I spoke with sincerity, my voice devoid of any other emotion. “Evan, thank you for saving my life. I can never repay you. As a token,
the 3% equity I hold in the company you started… it’s yours.”
“I won’t take it!” he cut me off, his voice desperate. “Rhea, please, don’t say any more. Don’t say things like that to me.”
I looked at him calmly. “I’ve already signed the transfer agreement. You just need to sign it when you have time.”
20.46
Evan sank to the ground, as if all his strength had been drained away. His voice was muffled and full of a child–like pain. “… But you
promised me. You promised that if my mind was broken, you wouldn’t leave me.”
He looked up at me helplessly, like an abandoned dog.
A crowd was gathering at the restaurant entrance. Evan’s family had arrived, along with the other guests. And the security guards
with their earpieces.
Faye cautiously approached him, trying to help him up. “Evan, darling, my parents are watching. For the sake of our families‘ busin-
ess partnership, please, at least finish the ceremony.”
Evan looked at Faye with pure venom. Then he turned that same venomous gaze on his own parents.
Finally, a cruel smile twisted his lips. “Rhea,” he said, “There is no way in hell I am getting engaged today.”
I took Miles’s arm. “Evan,” I said coolly, “why not just let this mistake be?”
14
When he heard those words, Evan’s tall frame swayed, and the color drained from his face. In that moment, I saw a reflection of
myself from my past life. The heartache, the humiliation, the deep, dark despair and resentment.
Evan was speechless. He clutched at his chest, struggling to breathe.
Miles let out a timely hiss of pain, saying the cut on his lip was hurting and he needed to go take care of it. So, with my arm in his, I
walked away, brushing past Evan without a second glance.
Evan never returned to the engagement party. The next day, social media was flooded with videos. His famous declaration of love
had turned their story into a modern myth. Now that the myth was shattered, everyone wanted a piece of the fallout.
“What? He was so sure, but he had the wrong person?”
“Even if I forget the whole world, my heart will remember you‘? Heh, maybe his heart just had an arrhythmia!”
“A guy with his resources could have figured out the truth with one phone call. He just wanted to stay in his cozy little fantasy. It’s
simple: he fell out of love.”
