Claire’s POV
Damian looked extrely worried; his brows furrowed as he hovered near Evander’s bedside. Despite his sowhat gullible nature, it was evident that he truly cared for Evander. That realization brought a small sense of relief. At least Evander had soone like Damian to lean on and who cared for him, not only people like Gloria.
"Help take care of him and stop ogling soone else’s wife, you rascal!" Caspian interjected, his sharp tone cutting through my thoughts before I could say anything.
Damian flinched, snapping out of his worried daze. "Ah! I am coming!" he replied hastily, heading toward the washroom to fetch so water. anwhile, I moved to the wardrobe, pulling out a fresh towel.
"What exactly happened with you guys?" Caspian’s voice stopped mid-step. He turned his curious gaze to , his tone slightly accusatory. "Mrs. Kensington, can you please explain?"
His words made pause. Sothing about the way he addressed — "Mrs. Kensington"— triggered a strange familiarity that I couldn’t place. I frowned, my brows furrowing as I faced him. "Can you call that again?" I asked, my tone skeptical.
Caspian raised a brow, clearly puzzled. "Excuse ?" he asked with a confused look as he looked at in an extrely framatic way. "Mada, did you forget you are married? If you are thinking of taking advantage of , please spare !" He placed both hands on his chest as if to protect himself, his exaggerated display making my irritation rise.
I clenched my fists, resisting the overwhelming urge to throw sothing at him. Before I could say anything, Damian appeared with a basin in hand, and swiftly delivered a hard slap to the back of Caspian’s head. "This is our sister-in-law! Show so respect and stop your nonsense!" Damian scolded, glaring at him as he kicked his ass.
Caspian yelped, rubbing the back of his head. "Fine, fine! No need to get physical!" he grumbled.
"I rember you!" I suddenly blurted out, pointing a finger at Caspian as the pieces finally clicked into place. His antics had distracted enough for my mories to surface. "I finally rember you... You were close to Lexi, right?"
Caspian’s playful expression froze for a mont before he recovered; a hint of shock flashed in his eyes. "Lexi?" he echoed, tilting his head. "Ah, so you do rember. I wasn’t sure if you would connect the dots. She used to talk about you all the ti."
"She did?" I asked, my voice softer now as the mory of Lexi filled my mind. A pang of sadness and nostalgia swept over . "I didn’t expect to see soone from she knew! I... I..." I couldn’t talk, reminiscing about our monts.
"Well, small world, isn’t it?" Caspian replied, his usual cheeky deanor dimming slightly as he seed to sense the shift in my mood.
Damian, clearly tired of their banter, cleared his throat. "Enough of this reminiscing. Let’s focus on Evander. He needs us right now."
I nodded, turning back to Evander, whose face was still pale and damp with sweat. Whatever past connections we had, they could wait. Evander’s recovery was my priority.
~ ~ ~ ~
The next day, Evander finally woke up. Relief flooded the room as Damian, Caspian, and I had spent the entire night on edge, worried sick about him. When his eyes fluttered open, I couldn’t stop the small smile that tugged at my lips. He was awake, alive, and fine. It eased the crushing guilt that had been weighing on .
"How are you feeling?" I asked softly, sitting at his bedside, my voice trembling just slightly.
Evander blinked at , his gaze slowly focusing. "Like I have been run over by a truck," he muttered, his voice raspy but carrying a faint trace of his usual sarcasm. "But I am alive, so I suppose I should be grateful."
Damian let out a dramatic sigh of relief. "Thank God, Evander! You scared the hell out of us."
"You? Scared?" Caspian teased, leaning back against the wall with crossed arms. "I thought you were ready to faint half the ti. Don’t act so tough now."
"Shut up, Caspian," Damian snapped, though there was nothing impolite in his tone.
Their banter montarily lightened the atmosphere, but my mind was elsewhere. Now that the big crisis was over, the burning questions I had been holding back began to take over my mind. Who had tried to destroy my life? Who had orchestrated all this chaos? And why?
But as much as I wanted answers, I held back. Evander had just woken up— this wasn’t the ti to bombard him with questions. Still, the tension must have shown on my face because Evander’s gaze shifted to , his brows knitting together.
"You look like you have got sothing to say," he murmured, his tone softer than usual. "If you have any thing to ask, please do." Evander said in a soft and weak tone.
I hesitated as I glanced at Damian and Caspian. Both seed to pick up on the shift in mood and beca serious. Damian cleared his throat. "Maybe we should give you two so privacy," he suggested, dragging Caspian toward the door despite the latter’s protests.
"What? No! I want to stay! This is getting interesting—ow!" Caspian yelped as Damian shoved him out of the room, slamming the door shut behind them.
Evander sighed, running a hand through his hair as he turned his attention back to . "So?" he prompted, his sharp eyes studying closely. "What’s on your mind?"
I bit my lip, unsure where to start. "I just... I want to know who is behind all this," I finally said, my voice trembling with the frustration I had been holding in. "Who tried to ruin everything? Who did this to us?"
Evander’s expression darkened, and for a mont, I saw a flash of the ruthless man I knew him to be. "I don’t know," he admitted, his voice low and dangerous. "But whoever it is, they’ll regret it. I promise you that."
His words were ant to reassure , but they only added to the storm of emotions swirling inside . I reached out, placing a hand on his arm. "Evander, I don’t want more chaos. I just want the truth. I want to understand why."
He placed his hand over mine, his grip firm yet gentle. "And you will have the truth, Claire," he said, his gaze steady. "But first, I need to regain my strength. Then, I will make sure whoever is responsible for this pays."
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. As much as I wanted answers now, he was right. I decided to let it go and let Evander handle all the things. I have faith in him.
"Well, to be honest, I think I might know who that person is!" I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper. I could feel the weight of the words pressing on my chest as I was unsure. What if I was wrong? But what if I wasn’t? I sighed, glancing at Evander.
"Evan... I... I have so doubts," I began hesitantly, my fingers fidgeting with the hem of my sleeve.
Evander’s eyes widened slightly, but he quickly masked his reaction, his expression growing unreadable. "Who do you suspect?" he asked, his voice calm but laced with curiosity and worry.
I swallowed hard, unsure if I should say it out loud. "I... I think it was Diana," I finally admitted, the na feeling bitter on my tongue. "But I am not sure. She is my sist..." My voice trailed off as doubt clouded my thoughts. Could Diana really stoop to this level to harm ?
"Yes," Evander said firmly, cutting off before I could finish.
My heart stopped for a mont. "Wh... What?" I stamred, my body trembling as his confirmation hit like a blow. I had hoped that I was wrong. That Diana, despite her flaws, would never stoop this low. But the truth was undeniable now.
"You guessed right," Evander continued, his tone cold and steady. "It was Diana."
I stared at him, stunned. My mind raced as the woman I thought to be my sister even if she didn’t like that much, tried to destroy my life. "But... why?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. "Why would she do this to ? I am have not done sothing bad? Why would she do this to ?"
Evander’s jaw tightened, and for a mont, he looked as though he was feeling my pain as tears stread out of my eyes. "Diana has always been manipulative, Claire," he said after a long pause. "She hides it well in front of others, but I have seen her true colors before. She wanted control—over , over us. And when you ca into the picture again, she wanted to ruin you."
"A threat?" I repeated, my voice cracking. "I never did anything to her! I never wanted to fight anyone for anything!"
"That doesn’t matter to soone like Diana," Evander said grimly. "She doesn’t need a reason. Just your presence was enough to spark her envy and hatred."
Tears welled up in my eyes as the reality of his words sank in. "I... I liked her despite everything, Evan," I said, my voice trembling with a mix of anger and heartbreak. "I never thought she would... she’d go this far."
"I know," Evander said softly, his gaze softening as he reached out to take my hand in his. "But now that we know the truth, we will deal with her. She won’t get away with what she has done."
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