Chapter 7

Michael.

From a short distance away, he just showed up like that, barging back into her world out of nowhere.

It had been four years since they'd last seen each other—he looked more grounded now, a little older, more composed.

This city wasn't that big... but if two people really didn't want to meet, they could always find ways to avoid it.

Alexander noticed something off with the woman in his arms. He looked down and caught her staring at a nearby couple.

"I'm pregnant, not sick. Come on, drinking water doesn't fix everything," the woman next to Michael joked, a playful look on her face.

He even had a kid now? Evelyn remembered the phone call she got from Emily Reed yesterday, just outside the airport.

And now, there he was, standing way too close to some woman in a mask, the two of them clearly all lovey-dovey. It hit Evelyn like a punch to the gut.

Just as Michael started to say something, he paused, catching the intense gaze someone was throwing at him. He lifted his eyes and looked their way.

The moment his eyes swept over, Evelyn quickly ducked her head, burying her face into the chest of the man holding her.

Right then, more than anything, she didn't want him to see her—not because she was afraid, but because she couldn't bear to let him see her like this.

After all those years, she'd assumed she'd be fine seeing him again. Turns out, she was still just as vulnerable as before.

Seriously? She's even snuggling into his chest now?

Alexander's eyebrows arched slightly as he looked down at her. He really wasn't a fan of people getting handsy. If it weren't for his son, he'd never be okay with stuff like this, let alone getting this close.

He started to speak, his lips parting. He was about to remind her to watch herself.

"Please... just get me out of here." Her voice came against his chest, soft but desperate.

Telling him what to do now, huh?

Alex frowned, but then noticed her face—her cheeks streaked with silent tears.

He froze, caught off guard. Maybe it was impulse, or maybe it was something else, but he ended up just pulling her close and walking away without another word.

Up ahead, a bulletproof car sat parked by the curb. A couple bodyguards flanked it, making passersby stop and stare.

"Michael, what's up? What are you looking at?" the woman asked, sensing his momentary distraction.

"I think... I just saw Evelyn," he replied, not taking his eyes off the direction she'd gone.

"Evelyn?" The woman followed his gaze in confusion, catching sight of a fancy-looking man holding a woman in his arms. From the back view alone, she didn't recognize the man as the president of their country. As for the woman held in his embrace—slim build, looked a lot like Evelyn—but her face was buried deep in the man's chest, so it was hard to tell.

She glanced back at the man who was soon to be her husband and noticed the flicker of longing in his eyes. That made her instantly furious.

"Michael, don't tell me you really think that injured woman wrapped in a cast, getting carried like that, is Evelyn." Her words oozed sarcasm and disbelief.

In her mind, someone like Evelyn—who had once broken off an engagement and bore a child with questionable paternity—didn't even deserve a second-rate man, let alone someone with that kind of aura and power. Seriously, the guy gave off elite vibes from a mile away. No way someone like him would give Evelyn the time of day, even if she threw herself at him.

Moments later, the group got into their car and melted into the flow of traffic.

Evelyn sat silently in the car, staring blankly out the window. Her gut still churned when she thought about what she'd just seen outside the hospital—Michael and that woman, so close, like the past meant nothing.

"Instead of sitting here wallowing, you might as well think about what you're going to do next," Alexander said, shooting her a quick glance from beside her.

"You're not me. You don't know what I've been through," she muttered, shaking her head in pain.

"I don't need to know. It's not about your past." His tone was steady, distant. "But hiding won't make your enemies back off. It'll only give them more room to choke you until you can't breathe."

"Then what do you expect me to do?" Her voice was lost, drawn out. How could she prove that she hadn't betrayed Michael back then? That it was all a terrible misunderstanding? And how was she supposed to find the child she carried for nine months but never even held?

"I'm not your life coach. It's your story to figure out." Alexander didn't sugarcoat it, and his bluntness stung a little.

Fair point. They weren't real partners. He had no reason to guide her through anything.

Evelyn turned her head back to the window. Still, he wasn't wrong. Curling up in self-pity only gave others a reason to laugh at her misery. What she needed now wasn't tears—it was strength.