hapter 7
Evelyn picked up the soaked protection medallion.
He hadn’t seen the note she’d hidden inside.
“May Issac Hernandez find peace, joy, and prosperity.”
The ink had run, blurring her words beyond recognition.
Blood rose in her throat, but she swallowed it back along with her tears.
Three days later, she returned to work.
Though her external injuries from the accident had mostly healed, her stomach cancer was rapidly worsening.
Despite Lucas’s repeated pleas during his visits, she wouldn’t stay home.
That evening, Issac took her to another business dinner.
Everyone kept pressing drinks on her, and Evelyn didn’t refuse a single one.
“Miss Spencer, you’re incredible! A true champion!”
Through the burning pain in her stomach and the noise of the crowd, she felt Issac’s steady gaze watching her drink
As usual, she drank from start to finish.
Near the end, she slipped into the restroom to take two pills.
When she returned to the private room, everyone had left.
Issac was gone too. Used to being abandoned, she quietly headed out to catch a cab.
The winter wind hit her as she stepped outside.
The street lights blurred before her eyes.
Dizzy from the alcohol, she wandered into the street, trying to hail a cab.
“HONK! HONK!”
A car sped toward her, horn blaring at the sudden obstacle.
As she moved too slowly to escape, a hand yanked her back to safety.
His warmth enveloped her.
She looked up into Issac’s dark eyes. “Trying for another accident?”
Evelyn stared at him, mind blank.
Standing so close, she remembered years ago, at a beach party with their university clubs.
She’d never seen the ocean before and excitedly collected seashells.
When a crab pinched her, she nearly fell.
Issac pulled her into his arms, their lips meeting from the momentum.
His kiss grew deeper, more intense
Chapter 7
While others watched the ocean, no one noticed the aloof campus star kissing her passionately.
The sea breeze, bonfire, friends, the tail end of youth.
Among the crowd, speaking volumes through subtle gestures of love.
That had been the happiest moment of her life.
Perhaps Issac remembered too he didn’t let go.
Suddenly, an angry voice cut through the moment.
Summer had come to pick up Issac. “What are you doing?”
Issac snapped back to reality, pushing Evelyn away, something flickering across his face.
Without a word, he turned to Summer. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
Summer glared at Evelyn before taking Issac’s hand and leaving.
Evelyn stood frozen, lost between drunkenness and memory.
Finally, Lucas found her and took her home in her barely conscious state.
Late that night, a message appeared on her phone.
“Attention former classmates in the city: Reunion this Saturday at The Riverside Lounge~”
Among the long list of tagged names, she saw both hers and Issac’s.
Their names, now only appearing together in such impersonal contexts.
The group chat exploded with excitement.
Everyone responded enthusiastically, as if transported back to their graduation days when they couldn’t bear to part.
