Evelyn returned to Riverton by evening. The sky was a grim gray, heavy with the promise of snow, mirroring the weight in her heart.

The buzz around that angled, candid photo of her and Adrian had finally started to die down online. The photographer issued a public apology, explaining that they’d manipulated the lens to evoke a melancholic, artistic effect, capturing the image with altered focus and framing. The statement was plausible enough, but Evelyn, after listening to it multiple times, felt an unsettling sense of staged justification.

Even she, as the subject, found it hard to fully accept the explanation. How would anyone else believe it? Jason had always been suspicious of her past with Adrian, bringing it up whenever their own relationship felt tenuous. And now, faced with this photo, how could she clear her name?

The truth was, she’d given up hope for Jason long ago. Yet, when he appeared in Lycheeville on that snowy day, a warmth she thought long dead flickered back to life. Their shared night of passion, wild and uninhibited, reignited her longing, chaining her heart once more to him.

Arriving at 9Bliss Garden, she tried to enter, only to be blocked repeatedly as her fingerprint and passcode failed. Panic seeped in, gnawing at the edges of her resolve. She dialed Jason, and to her surprise, he answered almost immediately.

“Jason, I’m back in Riverton. I can’t unlock the door.”

There was a pause before he replied, his tone detached and cold. “I’ve reset the code. Your fingerprint access has been removed.”

Her stomach dropped. “What… what does that mean?”

“Just what it sounds like,” he replied with a chilling finality. “Since you and Adrian seem to have rekindled whatever you had, I’m giving you your freedom. Go wherever you want, but stay away from 9Bliss Garden.”

“No, Jason, it’s not what you think. The photo was just a trick of the angle. The photographer even issued an official statement—”

“Don’t waste your breath making excuses,” he interrupted. “I’ll be back soon. You have an hour to gather your things and leave.”

The line went dead, leaving Evelyn clutching the phone, stunned. He didn’t want her anymore—was casting her out of 9Bliss Garden.

This was what she’d expected for a long time, even hoped for, but somehow, it tore at her heart. Their time together, fleeting and laden with regrets, had rekindled her dream of a future with Jason. Yet here they were, unraveling faster than she’d thought possible.

Tears gathered in her eyes, but she wiped them away, forcing a defiant smile. Fine. If he wanted her gone, she would leave.

She thought of the rented flat by West Lake. Perhaps, being free of this emotional gilded cage would give her the peace she craved. Still, a faint, indefinable sadness lingered.

As she heard Jason’s footsteps approach from the elevator, she steeled herself. No matter the circumstances, she wouldn’t let herself appear weak or pitiful before him.

Jason walked past her without a glance, unlocking the door to let her in. As she stepped into the living room, the stale scent of cigarette smoke greeted her. It seemed he’d been here for a while since his return from Lycheeville.

In the past, she would have aired the room out immediately. Now, she saw no reason to.

Just weeks earlier, she’d been falsely accused, and Jason hadn’t stepped in to defend her. They’d argued, and she’d packed two large suitcases in a bid for space, a gesture that Jason dismissed but didn’t challenge, leveraging Jean to force her hand. Those suitcases were still sitting in the closet; now, all she needed to do was add her last belongings.

Determined, she worked in silence, moving methodically through the main bedroom, carefully placing her things in two large bags, avoiding Jason’s study and the spare room where he often stayed.

Jason watched her from the doorway, silent, a dim glint of red at the corners of his eyes, though his face remained shadowed in cold anger.

Less than half an hour later, she had packed every trace of herself. Three suitcases, two large shopping bags, and two small pots of half-wilted succulents. Even a broken hairpin found its place in her shoulder bag.

"I can’t carry all of this at once," Evelyn muttered, unlocking the door and dragging two large suitcases out first. "It’ll take me two trips."

Jason’s cold voice cut through the silence as he stared at her, his gaze like a sharpened blade. "Adrian betrayed you once before, three years ago. Now he’s Elijah’s soon-to-be son-in-law. Do you think that coward would even dare to take you in?"

She paused, meeting his icy stare. "You’re the one throwing me out, Jason. No one else is involved." Without waiting for a response, she quickly turned and headed to the elevator across the hall.

Returning for the last suitcase and largest bag, Evelyn noticed Jason was still there, lighting cigarette after cigarette in the smoky living room. She picked up her things, leaving only a small bag and two wilting succulents.

On her third trip back, Jason extinguished his cigarette and strode toward her, gripping her wrist tightly. “You liar. You think you can make a fool of me?”

Her hand slipped, and the small pot of succulents crashed to the floor, shattering.

“I tried explaining, but Mr. Stark wouldn’t listen to a word of it.” She winced, feeling his grip tighten painfully on her wrist. She was too afraid of injury to resist.

"Adrian braved the snowstorm to pick you up from the airport. Touching, wasn’t it?" Jason’s lips pressed into a hard line, his eyes seething with anger. “Did you spend that first night at Joyful Inn with him?”

“No!” Evelyn’s voice shook. She thought he was upset about the photo, but his accusations went far beyond that.

Jason’s harsh gaze bore into her, filled with resentment and suspicion. Her face went pale, and her body trembled under his oppressive stare. For three years, she’d endured countless accusations and insults, his constant doubts and suspicions. There was little point in defending herself—Jason never believed her anyway.

Swallowing the pain in her wrist, she looked up at him, her voice breaking. “Jason, I swear… Adrian and I are innocent. If there’s a single lie in that, may I never have peace.”

Jason sneered. “Do you think I’m a child you can fool with a promise? Let me make myself clear, Evelyn. No one is ever going to humiliate me.”

With that, he flung her away. She stumbled back, hitting the metal doorframe two meters behind her with a hard thud. A sharp, searing pain flared on her forehead, and she felt warm drops trickling down her cheek.

Blood.

She leaned against the door, one hand braced against the wall, summoning all her strength to stand upright. Swallowing back the tears that threatened to spill, she clutched her forehead with one hand, grabbed her bag with the other, and left 9Bliss Garden without looking back.

As the sound of her heels faded, Jason stood rooted in place, his gaze shifting from the shattered succulent on the floor to the other small, neglected plant she’d left behind. Slowly, he bent down, picking it up, his expression dark and unreadable.