19
Why had he come looking for Evelyn?
He wanted answers.
Why had she suddenly left him? Why the sudden disappearance? Why wouldn’t she let him find her?
Most importantly, did she still love him?
But the words wouldn’t come.
After a long silence, Sebastian finally said, “I want to
take you
home.”
He explained how he’d discovered Charlotte’s true nature, how he’d dealt with her and the children.
The spoke of his and his parents‘ regret.
The spoke of his frantic, desperate search for her these past months.
Menu
Evelyn clutched her phone, suppressing her trembling. It wasn’t relief, nor sadness, but the belated truth ripping open
unhealed flesh.
a
healed wound, exposing raw,
Too late. Everything was too late.
She was past needing the truth, past needing his apologies and attempts at reconciliation.
“Sebastian, I can’t go back with you. We can’t go back to how things were. You were right to compromise with your parents, to have children with Charlotte. You were wrong to build a new family with her while making false promises to me, wasting years of my youth. Seeing you with her, I wondered if I was the mistress.”
“No, Evie, you weren’t the mistress. You’re the one I love most.‘
Sebastian denied it, instinctively reaching for her hand, but she moved away.
with h
“But that’s the truth. You had children and a wedding with her; you’ve done everything couples do, except for the legal paperwork. Everyone will think you belong with her.”
“So why did you come looking for me?”
A vast chasm separated them, unbridgeable. She didn’t want to bridge it.
“Go back, Sebastian. This isn’t a place for you.”
Thunder rumbled in the distance. Unwilling to linger, Evelyn turned towards her dorm.
The second she entered, torrential rain began.
He remained motionless.
Evelyn frowned, about to close the curtains when a frantic knocking shook her door.
“Ms. Grant, come quickly! A student’s missing!”
Evelyn threw open the door. “What?”
**
The mountain region had been experiencing continuous rain; landslides were possible. The village mainly consisted of elderly people and children left behind by their parents.
For safety, under Mayor Cooper’s organization, the entire village was evacuated, the students staying at the school.
Yet, a student had run off.
k
Robert was distraught, contacting rescue teams for a thorough search. Teachers, except for a few staying with the students, joined the search.
Evelyn felt anxious and decided to search the student’s house with a teacher.
A rumbling sound echoed from the valley. Evelyn and the teacher exchanged a terrified look.
A landslide!
They sped towards the house, battling the rain.
They found the trembling child under the bed. Ignoring why he’d run away, they picked him up and started to run.
But he struggled violently. “No–I don’t want to go! My mother is still here!”
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