Chapter 344

Nathan Blackwood turned slowly, his breath catching when he found Evelyn Carter standing mere steps behind him. Her piercing gaze held an arctic chill that made his blood run cold.

"Evelyn, why are you here?" Raymond Kingsley immediately abandoned Nathan and rushed to his sister's side. "I told you I'd handle this. You should be resting at home."

"No. This is something I need to settle myself."

Evelyn's voice was steady, but her eyes never left Nathan's. The detachment in them carved deeper than any blade could.

After the divorce, she had treated him with nothing but frosty indifference. He had once resented it—now, it terrified him. The thought of her regarding him as nothing more than a stranger sent a tremor through his chest.

He would have preferred her fury—her curses, her slaps, anything but this glacial distance.

"Evelyn—" Nathan hesitated, her name barely a whisper on his lips.

"Let's talk outside, Nathan."

Her tone left no room for argument. With one last icy glance, she turned and strode ahead. Nathan's gaze clung to the elegant sway of her figure, his feet itching to follow—until Raymond yanked him back.

"Listen here, you clueless bastard," Raymond hissed, fingers digging into Nathan's arm. "This is a police station. If you so much as breathe wrong near my sister, I'll cuff you myself."

Nathan exhaled sharply, forcing down the storm inside him. "As her brother, you should know exactly what she means to me."

Raymond scoffed, a humorless smirk twisting his lips. "Oh, I know. And from my years in homicide, I can tell you—men who hire stalkers to trail their ex-wives? They're either psychopaths or future murderers. Neither ends well."

Nathan had no retort.

They ended up in a secluded courtyard behind the precinct, the dim glow of distant streetlights casting long shadows. Privacy was crucial—both were public figures, and this conversation demanded discretion.

Evelyn faced him, arms crossed, the moonlight painting her in silver.

"Nathan—"

"Have you been drinking?"

He didn't let her finish. In two strides, he closed the distance between them, his broad frame eclipsing the light. Evelyn stiffened as he tilted his head, inhaling the faint scent of alcohol clinging to her hair.

His voice dropped low. "This is strong liquor. Since when do you drink? You couldn't even handle karaoke cocktails. In three years of marriage, I never saw you touch a drop."

Her laugh was brittle. "I've always had a high tolerance. You just never cared to notice." She stepped back, her spine pressing against the cold brick wall.

"Because you never showed me the real you." Nathan's jaw tightened. "You hid everything."

Evelyn arched a brow. "Ah, deflection. Classic Nathan."

Her crimson lips curved, and the sight sent heat coiling low in his gut. He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to close the space between them again.

"Remember the man you were back then?" she continued, voice dripping with disdain. "Even when I tried, you never listened. You found me irritating—why would I bare my soul just to be rejected again?"

Each word was a knife, twisting deeper.

So she had concealed herself—not out of deceit, but to avoid his disdain. Just like how Victoria Sterling had played the innocent ingenue, feigning fragility to manipulate him.

The realization struck like lightning.

Victoria's "love" had been a calculated performance. But Evelyn? She had only ever tried to be what she thought he wanted.

The ache in his chest was unbearable.

His eyes burned. Before he could speak, Evelyn cut in, her tone glacial.

"Let's be clear, Nathan. I know why you sent Oliver to spy on me. Isabella Wang's wedding is coming up, and I'm your biggest competition. Fine—business is business. But Salvador Corp is already ahead. Isabella chose your venue. So why have Oliver tailing me? Why take photos of Raymond?" Her gaze sharpened. "Isn't that crossing a line?"