Chapter 4

Evelyn's POV

I replayed his words in my head, and only after a moment did I realize how badly that last remark had sounded.

"Continue..."

I had no idea how to explain myself, so I decided to skip the explanation altogether. Stepping closer, I reached for his collar and rose onto my toes, hoping a kiss would make the awkwardness disappear.

Edward caught my chin between two fingers. His touch wasn't rough, but he gently pushed my face back, making the little courage I'd managed to muster vanish.

"If you can't get yourself into the right frame of mind, we can try another time," he said. "I don't like doing things halfheartedly."

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

The pressure of his fingers against my chin lingered for a moment before I remembered that he could feel it, too. If he was holding my chin, he was experiencing the same sensation on his own.

"Come find me when you've figured out how you want to kiss me."

He released my chin, then gave my cheek one last playful pinch, tugging it lightly.

"One more thing. Dry your hair before heading back to the banquet hall. I don't want to catch a cold."

As he stepped away, he added, "That little body of yours isn't yours alone anymore."

I eventually made my way back to the banquet hall.

Arthur spotted me almost as soon as I walked through the doors. He immediately made his way over from across the room.

"Evelyn, there you are."

Just like when we were children. No matter how crowded a room was, Arthur always seemed to find me first.

But I barely had time to look at him. My gaze slipped past his shoulder, anxiously searching the faces behind him.

"Such a pretty, innocent-looking girl. Who would've thought she had no shame?"

"She's only an adopted daughter, yet she clings to the Sterling heir like that. A brother and sister carrying on behind everyone's backs? Disgusting."

My fingers tightened around the stem of my glass until it dug into my skin.

I was about to turn toward the people making those remarks when Arthur caught my wrist and gently drew me half a step closer to him.

"Don't listen to them," he murmured. "Some people just enjoy running their mouths. It's nothing but gossip."

Beatrice appeared at that very moment.

A warm smile spread across her face as one hand affectionately took hold of my arm. With the other, she pinched a small patch of skin through the fabric, her fingertips pressing into it with practiced precision.

"Where have you been? Hurry up and take your seat. Everyone's waiting!"

Her voice sounded full of affection. Only I knew how much anger she was hiding behind those words.

"Arthur insisted on finding you first. He even delayed his own engagement ceremony because of you."

Delayed.

The word rang in my ears.

So the ceremony hadn't even started on time.

A memory from ten years ago suddenly came rushing back.

I'd been kidnapped when I was still a child. Back then, I'd genuinely believed those vicious men in white coats were going to kill me.

Then, somehow, Arthur had found me.

When I opened my eyes, he was carrying me on his back, running frantically as tears streamed down his face. He had no idea how he'd managed to find me, but somehow he'd gotten me out of there.

The sun had been warm that day. I'd rested my face against his collar, swaying with every step as he carried me to safety. I eventually fell asleep without knowing what was happening around me.

Back then, he could still carry me so effortlessly.

Arthur had brought me home on his back. My adoptive parents had rushed over, fussing over me and checking me from head to toe, terrified that I might have been hurt.

For a long time, I'd thought that was what it meant to have a family.

But as I grew older and eventually reached adulthood, the Sterling family's attitude toward me began to change. The whispers and gossip outside the family grew increasingly cruel.

And somewhere along the way, my feelings for Arthur became something I could no longer pretend were just those of a younger sister.

I loved him.

Quietly, secretly, and in a way I knew I could never admit.

The Sterlings had adopted me as their daughter. Arthur was my adoptive brother. No matter how much I wished things could be different, that was the place I'd been given in this family.

I could never stand beside him as anything other than his sister.

The Sterlings had given me a home. I owed them my gratitude.

To want more than that felt like asking for something I had no right to have.

Beatrice continued leading me toward a quieter corner of the side hall, her fingers still wrapped tightly around my arm.

"After the ceremony, you'll come with me and apologize to Mia and the Hartwells."

I nodded.

Before I could even answer, her other hand was already rising.

My shoulders jerked upward, and I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.

My body reacted before my mind could catch up.

It was a reflex I'd developed over years of enduring the same treatment, so deeply ingrained that I no longer had to think about protecting myself.

I was already bracing for the slap.

"Or perhaps we should just call the whole thing off."

The voice came from the entrance to the side hall.

It wasn't particularly loud, but the entire corner fell silent.

"The engagement hasn't even taken place, and I've already caught Mrs. Sterling assaulting someone in public."

Edward stood in the doorway, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The platinum ring on his hand caught the light as he slowly turned it.

"Tsk. Is there something seriously wrong with the Sterling family?"

Beatrice's raised hand froze in midair.

"The Hartwell and Sterling families don't have to finalize their marriage alliance today."

He slowly turned the ring around his finger, his gaze fixed on Beatrice's raised hand.

"Perhaps we should call the whole thing off."

Her hand gradually lowered.

"Edward..."

Mia appeared from somewhere nearby and took hold of his arm, giving it a shake.

"What are you saying? You've known Arthur for so long. You know exactly what kind of person he is!"

Arthur and Mia stood together beneath the lights, their arms linked.

No one said another word.

Suddenly, I remembered something that had happened just last month.

I'd merely steadied myself by holding Arthur's arm while walking down the steps of the family manor. That very evening, Beatrice had summoned me to her study and scrutinized me from head to toe.

Yet here were Arthur and Mia, standing side by side with their arms linked, and nobody seemed to think there was anything worth questioning.

So that was how it was.

Edward didn't need to argue or explain himself.

One sentence from him was enough to put the entire marriage alliance in jeopardy.

And another could bring it all back.