CHAPTER 5 The Bar

Evelyn's POV

I froze. My hands hung in the air, caught mid-motion as I was about to hug him.

The world seemed to tilt off its axis, and I didn't understand what was happening.

Why, in heaven's name, did a strange woman just call Nathan—my Nathan—"darling"?

I turned around slowly, and there she was. A woman, running toward him with a smile that lit up her face.

My Nathan, who didn't even show any emotions when he saw me, who'd shown no emotion at all—nothing—smiled the moment he laid eyes on her.

That smile broke me.

I watched as she rushed to him. From the entrance of the café, I followed her every step with my eyes.

When she reached him, she tipped her face up and kissed his lips.

Beside me, Sophia gasped, she was shocked as well.

The mysterious lady turned slightly, "Oh, I see you've got company."

Nathan's gaze shifted to me and Sophia as if noticing us for the first time.

"My fiancée, Isabella."

Fiancée.

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.

And then, hand in hand, they walked past me and out of the café, leaving me standing there, shattered.

Sophia's hand gripped my arm, trying to comfort me. "Evelyn…"

I thought Nathan was dead seven years ago, I mourned him. I'd buried him in my heart and tried to move on.

Yet here he was, alive, and treated me we had never existed.

I wanted the ground to open and swallow me whole. The pain was too much to bear.

"Evelyn?" Sophia called again, shaking me gently.

I turned to her. "Why? Why did he treat me like I don't exist after seven years?!"

"Evelyn, maybe she—" Sophia started, but I couldn't bear to hear her finish.

I ran.

I bolted out of the café. I didn't know where I was going until I found myself at a bar, just beside the cafe.

Drink after drink, I drowned my sorrow, I drowned my pains, but it didn't take it away.

I didn't count how many glasses I'd emptied, didn't care. I just wanted to forget, even if only for a moment.

"Evelyn!" I didn't even realize Sophia chased after me. "That's enough!"

"Why would he treat me that way, Sophia?" I cried, "Do you know how long I mourned him? Two years, Sophia. Two whole years of grieving Nathan. Even after that, I couldn't forget him. I tried to move on—I swear, I tried. And now, after all this time, he just acts like nothing ever happened?"

Sophia sat beside me, "I had to chase after you from the bar. I couldn't leave you like this—not in this state, not by yourself."

"Did you see how he treated me? Nathan is alive, Sophia. He's alive."

The words came out in a broken whisper as I reached for another drink, downing it in one gulp.

The burn in my throat didn't matter. It was the only thing keeping the pain at bay.

"I don't even know what's worse," I said, pouring another drink with trembling hands. "To believe he was dead all these years or to see him now, alive, only to treat me like I'm nothing. Like I never existed."

"Oh, my God, Evelyn. What has Nathan done to you?"

"He's engaged, Sophia. Engaged. Just like that? Without a word? Without an explanation?"

Sophia tried to calm me, reaching for my hand. "You're also engaged, Evelyn. You both moved on."

"We both moved on?" I scoffed. "We?" My throat tightened as I slammed the glass down, barely noticing the clink of it against the wood. "I never moved on, Sophia! I never did!"

"I only said yes to Victor because it's been seven years—seven years, Sophia! I thought the love of my life was gone forever. But guess what? He wasn't dead. He was alive. Alive all this time, and he never showed up."

Sophia stretched to hold my hands. "Oh, Evelyn. I don't know why he did this to you, but he will hear from me. I promise you that."

"No, Sophia, wait!" I grabbed at her arm, but she was already halfway across the bar.

I stumbled to my feet, with my head swimming from the alcohol. "Sophia, don't!"

I called after her, but it was too late. She had already stormed inside, heading straight for Nathan.

I slammed my empty glass on the table and followed her.

Everything just moved with me as I moved. The alcohol and heartbreak made everything blur together.

But I didn't care. I couldn't let her confront him—not yet. Not until I was ready.

My head felt impossibly heavy, like a weight I couldn't hold up any longer so I held my head with my hand.

The image of her—Nathan's fiancée— just couldn't leave me alone. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her smile as she called him darling.

Seven years. Seven years of mourning, of believing he was gone. And now he was alive, standing before me like a ghost from my past, pretending I didn't exist.

How could he move on like that?

How could he look at me and feel nothing?

Even if he had moved on, I deserve an explanation. Nathan owed me that much.

He owed me everything after making us believe he was dead.

The thought of Victor crossed my mind too. The only reason I accepted his marriage proposal was because I thought the love of my life died seven years ago so it was time to move on.

I stumbled forward, my mind clouded with questions and heartbreak.

"Why, Nathan? Why did you choose to punish me like this?"

I felt the burn of alcohol in my veins, the sharpness of it on my breath. I didn't need anyone to tell me how drunk I was; I could feel it.

The oozed of alcohol as well. I was a mess, utterly broken, but I couldn't stop. I had to find Sophia.

"Sophia!" I called out, turning in circles, searching for her in the blur of lights and different faces. She couldn't have gone far. I was sure of it.

Everything looked doubled—no, tripled.

Ava had told me my mate was coming, hadn't she? It was Nathan she'd felt.

Nathan, who had always been a part of me, even when he was gone. How could he shatter me like this?

I stumbled again, almost falling down.

Before I could process what was happening, I collided with something solid—no, someone.

His strong arms grabbed me as I was about to fall.

I tried to open my eyes, tried to see who had caught me. And then I saw him. Nathan.

He was here, holding me, pulling me closer. I felt him trying to lay me down.

Was I dreaming? Was it really him?

I didn't wait to find out. The pain, the anger, the years of longing, there was no time.

I reached for him, pulling him closer, then I landed my lips on his.