Chapter 3

After returning from the Chancellor's Estate, we had a few days of peace.

Edward was out early and back late. I had no idea what he was busy with, and he never said a word about it.

I enjoyed the quiet life, cleaned up the rundown courtyard, and even planted some vegetables in the corner.

I never took that wooden hairpin off.

One day, Charlotte suddenly sent someone over with an invitation, asking me to join her for a boat ride on Silverlake outside the city to relax.

The invitation was full of warmth and sincerity, as if she hadn't been the one making things difficult for us just a few days ago.

I gripped the invitation in my hand and let out a cold laugh.

"A trap," Edward said flatly as he walked in, glancing at the invitation.

"I know." I nodded. "But since she dares to invite me, I dare to go."

In my previous life, I put up with everything and ended up freezing to death in the snow. This time, I was not backing down. I want to see exactly what she was playing at.

Edward watched me for a while, and then simply told me, "Just make sure you come back soon."

The weather was great on the day of the boat ride. When I got to the lake, I noticed Charles was there, too.

Charlotte was holding onto his arm affectionately, waving at me with a smug look. "Evelyn, over here."

Charles's eyes lingered on me, his stare even more undisguised than the last time at the Chancellor's Estate gate.

I was wearing one of Edward's mother's dresses. The fabric was simple, but it made me look delicate. With that wooden hairpin in my hair, I actually looked more graceful than Charlotte, who was decked out in jewels.

"Evelyn." Charles stepped up, flashing a charming, gentlemanly smile. "You look absolutely stunning today. So, is Edward treating you right?"

"Charles." Charlotte yanked his arm, her annoyance obvious. "Why are you even bothering with her? She picked that loser herself."

Once we got on the boat, Charlotte was all over Charles, showing off her skills and flirting with him, making sure I was completely left out of their little performance.

I minded my own business at the back of the boat, taking in the scenery. The cool breeze coming off the lake felt pretty great.

When we reached the middle of the lake, Charles suddenly stood up and walked over to me. "Evelyn, check out that massive fish down there."

My guard shot up. This was exactly how he'd come up to me at Silverlake in my previous life.

Back then, I was infatuated with him. I didn't even have time to react before he "accidentally" shoved me into the water.

Charlotte had already set it up so another man would "save" me in the lake, just to destroy my name.

To cover up the scandal, my father beat me and threw me out of the house that very night, handing me over to Charles as his concubine.

This time around, Charles tried to pull the same stunt all over again.

I was just about to step away from him when he suddenly "slipped," putting on an act with that fake yelp as he toppled right toward me.

I caught it all. His hand wasn't reaching for the boat's edge at all; he was aiming to wrap his arm around my waist. I twisted away before he could touch me.

Charles lunged and missed, lost his balance, and was about to fall straight into the water. Scrambling in a panic, he reached out, grabbing for anything he could.

Suddenly, a scream rang out, not from me, but from Charlotte.

She'd been swaggering over, all smug, ready to watch me embarrass myself. Standing closest to Charles, she got caught up in his panic as he grabbed onto her skirt as his life depended on it.

With two splashes, both Charles and Charlotte ended up in the lake together.

The water was icy cold, and both of them were struggling desperately, their screams breaking the peaceful silence of the lake. "Help! Somebody help," Charlotte shrieked.

The boatman was startled, hurriedly fishing them out.

I stood tall on the boat, watching them from above, not a single drop of water on me.

With all the chaos going on, I looked up.

Not far off, under a willow tree by the shore, Edward was standing there.

I had no clue when he'd shown up or how long he'd been watching. He just stood there, watching with that icy look from across the water as Charles and Charlotte flailed around.