Chapter 250

I hesitated, my heart pounding in my chest, as Mia and I cautiously approached the escalating confrontation between Diane and Timothy. The air crackled with tension, Diane's shrill demands cutting through the atmosphere.

"Where is she, Timothy? I know she's here!" Diane's voice rang out, her tone laced with desperation and anger. “Where’s Evie?”

My breath hitched as Diane mentioned my name. A chill ran down my spine, freezing me in place. Before I could react, Diane's piercing gaze landed on me, her eyes ablaze with fury and accusation.

"There she is!" Diane exclaimed, marching toward me with a determined stride, her anger barely contained.

Timothy moved to intercept, his voice tinged with urgency. "This is not the time for this."

But Diane wouldn't be deterred. She reached me before Timothy could intervene, her words lashing out like a whip. "You know I had to bury my son today?!"

The accusation hit me like a physical blow. I staggered back, too stunned to respond.

"Hey, back off!" Timothy interjected, stepping between us.

But Diane's rage persisted, her eyes wild with grief and anger. "Don't you dare protect her! She took my son away from me!"

Before I could find my voice, before I could comprehend the accusation thrown my way, Diane's hand came down in a sharp, stinging slap across my cheek. The impact sent shockwaves through me, a mix of pain and disbelief coursing through every nerve.

"Why?!" Diane demanded, her voice breaking. "Why did you have to kill him?!"

Timothy's attempt to reason with her fell on deaf ears. "Stop it, Diane! Evie didn't—"

But before he could finish, Mia stepped forward, pushing Diane back with a quick shove to the chest. "Diane, I always knew your son was... demented. Don’t act like you’re surprised someone finally did him in."

Diane's expression wavered, a mixture of shock and anguish clouding her features. Tears welled up in her eyes, a torrent of emotions crashing over her. "Bruce would never harm anyone! He was maladjusted, but he would never—"

The accusation, the implication of her son's innocence despite his sadistic nature, ignited a fire within me. "You're lying!" I exclaimed, my voice trembling with fury and frustration. "You're just covering up for him, even when you barely knew him, let alone the fucked up things he did!"

Diane's eyes widened, a mix of shock and confusion clouding her features. "What are you talking about?"

"He was a monster," I interjected, my voice shaking with emotion. "He hurt me, Diane. He was torturing me, and he nearly killed two women before trying to kill me too!"

Diane staggered back as if struck, her hand covering her mouth in horror. "No, no, that's not true! You're lying!"

"I'm not." I met her gaze, my eyes steeling with determination. "And if you even think about pushing this legally, both Timothy and I have evidence to prove otherwise."

Flustered and overwhelmed, Diane stumbled backward, her emotions a whirlwind. She looked between Mia and me, her mind grappling with the newfound information. "I… I need to go."

Without another word, Diane turned and hurried away, leaving a heavy silence in her wake. My chest tightened with a mix of relief and lingering pain. I turned to Timothy, my eyes brimming with unshed tears, and he pulled me into an embrace.

Mia offered a supportive squeeze to my arm. "You’re not at fault at all, Evie. That woman’s just bat-shit insane if she really though that little demon was an angel."

Timothy rubbed my back. "Are you alright, Evie?"

I tried to compose myself, but the rush of emotions threatened to overwhelm me. "I'll be fine. It's just… a lot."

I tried to gather myself, pulling away from Timothy to wipe my face. I grabbed my keys off the ground, not realizing that I’d dropped them. "I can take you home, Mom."

Before I could respond, Timothy intervened. "Actually, I'll take Mia home. You should rest, Evie. You've been through enough tonight."

I wanted to protest, to insist that I could handle it, but the weight of the recent revelations made it hard to argue. "Okay. Thank you."

Mia gave me a comforting hug before following Timothy to his car. As they drove off, I felt a sense of isolation settle over me. The events of the evening replayed in my mind, each memory a painful jab at my already bruised emotions.

I stood alone on the sidewalk, the street lamps casting elongated shadows around me. The night seemed quieter now, the chaos of moments ago replaced by an eerie calmness. But within me, turmoil churned like a tempest.

I trudged back to the apartment, the weight of the recent events still lingered heavily on my shoulders. Just the mention of Bruce had left me feeling emotionally drained, and tears threatened to spill over at any moment. I longed for the comfort of home, the solace of familiar surroundings.

As I entered the apartment, Aria, greeted me with a warm smile. But her expression faltered when she saw the distress etched on my face.

"Evie, what's wrong?" Aria's voice was laced with concern as she rushed to my side, guiding me to the couch.

I sank down, my emotions on the verge of overflow. "It's been a rough night, Aria."

She sat beside me, wrapping her arms around me in a comforting embrace. "You look like you've been through the wringer. What happened?"

I hesitated, unsure if I was ready to recount the evening's tumultuous events so soon. But when she drew me into a hug, I found myself opening up.

Aria listened attentively, her face growing more tense by the second. "I'm so sorry, Evie. That woman sounds awful."

I wiped away a stray tear, attempting to compose myself. "I haven’t seen her in years. It’s just surprising that she shows up now."

“Forget her. Bruce was a menace,” said Aria, and she swiped some tissues off the side table and handed them to me. “Don’t even sweat over it.”

“I’ll try.” I dried my face and balled up the tissues, clenching them in my fist. “I want to forget, but it seems like no one in the world wants me to. Every day on the news, they’re releasing more information about him.”

Aria hummed. “That’s good, right? Now everybody knows what he did and that justice was served.”

This time, I just nodded quietly. Fortunately for most of the city, none of them knew Bruce like I did. Only the people closest to me, who wound up getting hurt as collateral.

Aria leaned back, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere. "Hey, on a brighter note, how are things with Timothy?"

I mustered a faint smile at the mention of Timothy. "Well, we're… sort of dating, I guess. But we haven't put a label on it yet."

A mischievous glint sparkled in Aria's eyes. "Oh, come on, girl! You practically live at his place now. There’s obviously a label there."

I chuckled softly, despite the lingering sadness. "Maybe we should. It's just that everything has been so complicated lately."

Aria nudged me playfully. "Complicated is normal, Evie. But one thing that's definitely not complicated is having fun! And you know what's more fun than dating?"

I arched an eyebrow, curious about where she was heading with this. "What's that?"

"Triple-dating!" Aria's grin widened.