Evelyn couldn’t say a word. As she looked at him, she recalled the intimate moments they had shared last night—his hands on her body, his lips on hers, and the overwhelming sensations that drove her almost insane.
’Does he have feelings for me?’ she wondered in her mind.
But then another memory surfaced.
Ian had refused at first. He had tried to take her to the hospital. He had told her she wasn’t in the right state of mind, that he hadn’t wanted to take advantage of her.
Evelyn’s heart tightened. ’How could he have feelings for me?’ she thought.
The excitement in her heart diminished.
’He doesn’t love me. He agreed to help me because I begged him shamelessly.’
Another question emerged in her mind. ’If it was true, why had he spent the entire night reviewing my reports? Why did he assist my surgery?’
The more she thought, the more confused she grew. Her eyes dropped immediately.
Ian watched her quietly. He had spent the entire night thinking about what he would say when she woke up. He had imagined many possibilities.
Maybe she would be embarrassed. Maybe angry. But deep down, he had believed that she still loved him.
Why else would she have wanted him so desperately? Why else would she have looked at him with those tear-filled eyes and asked him not to take her to the hospital?
Ian had thought she had moved on, that she no longer needed him. But last night had made him believe that perhaps he had been given another chance. Perhaps they could start again. Perhaps she would finally be willing to reconcile.
He had even imagined himself asking her. ’Come back to me. Let’s get married again.’
But he couldn’t say it out loud.
"Do you remember what happened?" he asked quietly.
Evelyn’s fingers tightened around the blanket. She nodded slowly, without meeting his gaze.
"Yes." Her voice was soft.
Ian’s heart skipped. He took a step toward her.
"I didn’t want to—"
"I know," she said urgently, not giving him the time to finish his sentence.
Ian stopped.
"Last night shouldn’t have happened," she said calmly. "It was a mistake."
What happened between them wasn’t meaningless at all. But she said that to protect herself.
"I was drugged. I wasn’t thinking clearly. You were trying to help me, and things went too far."
Ian forgot how to breathe. He had not expected to hear this.
’She called it a mistake?’
"Whatever happened between us last night doesn’t change anything," she continued. "We are divorced."
Her words struck him harder than he expected. She sounded as though she had already closed the door between them.
Ian’s jaw tightened. He stared at her. His heart seemed to sink into his chest.
For years, he had been the one telling himself that Evelyn’s feelings were excessive, that her love suffocated him, that she would never give him the space he wanted. He had pushed her away, ignored her, and voided her. He had acted cold whenever she reached for him, believing she would always be there.
But now, she was looking at him as though she had already let him go. Something inside him cracked.
"Evelyn..."
She looked at him. "I don’t want you to feel responsible for what happened," she interrupted again. "You helped me when I was in trouble. For that, I’m grateful."
Ian’s chest tightened. ’Grateful? That’s all?’
He wanted to tell her that it hadn’t been meaningless to him, that it wasn’t merely a mistake, and that he had wanted her long before last night.
That the moment she had wrapped her arms around him, all the feelings he had buried had come rushing back. He wanted to tell her that he wanted her back. But she said everything that had happened between them was nothing but a mistake.
The woman he spent seven years trying to push away was finally walking away—and he was the one who couldn’t let her go.
Evelyn got out of bed, got dressed quickly, and turned to him. "I’ll leave now."
Just as she reached the door, she paused, her hand pressing against her chest. It was as if her heart were aching.
’I still love you,’ her heart screamed.
She wanted to turn around, to ask him if last night had meant something to him. She wanted him to stop her. But she remembered all the times she had waited for him.
For years, she had told him she loved him and received nothing in return. She couldn’t go back to being that woman.
’He doesn’t want me. He never did.’
She closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, she forced calmness in her voice. "Thank you for taking care of me."
She pushed the door open and walked out quickly.
Silence filled the room.
Ian remained frozen. His gaze stayed fixed on the closed door.
The woman who once couldn’t imagine her life without him was leaving without asking him to stay.
Ian’s fingers curled into fists.
He had wanted freedom. He had gotten it. So why did he suddenly want nothing more than to have her back?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Evelyn returned home, she found Elena waiting in the hall.
The moment Elena saw her, she rushed over. "Evelyn, you are finally back!"
Her face was filled with worry.
"Where were you the whole night? Your phone was switched off. We were so worried. Elias didn’t sleep a single moment last night. He has been looking for you everywhere."
She moved closer and studied Evelyn’s face. "Are you alright?"
Evelyn hesitated. Embarrassment and nervousness washed over her at once.
She didn’t know whether she should tell Elena what had happened.
"Wait..." Elena’s eyebrows knitted together as her gaze fell on Evelyn’s neck. "What is it?"
There were faint red marks scattered across her skin.
They looked suspiciously like love bites.
"You..." Her eyes widened, shocked.
Evelyn instinctively stepped back and covered her neck.
"You slept with someone?" Elena stared at her in disbelief.
"Shh!" Evelyn hurriedly pressed a finger to her lips. "Please don’t let anyone find out about this. Especially Elias."
"But who did you sleep with?" Elena asked, still stunned.
Evelyn pursed her lips. Her cheeks turned red.
"It was Ian."