Michael stood by the window, his silhouette blocking out the city lights.
"Don't cry," he said, his voice devoid of its usual warmth.
"I'm not worth it."
"No! You are worth everything!" Erica choked, her carefully applied mascara smearing.
"You are the only man I've ever loved, the man I've held in my heart for eight years. Why won't you look at me?"
Michael didn't answer. He simply stared out of the window.
Evelyn returned home with a very heavy heart. Eleanor was gone, but a much more dangerous queen had taken her place. Is Michael really going back to her? She felt a surge of grievance. She had no right to question him about Erica, just as he had never truly interrogated her about her past with Tail. Their marriage was a fortress built on sand.
"Madam? I thought you were dining out with the Master?" Mrs. May asked, surprised to see Evelyn alone.
"I changed my mind. I'm going upstairs," Evelyn muttered, her feet dragging.
That night, Evelyn waited. She stared at the empty side of the bed until the early hours of the morning, but the door never opened. Michael didn't come home.
The next day at the Company. The news of Erica Jones's arrival had set the office on fire, and the "seductress" Evelyn was now the target of open mockery.
Her workload was doubled. A colleague even "conveniently" called out sick, leaving Evelyn to deliver samples to a remote factory in the suburbs. By the time she finished her data entry, it was late afternoon. It took Evelyn, an hour to reach the factory and Fearing she'd be stranded, paid the driver double to wait a few minutes while she dropped the samples.
But when she ran back out of the factory gates ten minutes later, the road was empty. The taxi was gone.
"That liar!" Evelyn screamed at the darkening trees. She had paid him in advance, and he'd vanished. No license plate, no way to complain. She reached for her phone to call the only person that could help.
She called numerous times, but the call kept getting rejected. He was hanging up on her. After the tenth try, his phone went straight to voicemail, then switched to "powered off."
Evelyn became frustrated and upset. The sun had dipped below the horizon, and the suburban road has no streetlights. She tried reaching out to Jade, but there was no answer.
Left with no choice, Evelyn began her journey on foot, hoping for a miracle to happen along the way. After an hour, her feet were raw and aching. She kicked off her shoes and continued barefoot on the hard asphalt. She passed by a few people, who looked at her strangely, wondering why she was walking barefoot.
While Evelyn was limping along the way, Michael was sitted in a high-end restaurant. Erica had begged him for one dinner before she left the city, and he had finally agreed as a measure to send her off.
"Michael, last night was so wonderful," Erica said, leaning across the table. They had stayed at his old residence the night before to keep her settled, though they had slept on separate floors. "Stay with me again tonight?"
"No," Michael said firmly. "I'm going back to be with my wife tonight." He was already thinking about Evelyn; she was likely furious about his absence.
"But I'm all alone at the Mansion"
"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom," Michael interrupted, needing a moment of silence. He left his phone on the table.
As soon as he was gone, the screen lit up. "My Wife" flashed across the display and Erica's eyes turned cold. She reached out and swiped 'Decline.' When it rang again, a sneer appeared on her lips. She held the power button down until the screen went black.
She placed the phone back exactly where it had been and went back to her food.
A few minutes later, Michael walked back into the room and sat down to continue his meal. He didn't notice anything out of place.
An hour later, they were done with their meal and Michael moved to the pool side to straighten his arms, while, Erica sat at the side watching. After some shots, he stopped as a thought crossed his mind.
"Why has Dominic not called yet? He was supposed to report on the case he was handling before he clocked out for the day." Dropping the pool stick, He walked to the side and picked his phone.
'why was it off? Was the battery down? Was he so busy he forgot to charge his phone?'. He pressed on the power button and the phone slowly came to life.
He furrowed his brows and thought to himself.
'That was strange! How did it go off on its own'
As he made to call Dominic, a call entered his phone and Evelyn's name appeared on the Screen.
He swiped the screen immediately.
"Hello!!" A stranger spoke from the other end.
Michael stood quietly beside the bed as he stared at Evelyn unconscious state his hands in his pocket. The report said, she had slumped along the way while walking back from delivering samples to the factory at Downtown. Although, the Doctor said she would wake up soon, he was still pissed. That was not her work to do, and besides, the company had vehicles for work purposes. Why was she sent alone, and without company. He had Dominic look into that, he was going to make his decision tomorrow morning.
An hour later, Evelyn work up and met Michael sitting by her side. She ignored him and only focused on the Doctor who was checking and making sure she was okay.
Fourth-five minutes later, Evelyn was discharged and they were both in the car on their way home.
The drive back home was quiet with no communications between the two. Earlier on, Michael had ordered Dominic to send Erica off, leaving only the both of them. When the car finally drove into the gates of Spring Estate, Michael stepped out from the driver's side and opened the door for Evelyn. The house keeper rushed out to welcome the master and mistress of the house. As the two walked towards their suit, the silence between them was deafening. No one spoke, but the air was thick with unspoken accusations.
He didn't come home last night because he was with her, Evelyn thought, a bitter taste rising in her throat.
Inside their bedroom, the atmosphere was heavy. Evelyn on the bed her head against the pillow and closed her eyes, refusing to say a word.
"Still angry?" Michael glanced at her. To his eyes, even her angry face was incredibly lovely. When she didn't respond, he tried again. "What happened to you, how did you suddenly collapse?"
That was the spark. Evelyn exploded. "Oh, now you're my husband? Where were you when I was stranded in the dark, miles from the city, with no car and no help? My phone wouldn't go through! While I was stranded and terrified, you were having a 'Hi-Pi' time with your ex-girlfriend, weren't you?"
Michael didn't defend himself. "Okay, it was my fault," he said, his voice dropping the usual coldness. "I am sorry." He took Evelyn's hand in his. "I promised to protect you, but ended up getting you hurt?" But this only made Evelyn aggrieved as tears began to drip down her face.
"I was stranded! I almost got kidnapped!" Evelyn exaggerated, turning her face away.
Michael let out a low, helpless chuckle and pulled her to himself.
Evelyn's heart was soothed, but she refused to back down. "I almost died! I don't want to talk to you!"
"Fine, fine." Michael surrendered. "I promise to take you skying, plus the amusement park."
And Evelyn's tears stopped. "Really? You're not lying?" She looked at him suspiciously. He looked soft, handsome, and far more approachable than the man who had stood silent in the office earlier.
"Of course. But, guaranteed you don't cry again? Is my beauty distracting?" Michael teased, noticing the way she was staring at him.
"You ruffian!!" Evelyn chastised and buried her face back in the pillow causing Michael to smile.
Although, he had made her smile. He still felt guilty and owed it to her for her maltreatment at work.
Somewhere, in a Hotel. Erica sat on the bed, her fist clenched together. Dominic had brought her to a hotel instead of Michael's villa. She didn't know what happened to that bitch girl Evelyn, she hoped she had died and then Michael would only belong to her. She couldn't imagine them together at the moment. That thought clawed at her and she felt like destroying something.