Chapter 4

It was a souvenir from my dad's company; there were two in the set, one for me and one for Oliver.

It was like the universe was telling me it was time to finally let go of the past.

I told my parents I had work to do and didn't go with them.

The truth was it was time for my abortion.

I was too scared to go through it alone, so I asked Lily to come with me.

Without thinking twice, she ditched work and rushed over, grabbing my shoulders and practically yelling in my face.

"Evelyn, have you lost your mind? Pulling something this huge and not telling anyone? Who's the guy? Is he seriously not gonna step up at all?" Lily shouted.

"He doesn't know, and I'm not planning to tell him," I said.

Lily kept calling me a hopeless romantic idiot, but she still stuck with me through all the pre-op checks.

But then, in the hospital lobby, we bumped into two people we knew.

Ruby had a bandage on her head, and Oliver had his arm around her, holding her up protectively.

When he saw us, he paused, frowned, and looked me up and down.

"What are you doing here?" Oliver asked.

Lily immediately leaned her head against my shoulder and mumbled in a tired voice, "Girl stuff, none of your business."

Oliver leaned down and whispered something to Ruby, then suddenly marched over and snatched the report from my hand, about to look at it.

Lily grabbed his hand to stop him. "What are you doing, Oliver? That's my private business. Ever heard of privacy? Give me a break, will you?"

They were still wrestling over the report when Ruby suddenly called out, "Oliver!" and collapsed to the floor.

Oliver shot me a quick look, let go of the report, scooped Ruby up in his arms, and rushed her straight to the exam room.

My heart finally settled back into my chest, and I felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me.

I couldn't even tell if I felt more let down or more relieved in that moment.

After I got back from the hospital, I slept straight through until nightfall.

My mom called to say that because Ruby had gotten into a car accident, the dinner had been moved to the evening, and she wanted me to come along.

I never missed a dinner at Oliver's house, ever.

I didn't want to make things awkward, so I agreed.

Ruby walked in carrying a gift, with Oliver right behind her. She was graceful, he was tall and striking, and my mom and Penny exchanged a look, grinning from ear to ear.

At the dinner table, Penny was all smiles, piling food onto Ruby's plate.

"You're not leaving again this time, are you? Oliver still keeps your photo tucked in his book," Penny said.

"Mom," Oliver cut in, sounding a little helpless, but his eyes landed right on me.

I pretended not to hear a thing, flashed a polite smile, and just kept picking at my food like everything was perfectly normal.

Ruby gave a sweet smile.

"Thank you, Penny. I'm just back to handle some family things. Oliver's been such a big help, and he always brings over your food. I just wanted to come by and thank you in person," Ruby said.

She looked at Oliver, and for a moment, disappointment flashed in her eyes.

"Oliver and I are very good friends," Ruby said.

Oliver set down his fork, his gaze locking onto mine. My heart skipped a beat.

He spoke up, his tone serious, "Mom, Dad, Mr. and Mrs. Fort, actually, Evelyn and I...

"Actually, I have something I want to say to you guys."

I could tell what Oliver was about to say, so I quickly stood up and interrupted him. Catching his stunned look, I flashed him a small smile.

"Oli, let me be the one to say it. I got promoted. The company is sending me to South America to expand our business. I'm going to be the executive manager for our South American branch."

The room went quiet for a moment. Even Ruby looked surprised.

My mom was the first to react.

"When did this happen? Why are you only telling us now? Were you worried we'd say no, so you had Oliver speak up for you?"

I nodded with a smile, my palms starting to sweat.

Penny was still reeling from all the news, but my mom's words finally brought her back to reality. "South America? That's so far away. Oliver, you better help Evelyn think this through."

Oliver swallowed hard, and after a moment, he finally forced a smile. "Okay."

After dinner, Oliver used that as an excuse to call me into his room.

As soon as the door closed, he pressed me up against the door and reached up to flick off the light.

Suddenly, everything was pitch black; his heavy breathing and the heat of his body against mine became impossible to ignore.

"Evelyn, you really know how to push my buttons." Oliver practically growled the words, his jaw clenched tight.

I kept silent, not daring to meet his eyes. He let out a long, shaky breath. "When are you leaving? And for how long?"

I replied, "I'm leaving next week. I'll be gone for five years."

Oliver's breath caught for a moment, then he let out a low, almost mocking laugh.

He asked, "Evelyn, do you really think you're the victim here?

"You never say anything, never ask anything. Am I supposed to just guess what you're thinking?

"You saw Ruby's photo on my phone and never asked. You heard me on the phone on my birthday and never said a thing. The day I took Ruby home and she kissed me, you didn't even mention it."

"Sometimes I wonder if you're just acting like you don't care, or do you really not care at all?"

His silhouette in the darkness looked almost menacing.

"So what if I did ask? What would you have done about it?" I shot back.

His breath was now just inches from my face.

He said, "If you had just asked, I would've told you everything. I forgot to delete the photo, the birthday call was just them joking around, and that day, I dodged her. She didn't even kiss me. Why couldn't you just ask me?"

"Do you really think all I wanted was a couple of explanations?" I said.

The darkness made every feeling sharper, and before I knew it, my tears just broke free, flooding down my cheeks.

Why did he forget to delete that photo? Because there was never a new photo to take its place.

And it was the same with the person he cared about.

They joked like that because I never really mattered. If someone as insignificant as me could be lost over a joke, then I guess it was never a big deal anyway.

Every time he dodged her kiss, it was like his heart fell for her all over again.

Compared to all that blatant favoritism, any explanation just felt empty.

If I kept pressing for answers, I'd only end up looking even more pitiful.

I reached for the light switch, but Oliver caught my wrist.

He said, "Evelyn," his voice was low and rough, "if you go abroad, I won't wait for you."

"Okay," I replied.