decided to travel alone.
The day before I left, I visited my parents.
Standing in front of their tombstone, I poured out my painful experience.
I said, “Luckily, you weren’t there.
“If you had been, how heartbroken would you have been?
“If I had seen the look of pain in your eyes, I might have… I might have been unable to stop the tears.”
Chapter 11
Suddenly, I noticed a figure standing beside me.
I turned and saw Evan’s face, and I instantly went pale.
My legs nearly gave way, and I almost collapsed.
Evan seemed momentarily taken aback by my reaction.
He turned his face away and spoke in a low voice, “I’m sorry for what I did to you that day.
“I’ve thought a lot about it these past few days, and I know I was completely wrong.
“So, I think we should have a proper talk.”
He looked at me sadly.
In the past, whenever we argued, all it took was for him to show this expression, and I would soften and throw myself into his arms.
But now, I furrowed my brows in disgust.
I said coldly, “It’s over. Please leave.”
He paused, then pretended not to hear, picking up a flower from the side and placing it in front of the tombstone.
“Evan! I told you to leave!” I shouted.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through, lifting the flower into the air.
The flower was carried away by the wind.
He instinctively pulled his hand back.
Staring at the flower being blown away, I glanced in surprise at my parents‘ tombstone.
I was frozen for a moment.
I hadn’t cried when I voiced my grievances.
I hadn’t cried when recalling the past.
I hadn’t cried when shouting at Evan in frustration.
But now, in an instant, tears streamed down my face.
4:16 PM
<
“Mia…
Evan frowned, looking at me with concern. He reached out as if to wipe away my tears, but I turned away and avoided him.
I wiped away my tears, my voice choking. “Please leave. They won’t accept you.”
Evan’s eyes reddened, and a faint sheen of tears appeared in them.
He bent down, clenching his fists and then letting them go.
He glanced helplessly at my parents‘ tombstone, then turned back to me.
“I’m sorry.”
With that, he turned and left, his figure lonely and desolate.
I sank to the ground, staring at the flowers, crying uncontrollably.
The day after I said goodbye to my parents, I left early in the morning for the airport.
Before boarding, John called.
He said Evan had been in an accident on the highway.
His injuries were severe, but he had refused treatment.
John wanted me to come back and convince him to get help.
I furrowed my brows and stayed silent.
The airport announcement echoed over the loudspeaker.
John’s voice suddenly rang out in surprise. He asked, “Are you at the airport?”
Chapter 12
“John, what did you say?” I gripped my phone tightly.
“Ms. Jones, Mr. Taylor is in the hospital. His condition isn’t good.”
John was anxious. “Could you come and see him?”
“Are you on speakerphone?”
“Sorry… yes. Mr. Taylor has been beside me.” John was awkward.
I responded coldly, “Evan, it’s over. What you’re doing now won’t make me change my mind. Betrayal is betrayal, and it can never be forgiven.”
I could hear John’s breath quicken.
He was excited. “Ms. Jones! You can’t say that! His life is in danger. How could you say that?
“After the fiasco on the wedding day, the Taylor family has already been very upset.
“If it weren’t for Mr. Taylor taking the blame, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
“He came to find you with injuries, but you avoided him.
“Now he’s in the ICU. How can you be so heartless? He’s changed so much for you…”
My voice caught in my throat.
I said. “If he truly loved me, he wouldn’t have been involved with Grace. And you, as his assistant, enabled him to do whatever he wanted.
4:16 PM
<
I said, “If he truly loved me, he wouldn’t have been involved with Grace. And you, as his assistant, enabled him to do whatever he wanted:
You’re no different.”
“Ms. Jones!”
I hung up the phone directly, grabbed my suitcase, and headed to the flight to Lumipar.
For the next two months, I traveled across Auropera.
I strolled along the banks of the Serene River, wandered through the artistic halls of the Vaticono’s Grand Hall, navigated the narrow canals of the Venipolar Water City, and climbed the snow–capped peaks of the Alveran Mountains…
I relished the time alone, rediscovering myself.
My skin became slightly tanned under the sun, but I radiated a new glow.
When I returned to my country, I threw myself into jewelry design and even opened my own studio.
Occasionally, when I had a drink at a champagne bar, I would hear news about Evan.
He had returned to his old ways, partying every night.
He was constantly surrounded by different socialites.
He handed over the company’s affairs to his assistant, John.
At the racetrack, he was reckless, narrowly avoiding several accidents.
John spent all his time worrying about him but always was met with rejection.
Chapter 13
Eventually, after a heated argument, John resigned in frustration.
Hearing this, I felt nothing. That chapter of my life was long buried.
One evening, just as I was about to leave the studio to head to the parking lot, someone suddenly covered my mouth from behind. A sharp, pungent odor overwhelmed me, and I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, I found myself in Evan’s villa.
I was sitting on the same leather sofa where we had spent countless moments together.
Across from me were Evan’s parents.
In the short span of half a year, they looked like they had aged ten years.
Even his mother, always so elegant, had deep wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
I glared at them in anger.
“Using such despicable methods to bring me here, what do you two want?”
His father remained expressionless and silent.
After a long pause, his mother sighed, “Ms. Jones, we sincerely apologize for bringing you here like this. But we have run out of options…
“Evan did wrong, it’s our failure in raising him. We asked you to come today because we hope you can help him.
“Since you left, he’s become a completely different person. He drinks and drives recklessly every day. I’m afraid something terrible will happen if this continues…
“He’s our only son. Please help us.
<
4:16 PM
13
“At the beginning, he turned his life around for you, and now he’s back to his old ways because of you. Only you can help him find his way back.”
His mother began to cry.
I clenched my hands into fists.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. If you continue to use these methods, it will only make things worse.”
His mother lowered her head in pain.
“I’m sorry… I won’t disturb you again.”
Before I finished speaking, a cold voice rang out from behind.
“Who told you to bring her here?”
