Chapter 161

The video call ended abruptly, plunging the screen into darkness. Yet Evelyn could still see Nathan's stormy gaze burning in her memory.

"What an absolute bastard!" Evelyn clenched her fists until her nails bit into her palms. "Using divorce papers as emotional blackmail? How low can he sink?"

Beside her, Julian shifted uncomfortably. His usually confident demeanor had crumbled. "Evelyn, I... I shouldn't have told him about our dinner."

Evelyn exhaled sharply through her nose. "This isn't about you, Julian. Nathan's just being his usual controlling self - he can't stand seeing me move on."

A flash of lightning illuminated the dining room, followed by thunder that rattled the windows. The approaching storm mirrored Evelyn's turbulent emotions.

"Let's finish our meal," Evelyn said through gritted teeth, turning away from the window where rain had begun pelting the glass.

Julian remained frozen by the door, realization dawning on his handsome features. "Christ... did I just betray my best friend?"

The downpour intensified as they relocated to the lounge area. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a dramatic view of the storm while they sipped Earl Grey.

"You know," Evelyn admitted, cradling her teacup, "I misjudged you at first. Beneath that playboy exterior, you're actually quite decent company."

Julian nearly choked on his tea. "Evelyn Carter thinks I'm decent? Should I get that engraved on my tombstone?"

"Don't push your luck," Evelyn warned, though the ghost of a smile touched her lips.

Seizing the moment, Julian leaned forward. "Hypothetically... if we'd met before Nathan, would you have given me a chance?"

"No." The answer came without hesitation.

Julian recoiled as if struck. "That's brutally honest. Why not?"

Evelyn's gaze drifted to the rain-streaked windows. "Even without Nathan in the picture, I wouldn't have loved anyone."

Thirteen years. That's how long Nathan Blackwood had occupied her heart - from their first meeting at university through their tumultuous marriage to this bitter divorce. She'd given him her brightest smiles, her fiercest passion, her youthful devotion. There was nothing left for anyone else.

Julian studied her profile - the way her long lashes cast shadows on cheeks that had lost their youthful roundness. At twenty-four, Evelyn carried the world-weariness of someone twice her age. "Nathan really did a number on you, didn't he?" he murmured.

"Theodore!" Evelyn's secretary appeared in the doorway. "You need to see this."

Evelyn followed Theodore to the east wing corridor. Through the rain-lashed windows, a figure stood motionless in the storm.

Nathan.

His designer suit clung to his frame, his usually impeccable hair plastered to his forehead. Lightning flashed, illuminating his stubborn stance beside his Aston Martin. He might as well have been carved from stone for all the notice he took of the tempest raging around him.

"Is he insane?" Theodore spat. "This is emotional manipulation at its finest!"

Evelyn's fingers curled into fists. "Let him stand there all night if he wants. It won't change anything."

Her phone vibrated with an incoming call. Nathan's voice, deeper than the thunder, came through clearly: "Come outside. We need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you!"

A jagged bolt of lightning struck nearby, the accompanying thunderclap shaking the manor to its foundations. In that blinding flash, Evelyn caught Nathan's expression - raw, determined, and utterly desperate.