CHAPTER 44: THE MOST EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED CONFESSION

Jack’s breath hitched. "He defended her?"

Olivia smiled gently, victorious. "Oh yes, I was at the charity event and Alexander practically threw himself between Evelyn and the world, defending and protecting her like she was precious."

She paused, adding softly, "Like she was his."

Jack’s hands curled into fists barely holding the brewing anger.

"He thinks he can take whatever he wants," Olivia whispered. "First the company, then your father’s affection and now Evelyn."

Jack was breathing harder now, anger clouding his eyes.

"He has no right to her," Jack muttered. He had made a mistake and was willing to apologize if given a chance but instead of helping him, he was told not to go anywhere near Evelyn.

First he thought it was because they didn’t want to escalate the scandal but now he understood the real reason behind it. It was Alexander and his desire for Evelyn.

"No," Olivia agreed, stroking his arm in slow circles. "But he acts like he does."

Silence stretched.

Olivia took her time before she continued poisoning Jack’s mind. She took gaps in between, giving him time to process the information.

"Jack—" she said calmly, leaning in, "you cannot let him take everything from you. If you keep staying quiet, you will lose more than you already have."

Jack swallowed hard. "What do you expect me to do?"

Olivia smiled. It was soft, motherly and cruel.

"Just remember who she belonged to," she whispered. "And remember who took her away."

Jack looked up at her with dark, burning eyes. "Do you really believe that Alexander is doing all this on purpose?"

"I don’t think what I believe really matters," Olivia sighed. "But with everything I have seen in the past twenty years, Alexander always takes what isn’t his."

She stood, brushed his hair back lovingly and added,

"Don’t let him take Evelyn too."

Then she walked out, leaving Jack breathing in shallow and furious bursts with Olivia’s poison blooming exactly where she wanted it.

....

[Carter Mansion—Evelyn’s Room]

Evelyn sat crossed-legged on her bed with Alexander’s blazer folded neatly beside her.

She glanced at the wall clock and sighed. She hadn’t left the room all day thinking about ways she could return him the blazer.

She slammed her face on the pillow and groaned, frustrated.

Why was it so hard for her to call him somewhere and return it?

But before her thoughts could spiral again, her phone buzzed loudly.

It was Patricia.

Evelyn exhaled and picked up.

"DON’T YOU ’HELLO’ ME!" Patricia screamed the moment the call connected. "You absolute snake! You went to a charity event and didn’t even TEXT ME the tea as it was happening! I had to receive a message from Lucas to know that something had happened."

Evelyn winced, pulling the phone away. "Pat, can you lower your volume? My brain is fragile."

"Of COURSE it’s fragile!" Patricia yelled. "YOU WERE ALONE WITH ALEXANDER REID IN A GARDEN AND YOU DIDN’T CALL ME IMMEDIATELY?"

Evelyn froze. "What? How—?"

"Lucas sent me a photo on Instagram of Alexander and you standing alone in the garden clearly having a very intense conversation." She groaned in frustration. "How could you not tell me? I thought we were best friends."

Before Evelyn could say something, she yelled again. "TELL ME EVERYTHING."

Evelyn groaned, burying her face in a pillow. "Patricia, it was something but I don’t know what to call it."

There was a long dramatic gasp.

"GIRL TELL ME EVERYTHING."

Evelyn hesitated, swallowing hard. "It was intense."

"Intense how?" Patricia demanded. "Intense like ’we held hands’ or intense like ’he pushed you against the wall and confessed his eternal devotion’?"

The silence on Evelyn’s end said enough.

Patricia inhaled sharply. "Oh. My. God." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Evie. Did he kiss you?"

"No," Evelyn whispered. "But he came very close."

"And??"

"And he said things."

"What things? Cite the entire transcript. I am ready to cry."

Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut, heat flooding her cheeks. "He told me he has been feeling this way for years."

Patricia went silent.

Dead silent.

"Pat?" Evelyn frowned, thinking there was some network issue.

But then—

"YEARS?" Patricia shrieked. "You are telling me Alexander Reid—THE Alexander Reid—has been pining over you like a Victorian widow and you didn’t THINK TO MENTION THIS?"

"I didn’t know," Evelyn protested. In the past, she had barely talked to Alexander except for the polite greetings whenever they crossed paths. How was she supposed to know that he had feelings for him?

Patricia was pacing so loudly Evelyn could hear it. "Okay, okay. I need to sit down. No, I need to stand. No, I need holy water. EVIE, he confessed to you."

"It wasn’t exactly a confession—"

"It WAS," Patricia cut in. "It was the sexiest, most emotionally constipated confession ever delivered by a man with cheekbones that could cut steel."

Evelyn buried her face in her hands. "I don’t know what to do, Pat."

Patricia’s voice softened instantly. "Are you scared?"

Evelyn blinked rapidly as her throat tightened. "A little. Maybe a lot." she sighed, "Everything with Jack ended horribly and I don’t want to make another mistake."

"Evie," Patricia said gently, "this is different. Alexander isn’t Jack."

Evelyn shut her eyes. "Exactly, he is worse."

"How?" Patricia demanded.

"Because I can see myself falling for him," she whispered.

Patricia went quiet. It was the rare and precious kind of quiet that meant she truly understood.

After a long moment, Patricia exhaled softly. "Evie, listen to me."

Evelyn waited.

"You deserve someone who is serious about you," Patricia said. "And Alexander? He is deadly serious about you. That man doesn’t even blink unnecessarily, do you think he would confess feelings he didn’t mean?"

Evelyn let out a shaky laugh. "Probably not."

"You don’t have to decide now," Patricia continued. "Just don’t push him away out of fear."

Evelyn hugged a pillow tight. "I don’t want to get hurt again."

"And you won’t," Patricia said firmly. "Not by him."

Evelyn’s heart squeezed.

Then Patricia added in her dramatic voice, "And if he does hurt you, I will personally break his knee caps."

Evelyn laughed through her nerves. "Thanks, Pat."

"Anytime. Now take a deep breath, eat something and please do NOT ghost him. You hear me?"

"I won’t," Evelyn whispered.

"Good. Text me if he messages you. Actually no,just give me your iCloud password so I can monitor the situation—"

"Patricia."

"Fine," she sighed dramatically. "I will wait."

They both laughed softly before hanging up.

Evelyn put her phone down and looked at Alexander’s blazer again.

She brushed her fingers over the fabric.

She wasn’t ready to choose anything yet but last night made it impossible to pretend nothing existed at all.

And deep down, she knew Alexander Reid was not a storm she could simply walk away from.

.....