Chapter 155

[Third-Person's POV]

A plan was in place.

Aside from Evelyn recounting the events leading up to her torture, she had gone on to tell Alexander about the delusions Isabella and Samantha shared about their intention to go after him once she was ‘removed from the equation’.

Alexander was mortified and utterly revolted at the very thought. God forbid he had ended up losing Evelyn, there was not a chance in hell that he would ever consider marrying Samantha.

Even if those were his intentions he would still have to deal with the fact that she was already married to another Alpha. The process of divorce along with the possibility of having to fight Liam for her hand was tedious and not worth his time.

Not that it mattered. Alexander would never consider Samantha. She’d proven herself to be as menacing and evil as her mother and Fiona.

He made a silent promise that even she would get what she deserved in the end.

They all will.

Evelyn’s plan was rather ingenious to draw Samantha out of her place of hiding.

“Samantha is spoiled and selfish. She genuinely believes that she deserves the best of everything. So, I suggest you offer it to her,” she explained.

Alexander had given her a look of bewilderment.

“We’re going to make it sound as though my condition is far more grave than it is. Tell her that you’re considering looking for a new Luna who can take my place.” Every nerve in his body fizzled and coiled in refusal at the mere thought. “Samantha, being the conceited person that she is, won’t hesitate to accept an invitation to discuss the topic. Once she’s here, we’re going to question her. Find out everything she knows about Isabell and Fiona’s whereabouts.”

“And if she refuses to talk?”

“She won’t,” Evelyn said coolly.

The plan held a lot of merit. Since he and Oliver had been conducting all of the grizzly details about the incident on a private matter, nothing was made public. The last thing anyone needed was for the press to catch wind of what happened.

“Alright,” he agreed. “How soon should we send out the invitation?”

“Let’s aim for the end of the week,” she said. “Ian mentioned that I’m due to have my stitches removed by then.”

Alexander nodded his head and gave his wife a leisure once over. The poor woman looked exhausted. There were shadows, likely, under both of her eyes and her complexion still held that ghostly shade of white.

He unconsciously reached forward and tucked a thick lock of her hair behind her ear.

“I was told you were given another sedative,” he acknowledged. “Did it at least help you sleep?”

Evelyn shrugged and allowed her eyes to close for a short spell.

Alexander had to fight the urge to pull her out of the chair and gather her up in his arms. Little did he know, that was exactly what Evelyn wished he had done.

[Evelyn’s POV]

Alexander was hoping that I would return back to my room so that I could rest more. But I was quick to refuse.

Honestly, I wanted to stay longer in his office where the topic of conversation should have moved back to us as a couple. But I knew it would have burned what little energy I had left. And, plus, I wanted to head down to the greenhouse to check in on the plants.

Unfortunately, my luck in avoiding most of the house staff had swiftly run out when I stepped out through the back doors. A small cluster of maids were huddled around the smaller gardens busy folding table clothes and other linens.

They spotted me almost instantly and stared, how could they not? I felt like a half-composed mummy who escaped her burial tomb.

I kept my focus and made it down to the greenhouse with careful steps. As soon as I closed the small door behind me, I was enveloped in the familiar scent of my plants and gradually felt my nerves begin to ease.

Glancing around for the watering can, I went about the small task of watering some of the pots. As soon as I tried to lift the can above the table, I was struck with a terrible tremor in my hand. I sucked in a sharp breath and bared through the struggling pain of not having total control over myself.

My heart seized in my chest. I hoped that this wasn’t something that was permanent. I had a bad enough feeling that I was going to be dealing with other long-lasting issues.

...

“Tremors are a natural side effect for someone like you who’s lost a lot of blood,” Ian explained. “In time, you’ll notice they will lessen.”

A couple days had gone by and staying true to his word, Ian was back at the manor. He was glad to see that my wrist was nearly healed along with my fingers. My ribs were well on their way back to normal but I was still required to use either a soothing gel or ice packs to reduce the swelling.

All of that became inconsequential, knowing that today was the day he would be removing my stitches. Today, I was going to see the real damage that Fiona had caused with her handiwork. My heart hammered frantically in my chest as the examination went on.

Alexander had sent the invitation out to Samantha. It wasn’t hard to imagine that she would be more than eager to accept it, knowing that a ‘new life’ was being presented to her.

Both she and Isabella had likely fallen into a spot of false assurance due to the lack of news that had circulated on the situation. Well, that was about to come crashing down.

While Ian turned his back to grab the cloth shears from his bag, I stole a quick glance at the clock. Samantha as well as her husband, Liam, were due to arrive by the afternoon. It only gave me a few hours to collect my thoughts and rein in my emotions.

“Alright, ready?” Ian asked.

“Not really,” I admitted shakily.

He gave me a supportive smile. “You’re still you underneath all of this,” he said, gesturing to the gauze.

Ian began cutting away at the cloth and unraveling the layers. With each passing second, my heart climbed higher and higher into my throat.

I can do this...I can do this...They're just scars...

My palms grew sweaty. Soon Ina had removed the last layer of the gauze and I was finally able to open my other eye. I waited for my vision to clear up before lifting my head.

Ian’s expression remained impassive. Probably years worth of having dealt with cases similar to mine.

He worked with a steady, confident hand and began removing the sutures. The process was slow and almost agonizing. By the time Ian had come to the last one, I felt as though I was on the verge of passing out.

I’d become so dizzy from the lack of air getting to my lungs. It had completely slipped from my mind that I was forgetting to breathe.

“They’re out, Evelyn.” Ian continued to keep his expression stoic and professional. “Would you like to have a look in the mirror?”

My throat was scratchy. “Maybe in a moment.”

He nodded his head in understanding. “I’ll check in in a couple of days. You know to call me if something were to come up.”

I gave a curt nod. I patiently waited for Ian to leave the room before I slowly got up and headed toward the bathroom. I kept my head low as I flicked on the light.

“You can do this,” I whispered. “Just look in the mirror...”

On a mere whim, I turned to face the mirror. My heart sank to the floor and my mind shattered to pieces.