She had called Evie that morning. Evie said everything was fine. But Victoria still felt uneasy.
Victoria’s cousin was smart and beautiful. If that woman really wanted Alexander, Evie wouldn’t stand a chance. Evie would probably count the money for her and think she was a good person.
Victoria had originally wanted to get some military information through Caleb. But she asked for nothing. Caleb didn’t know anything about it. What a waste of her time!
“Does my cousin have anything to do with you?” Caleb asked.
“What kind of relationship?” Victoria stared at him calmly.
“Something sensitive. Like romantic rivals.”
“You think too much. Do you really think your cousin would like Aiden Fisher?” Victoria asked.
“You didn’t just say Aiden was her boyfriend!”
“Yes, I did. Why should I tell you?” Victoria was about to admit it, but then she glared at Caleb.
Caleb laughed and said nothing more.
After a moment, he thought of something else. He looked up at Victoria again.
“It can’t be that much of a coincidence!”
“What?” Victoria was eating dessert. She looked up at him.
“You said yesterday that my cousin’s boyfriend and Evie’s husband have the same name. But they’re not the same person, right?” Caleb asked.
Victoria directly forked a piece of cake and shoved it into Caleb’s mouth.
“Eat more. Talk less.”
Caleb looked at her, half laughing, half crying. He swallowed the cake.
After walking with Alexander, Evie returned to Sterling Manor.
“I’m going to take a bath,” Evie said to Alexander, then turned and went upstairs.
“Together,” Alexander said. He didn’t let go. He held Evie and answered.
Evie glanced at him. She didn’t say anything. She followed him upstairs.
After entering the bedroom.
“You wash first. I’ll call my mother,” Evie said.
“Evie, are you still angry?” Alexander hugged her and asked.
Evie looked up at him. After a moment, she spoke.
“I’m not angry. Actually, I wasn’t angry last night.”
Not angry. Just sad.
Maybe happiness came too fast. So when she wasn’t satisfied, she fell harder. And it hurt more.
“Don’t be angry. I won’t hide anything from you again. I won’t meet her alone. Let’s just turn the page on this, okay?” Alexander looked down at Evie and said.
Evie was silent for a long time. Then she met his gaze.
“Alexander, it’s not that we can’t turn the page. I’m not angry. I just think we need to face the problem and solve it. Not ignore it and pretend it doesn’t exist.”
“We don’t have a problem. I never wanted a divorce when I got married. I just want to live with you,” Alexander said.
Evie looked at him. She didn’t say anything. But she clearly wasn’t backing down.
Alexander rarely felt frustrated. This wasn’t the obedient Evie he knew.
“Evie, what do you want me to do to forgive me?”
“When you ask me that question, it means our problem still exists. You just haven’t faced it.”
“I’ve been trying to play the role of a good wife. Because you’re a good husband. I was afraid I wasn’t good enough for you.”
“But now I understand. What I want isn’t just a good husband. What I need is a lover. A lover whose heart and values match mine.”
“I don’t want to settle for a marriage that lacks love and only has responsibility. Even if it’s comfortable materially.”
“I don’t know if I’m making myself clear. But that’s how I feel now.”
“You don’t love me?” Alexander looked at Evie and asked.
“I do love you. That’s why I can’t accept it. You have someone else in your heart.”
“I don’t have anyone else!” Alexander denied it directly.
“Alexander, do you remember when Grace was critically ill? You asked me to donate blood.”
“At first, I refused. Because I just found out I was pregnant. I had signs of a miscarriage. I didn’t dare take the risk.”
“You didn’t ask me why I refused. You just comforted me and encouraged me.”
“At that moment, in your heart, Grace’s safety was above everything else. Everyone and everything else didn’t matter to you.”
“No!” Alexander said.
“Alexander, even if you can’t accept what I’m saying now, it’s a fact that can’t be changed.”
“When a person is in a crisis, their instinctive reaction shows what they truly want.”
“Alexander, the person you truly want is Grace. But you’ve never forgiven her. So you don’t want to accept that fact.”
Evie spoke calmly. Then she took Alexander’s hand. She walked to the bedside table, picked up her phone, and left the bedroom to call her family.
Alexander sat down on the sofa.
Evie called home. Her mother answered.
When she heard her mother’s voice, Evie almost had the urge to say she wanted to go home. To leave this place.
But in the end, she held back. She chatted with her mother as calmly as possible.
Her mother said on the phone that Evie hadn’t come back for days. She had bought a lot of things to cook for her. But she couldn’t find the chance.
Evie said she had been busy taking care of things at home. She would come back in two days.
Her mother asked what had happened.
Evie said it was just a small matter. Don’t worry.
That night, Evie slept in the master bedroom. Alexander slept on the sofa in the master bedroom.
It was his insistence. He wasn’t at ease leaving her alone. If anything happened, he would know immediately.
Evie sighed softly. She didn’t say anything more.
In the middle of the night, Evie got up to go to the bathroom. She saw Alexander sleeping on the sofa. He looked uncomfortable.
Evie got out of bed and walked over to him.
“Alexander, go to bed.”
Alexander answered vaguely. He sat up. Then he took Evie’s hand and led her back to bed. After lying down again, he didn’t let go of her hand.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” Evie had to say.
“Be careful,” Alexander mumbled. Then he released her hand.
Evie went to the bathroom. When she came back to the bedside, she looked at Alexander, who was in a deep sleep. Her feelings were mixed.
As she had said, if she didn’t care, it was like nothing had happened. She and Alexander could still live happily.
But sometimes people are like this. If you don’t care about something, it’s fine. Once you care, you can’t bear it.
If she hadn’t fallen in love with Alexander. If Alexander had always been cold to her. Maybe none of this would be a problem. After all, their marriage wasn’t built on love from the start. Chasing love was just wishful thinking.
But that wasn’t the case at all. Alexander was so good to her. She always thought he had fallen in love with her, just like she had. She thought this was the most perfect state of marriage.