Chapter 9 - THE TRUTH OF THE HEART
One month later.
Spring had fully arrived in Rhode Island. The cliffs of Newport were covered in vibrant green grass and yellow wildflowers, and the warm ocean breeze blew gently through the open windows of Hawthorne Manor.
In the grand study of the estate, Evelyn sat at a large mahogany desk, reviewing financial documents for her new charity foundation.
Her father had been placed in a private rehabilitation facility in Vermont, fully paid for by Julian, where he was receiving treatment for his gambling addiction. Her stepmother had moved to Florida, leaving Evelyn finally free from the toxic shadows of her past.
A knock sounded at the door.
Mr. Vale stepped inside, carrying a thick leather folder.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Hawthorne," Mr. Vale said respectfully, setting the folder down on her desk. "Master Julian requested that I deliver these to you today."
Evelyn looked at the document. Stamped across the top in bold red ink were the words: MUTUAL TERMINATION OF MARRIAGE CONTRACT & FULL ASSET TRANSFER.
Her heart sank into a dark, cold abyss.
She opened the file. Inside was a cashier's check made out to her name for fifty million dollars, along with full ownership papers for a brownstone property in Boston near the university campus.
"The two-year clause..." Evelyn whispered, her voice choking with sudden, unexpected pain. "It's only been two months."
"Master Julian signed the dissolution papers this morning," Mr. Vale explained softly, his cold professional demeanor softening slightly as he looked at her sad face. "He said that since Victoria is in federal prison and his position as chairman is secure, you are no longer required to fulfill your part of the deal. You are completely free, Mrs. Hawthorne."
Free.
The word she had prayed for eighteen months ago now felt like a heavy, suffocating blade tearing through her chest.
She didn't want the Boston brownstone. She didn't care about the fifty million dollars.
She loved him.
She had fallen hopelessly, deeply, and irrevocably in love with the dark, fiercely protective man who had saved her from the dark, held her through the storm, and kissed her like she was the only precious thing in his cold world.
Evelyn stood up from the desk, leaving the fifty-million-dollar check sitting on the mahogany surface, and ran out of the study.
She searched the west wing. He wasn't there.
She ran down to the library. Empty.
She ran out into the grand gardens, her white dress fluttering in the warm spring breeze, heading toward the steep cliff path overlooking the roaring ocean below.
Standing at the edge of the stone overlook, his hands buried in his trousers pockets, his dark hair tossed by the sea wind, stood Julian.
"Julian!" she called out, her voice trembling as she ran across the soft grass.
Julian slowly turned around.
He wore a plain black shirt, his face pale, his dark silver eyes filled with a profound, agonizing sorrow that broke her heart into a thousand pieces.
"You shouldn't be out here without a coat, Evelyn," he said softly, his voice flat, trying to maintain his distance. "Mr. Vale gave you the papers?"
"Yes," she breathed out, stopping two feet away from him, her chest heaving. "He gave them to me."
"The money is clear," Julian said, looking away toward the ocean. "The Boston property is fully furnished. You can start at Boston University in the fall, just like you always wanted. You never have to see this place again."
"Why did you sign them, Julian?" she shouted over the sound of the crashing waves below. "The deal was for two years!"
Julian turned his silver eyes back to her, his jaw clenching tightly.
"Because I promised I wouldn't ruin your life!" Julian roared, his controlled composure finally snapping into raw, fierce emotion. "I bought you like a commodity, Evelyn! I dragged you into a war with my family, put a target on your back, and made you live in a golden cage!"
He stepped toward her, his silver eyes burning with wild, intense pain.
"I signed those papers because every day you stay in this house, I fall deeper in love with you," Julian confessed, his voice breaking with raw vulnerability. "And I refuse to force you to stay with a man who bought your freedom!"
Evelyn stood frozen in absolute, breathtaking shock.
He loves me.
Tears flooded her hazel eyes, spilling over her lashes, but a radiant, beautiful smile broke across her face.
May you like
Before he could take another step back, Evelyn closed the distance between them, reached up with both hands, and grabbed his jacket lapels, pulling his face down to hers.
"You complete idiot," she sobbed happily, pressuring her lips fiercely against his.
