Chapter 11
When Eveline woke up, two headlines were trending on her phone.
[Whitmore Group Heir Missing After Plane Crash]
[Whitmore Heir Found Alive, Death Rumors Denied]
The irony was almost theatrical.
She didn’t know why Adrian had suddenly backed out of his staged death, but she didn’t care enough to find out. When messages came in from an unknown number, she blocked it without hesitation and headed
to work like any other day.
But as she arrived outside the office, she spotted him.
Adrian stood near the entrance, holding a bouquet of roses.
Eveline paused for a second, unsure what she felt. Mostly, she wanted to laugh.
In seven years, he had never once shown up for her like this. Never flowers, never waiting for her after
work.
He always had some excuse about being busy, about needing to focus on his career.
And she had believed him.
Now it was painfully clear. He wasn’t incapable of romance. He had just chosen to give it to someone
else.
She wondered–had Maria refused to leave with him?
Was that why he came back, trying to see if the backup plan still loved him enough to forgive?
Did he really think so little of her?
That after everything he’d done, she would still be waiting?
Without a word, she walked past him and toward the building.
Adrian’s expression froze. The words he had prepared collapsed. He rushed after her and caught her by
the wrist.
“Eveline, please. Let me explain, okay?”
Explain?
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Hearing Adrian’s words, Eveline stopped walking.
She was curious to see what kind of explanation he could possibly give at this point.
But Adrian misunderstood.
Seeing her pause, a flicker of relief crossed his face, and confidence quickly followed.
So, he thought, he’d been overthinking.
Martin clearly knew nothing about the fake–death plan, and his friends wouldn’t spread it around.
So…
Adrian’s gaze shifted slightly, and when he looked up again, his expression had turned to feigned frustration.
“Eveline, I never meant to break my promise. I was planning to bring your father back before the wedding, but the rescue team there ran into trouble, so I had to…”
“…send an empty plane to take off and conveniently crash in the desert?”
Her voice cut sharply through his excuse, laced with a cold laugh.
“Mr. Whitmore, as long as your explanation convinces you, that’s enough.”
So he didn’t just think she was beneath him–he thought she was a fool.
His words stalled in his throat. Adrian stared at her for a long moment before the truth dawned on him.
She might already know everything.
“Mr. Whitmore, let me go,” Eveline’s cold voice came again.
Adrian felt a sharp ache in his chest, yet he still refused to let go, clutching her wrist with a stubborn grip.
His voice trembled.
“Eveline, did someone tell you something? We’ve been together for seven years. You’d rather believe him
than hear my side of the story? I…”
“You know as well as I do it’s been seven years.”
She had tried to keep her emotions in check, but the moment those words left his mouth, her eyes stung.
She had intended to question him, to confront him, but by the time the words reached her lips, they felt
pointless.
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They had already come this far.
No amount of her anger or his regret would change anything now.
And after all the lies he’d told her over the years, she doubted he would speak the truth even now.
She took a slow breath and met his gaze.
“So, let’s end it here.”
End it?
Panic flickered in Adrian’s eyes. He still refused to release her hand, determined to make her listen.
“What do you mean, end it? These seven years…”
“I’ve always wondered,” she interrupted again, “in those seven years, how many days did you actually love
me with your whole heart?”
Her eyes locked on the face she had once loved so deeply. Her tone was as unnervingly calm as the day
she learned the truth–no tears, no outburst.
“Adrian, do you know? The moment that plane took off, the version of you I loved was gone. Just like you
wanted, he died in my heart without leaving a trace.”
Along with him, every piece of their bond was gone too.
The words landed like a blow. Adrian’s chest tightened, and for a long moment, he couldn’t move.
She finally pulled free from his grasp and walked away, her figure growing smaller.
It wasn’t until she was nearly gone that he snapped out of it, rushing forward to block the elevator doors.
He pulled out the pink diamond ring.
But this time, before he could speak, she gave a short laugh and cut straight to the truth he feared most.
“Adrian, the day you proposed to me, I came back once. Guess what I heard about this ring’s original
owner?”
She had heard.
She had heard everything.
A deafening roar filled his head. His hands shook uncontrollably.
The ring slipped from his fingers, rolled silently into the elevator shaft, and vanished from sight–taking
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with it the woman who had once loved him.
Nothing remained.
His heart throbbed with a pain so real it stole his breath. His body understood before his mind did–he
loved her more than he had ever admitted to himself.
But why did he only realize it at the exact moment she was gone?
Chapter11
