CHAPTER 59: THE FIRST MEETING

Her heart jolted so hard it almost hurt.

She answered the phone almost immediately but her voice was barely steady. "Hello?"

There was silence on the other end for a moment followed by a soft exhale.

"Evelyn," Alexander said, quietly, almost like a sigh.

Her throat tightened painfully. He sounded worried, tired and strangely gentle, as if saying her name physically hurt him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Her eyes stung. "No, not really."

There was a pause where neither of them said anything.

"What happened?" He asked but his voice was threaded with tension.

"I don’t know where to begin," she whispered. "Everything just feels so overwhelming."

Alexander was silent for a few seconds but she understood that silence from him wasn’t distance, it was restraint.

"Evelyn, tell me what Mr. Carter told you," he asked but somewhere in his heart, he knew that answer.

Her breath broke on a shaky exhale. "Dad wants me to meet people. He is talking about marriage and alliances and how this is the best thing for me and—" Her voice cracked. "He won’t even let me talk to you."

The silence from Alexander this time wasn’t tender. It was sharp, cold and controlled.

The kind that meant he was furious but he didn’t yell.

He could never yell at her.

Instead, his voice came out low and steady. "I am sorry."

She shook her head instinctively. "Alexander, it’s not your fault. Your father—"

"No." His voice hardened instantly. "I should take responsibility for how he insulted you."

Her eyes filled again.

He exhaled, almost painfully. "I’m sorry for what he said. For whatever he did and for every disrespect that reached you because of my family."

"Alexander—"

"No, Evelyn," he interrupted gently but firmly. "I need you to hear this."

She swallowed.

"I should have protected you from him and Jack as well. I should have been faster and smarter." He sighed dejected. "But I won’t let him or anyone else make you feel small ever again."

When there was silence from the other side, he said, "Say something."

"He wasn’t completely wrong," Evelyn scoffed. "I have been involved in scandals and my name has been in headlines more than once."

The silence that followed wasn’t just silence, it was a storm forming.

With his voice sharp and a little louder, he stated, "Don’t you ever believe anything about you is less. Don’t believe in what others say."

Her breath hitched but before she could say something, he cut her off.

"Evelyn, you are the most beautiful person I have ever known," he continued. " You are strong, kind and stubborn in the ways that matter. You think of everyone before yourself and you give without being asked."

Evelyn’s eyes welled up. When most people were judging her, this man never failed to make her feel special.

"I look at you and I see someone precious," he whispered, "And I will fix this, Evelyn."

Her heart clenched painfully. "You don’t have to fix everything."

"Yes," he whispered. "I do and I want to."

She closed her eyes.

"What if it gets worse?" she whispered. "What if everything falls apart?"

"Then we will hold it together," he said simply.

She breathed slowly, letting his voice wrap around her like a blanket.

"Rest," he whispered. "I will see you tomorrow."

"Okay."

.....

[The Next Morning]

The soft morning light spilled across Evelyn’s room, turning everything warm and golden but nothing about her felt warm.

She sat stiffly in front of the mirror as Patricia fastened the back of her dress.

It was a dress she didn’t choose or she wanted to wear. It was a dress she was forced into because her had asked her to be ready by ten,

Patricia watched her through the mirror with her brows furrowed in disbelief.

"I still can’t believe this," Patricia muttered, stepping back with her hands on her hips. "Gregory Carter, your dad, ordering you to get dressed to meet a guy? What dimension did we wake up in?"

Evelyn let out a tired exhale. "I am asking myself the same thing."

Patricia shook her head. "I have seen him furious, I have seen him strict. But this?" She lowered her voice. "This feels scary."

Evelyn’s fingers tightened around her bracelet. "Something happened in his meeting with Benjamin. I don’t know what Benjamin said but—" she sighed. "I have never seen Dad like that, ever."

Patricia sat beside her on the edge of the bed and for once, the usually loud-mouthed, dramatic Patricia looked genuinely concerned.

"It must have been really bad," she said softly. "Gregory has always been your biggest protector. The man literally threatened your seventh-grade math teacher when he gave you a B minus."

Evelyn cracked the smallest smile. "He didn’t threaten him."

"He did," Patricia corrected flatly. "I was there. Your mom had to drag him out before he started swinging."

Patricia’s gaze softened. "What did Alexander say?"

Evelyn swallowed. "He said he will fix it."

Patricia leaned back, relief washing over her expression as if Evelyn had just told her the sun would rise tomorrow.

"Then we are fine," she declared.

When Evelyn gave her a confused look, she added, "That man may be quiet, broody, terrifyingly intense and built like the CEO of all CEOs, but—" She paused dramatically. "But he is not a scumbag like Jack."

"I don’t know Patricia—" Evelyn pinched the space between her brows. "Alexander did nothing wrong and yet he is caught between all of this."

Alexander didn’t do anything but help her and yet he was caught in the scandal and was now being punished for something his father had said.

All of it made her feel like she had dragged him into something he shouldn’t be in and that was making her feel guilty.

"I am serious—" Patricia insisted. "Jack acted like a victim even when he was the one who cheated. Alexander would rather cut off his own hand than hurt you."

Evelyn looked down at her lap, fingers trembling. "I just— I wish Dad trusted him."

Patricia reached over and squeezed her hand. "Gregory is scared. Something Benjamin said pierced his ego and when dads get scared, they react stupid." She rolled her eyes. "Really stupid."

Evelyn nodded weakly.

She then added, "But Alexander? He is different. When he says he will fix something—he does. This man walked into fire for you in front of his entire family." She gave her a reassuring smile. "Trust him a little. You don’t need to carry all this alone."

For a moment, Evelyn felt her eyes burn but she blinked rapidly and inhaled deeply.

"I hate this," Evelyn whispered. "Meeting guys like I am choosing shoes."

Patricia shrugged. "Well, if it helps, at least wear this dress and destroy their confidence a little."

Evelyn chuckled through her sadness. "You are insane."

"I prefer the term strategically chaotic," Patricia said, then adjusted Evelyn’s earring. "Now come on. Let’s get through this stupid meeting then pray Alexander destroys whatever nonsense Benjamin planted in your father’s brain."

.....