Chapter 5
From that day on, Charles started going to see Evelyn like crazy. He put aside all the pride as Rivers Group's CEO and showed up at every café she liked and every bookstore she loved.
He wandered around Southside Lane where she used to live as a kid. But every time, all he could do was watch her working, too busy to spare him even a single glance.
He even swallowed his pride and went to see Evelyn's father, Frank Lewis, the man his own father had crushed into bankruptcy, who had attempted to end his life and was now confined to a wheelchair.
Frank sat in his wheelchair, staring up at Charles, his eyes aged but unwavering. He brushed aside the supplements Charles offered, his voice cold as ice. "If you truly care about Evelyn, then stop hurting her with your 'love.'
"All that status and money you offered was never what she wanted. What she wanted was genuine love, to be your one and only, something you could never give her.
"Do you know, before she married you, she cried to me, saying she was afraid the wedding was just a dream? Now the dream is destroyed, so what are you doing here? Charles, you don't deserve her."
Those words hit Charles like a hammer to the heart.
He'd always thought that making Evelyn Mrs. Rivers and giving her more money than she could ever spend and everything people could ever envy was what love meant.
But he'd never once asked what she truly wanted.
He remembered how Evelyn, late at night, holding him tight, had buried her face in his chest and whispered, "Charles, I don't want anything else. I just want you.
"I just want to be the only one in your heart. Even if we had none of the riches or luxury, I'd still be happy."
At that moment, it hit Charles that he'd been ridiculously wrong.
He'd forced his own idea of love onto Evelyn, and in doing so, he'd crushed every bit of hope and happiness she'd ever had.
All those years he spent cherishing his first love, in the end, she was nothing compared to the girl who loved him to her very core but was hurt by him so deeply.
Charles started to change. He stopped showing up in Evelyn's life, stopped disturbing her, and instead, quietly looked out for her from the shadows in his own way.
He anonymously funded her flower shop, sending her the best flowers, and strictly ordered his staff never to reveal his name.
When her shop's roof leaked, workers arrived early the next morning to fix it, leaving behind only a note: [May you be safe and well every year.]
Evelyn's mother's medical bills were quietly paid off, with only a note that read: [—from someone who owes you.]
He knew these little acts of compensation could never make up for all the pain he'd caused Evelyn, but he wanted to do whatever he could for her, even if she never found out, even if she never forgave him.
As the days went by, Evelyn's flower shop was doing better and better, soon becoming the most popular place in Southside Lane.
She was still gentle and calm, but now there was a new brightness in her eyes.
But nobody knew that late at night, she would sit alone, staring at that old, yellowed diary, crying her heart out until morning.
Evelyn thought her story with Charles was over for good, that their lives would never overlap again. But fate pulled them right back together.
That afternoon, Evelyn got a bouquet of white camellias at her flower shop. The wrapping was perfect, and tucked right in the heart of the flowers was a ring she recognized instantly.
It was the Rivers family's heirloom wedding ring, the one she'd left behind in their matrimonial home.
There was only one line on the card. The handwriting was strong and confident, but with a hint of shakiness: [I was wrong. I'll make amends this time.]
Evelyn's fingers trembled as she held the ring, her heart a mess of complicated feelings.
There was resentment, a sense of injustice, eight years of love she couldn't let go of, and a hint of wavering she'd never dare admit.
That night, she received a video sent anonymously.
The video was shot outside Vivian's hospital room. Charles stood at the doorway, his face icy, his tone unyielding as he spoke to Vivian inside. "The woman I married is Evelyn, and she's the only one I love.
"Your memory loss is a lie. What you really want is to get me back. But let me make this clear: that's never going to happen.
"I'm not that foolish boy who would do anything for you anymore, and I won't hurt the woman I love because of you ever again. If you're smart, you'll let go, go get your treatment abroad, and stay out of our lives for good."
In the video, Vivian was sobbing uncontrollably, her voice breaking as she screamed, "Charles, have you forgotten who stayed by your side when you were sick? Who supported you when you started your business? You can't do this to me!"
Charles stared at her coldly, his words slow and deliberate. "I haven't forgotten. But what I owe Evelyn is so much more than I ever owed you. All I want now is to stay by her side, for the rest of my life."
Evelyn watched the video, and after three months of bottling it all up, she couldn't hold back anymore. Her tears finally spilled over.
It was not that she didn't hate Charles anymore, but most of that hatred had faded, softened by the changes he'd made these past few months.
It was not that she didn't love him, but that love had been wounded so deeply that she was too afraid to let herself reach for it again.