Chapter 82

[Evelyn’s POV]

“DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME!!!”

The entire house had fallen silent. Everyone in the general vicinity stopped what they were doing and turned to gawk at the ridiculous sight of me flailing to get out of Oliver’s hold.

I struggled and exerted myself to the point where my arms were beginning to hurt. Alexander made his way into the house as fast as he could.

“Evelyn, stop!”

I ignored his demand and continued to push back. “Let me go!” I shouted angrily.

“What on earth is going on?”

“What’s with all the noise?”

Suddenly, the room filled with other familiar voices. Both Wendy and Nina were trying to figure out what was going on. My heart seized in my chest.

Oh God, why?! As if I could possibly handle any more shame and embarrassment.

I didn’t want anyone to see me this way. I was already an emotional mess from the tongue-lashing Alexander had given to me before. Well, I wasn’t about to let this mortification go on any longer.

I bent my head forward as far as I could before snapping it back with all the force I could muster. I heard the sharp crunch of Oliver’s noise smashing against the hard point of my head. There was a slight ache of pain on my end but it was worth it.

Oliver let out a disgruntled groan. “Ah! Goddamnit!”

I snapped around to find the man’s hands dripping in blood from trying to cover his, possibly, broken nose. I should have felt more regret than I did. But the way I saw it, the man was just as guilty for my emotional distress as Alexander was.

Meanwhile, everyone was stunned. None of them could comprehend how someone like me could be capable of such a violent act. The truth was, I had never done anything like that before. All my life, I shoved my feelings and emotions down within me.

There was no doubt about it...I’d reached my breaking point.

I couldn’t bring myself to look at anyone else for fear of the shame that was hiding just beneath the surface. The only person who deserved my ire was Alexander.

The only problem was, the second my eyes landed on him, I felt the strong rush of tears blur my vision. Amongst the anger, he brought out the absolute anguish inside of me too.

“You...” I pointed my finger directly at him and unleashed all the pent-up feelings I’d been sitting on. “You are the most horrible, despicable—most cruel bastard I have ever met!!”

The room let out a collective gasp. Alexander raised his eyebrows before narrowing his gaze. He opened his mouth to speak, but I was swift to cut him off.

“Shut up! You said your piece. It’s my turn to talk now,” I said through gritted teeth.

My mouth twisted into a heated, spiteful sneer.

“I never meant to meet Michael at the market,” I hissed. “He spotted me through the crowd and approached me.”

Alexander had the actual gall to scoff at me. “You expect me to believe that the two of you bumped into each other for a second time?”

I narrowed my gaze and took a mean step forward. “I don’t give a fuck what you believe,” I cried out. “It doesn’t shy away from the fact that you had humiliated me in front of the entire place! You intentionally belittled me and degraded me without so much as a second thought.”

I could have kicked myself for the way that my voice broke at the end. I hated how weak it made me sound.

“It was so easy for you to think the absolute worst of me when I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“The two of you were talking—”

“Yes, Alexander! We spoke for no more than a few minutes. He asked me how I was because apparently, I looked like hell. I went to the market to clear my head. I was there because I needed space and time away from here to think. You’ve done nothing but fill my head with so many doubts these last several days, I needed time away from you!”

I was struggling to regain my normal sense of breathing. My chest still ached from all the stress and tension but I pressed on.

“All Michael did was ask me about my well-being and then went on to ask a plant-related question,” I explained.

Alexander tore his eyes away from me briefly as if he were trying to reflect on the matter. “Well, why didn’t you stop—”

A new ripple of fury overtook me. “You wouldn’t let me get a single word in! You practically bulldozed over anything I tried to say to you. You weren’t even trying to find out what was going on...It was more important for you to make a public example out of me. You...” My voice shook with agony. “...Hurt me.”

I felt the first tear slip from the corner of my eye and roll down my cheek.

“You hurt me so irrevocably. You ruined the one place where I found some semblance of peace and completely dismantled it in my mind. I will never be able to go back there because of how horribly you made me appear.”

Something must have clicked inside of Alexander’s mind. His scornful look of doubt was gradually being replaced with one of sudden realization. His features loosened up and he actually tried to move closer to me.

But I immediately backed away from him. I shook my head and held my arms close to my chest.

“Evelyn,” he whispered.

My breathing grew hitched. “Y-You are no better than the people who tormented me my whole life,” I told him. I watched him visibly stiffen. “You think I’m some simple-minded child and you think it right to place me under house arrest—fine! Lock me away. I can’t stand the thought of even looking at you, right now.”

I turned on my heels and stormed back toward my room. I faintly heard the sound of Wendy and Nina in the background, trying to call out for me to stop. But I couldn’t.

My head was pounding so badly, it made it painful to even think.

I want to stop thinking. I want to stop feeling.

Upon reaching my room, I flung open the door and slammed it closed. Whatever etiquette lessons I’d taken to reflect the proper woman was meant to be quaint and quiet had been utterly tossed out the window.

I didn’t care. I made sure to lock my door before heading into the bathroom. Unfortunately, my bathroom didn’t have a large bathtub like the one in Alexander’s room. So I had to settle for a shower.

I switched the water on and waited for the temperature to warm up. I shed my clothes, wishing I could shed my feelings the same way.

I was so tired of feeling poorly. It had reached a point where everything around me felt surreal. Carefully, I stepped into the shower and braced my arms out in front of me, letting the steady water stream spray down my back.

I had never experienced that sort of anger before...It was both staggering and seriously frightening. Although I didn’t have the energy to think about much, my mind drifted to the desolated ruins of my relationship with Alexander.

How on earth were we going to move forward from this?