Chapter 127: What He Couldn’t Say, What She Couldn’t Hear
The rest of the day passed by, and Evelyn didn’t step out of her room again, nor did anyone have the courage to approach her. Ivan, who was unaware of the storm he had caused, had to leave immediately to hand Leah over to the royal authorities for the murders she had committed. He ordered his men to conduct a thorough investigation to uncover who and how many had fallen victim to her viciousness. Meanwhile, he also had to deal with the ensuing drama from Count Joseph Noxwell, Leah’s father, who had gone directly to King Iskara to beg for mercy for his daughter.
But King Iskara did not relent, as Leah was convicted of murder, and upon a quick investigation, it was found that she had done a sloppy job covering her tracks. A total of five women had been silenced forever because of her jealousy, and many others had been threatened under her father’s influence, which earned her and her father a ticket to the royal dungeon.
After that, Ivan had ordered his men, Ignis Blades, to conduct a thorough background check on the Prince of Dartmouth and his family before he returned to the academy later that night. It was already past curfew when he finally made it to his room to clean up, after which he decided to head to Evelyn’s room, like he usually did. He wondered if she was already asleep, given that it was past ten. As he walked, his mind drifted back to how abruptly she had left Headmaster Charles’s office earlier in the day. He hadn’t been able to speak with her since, thanks to the chaos stirred by Leah’s father.
Ivan walked up to her door, raised his hand to knock, but paused...hesitating if he should disturb her this late at night. Still, he couldn’t help himself and decided to try his luck. So he went ahead, giving a soft, hesitant knock, and waited.
When a full minute passed with no response, he knocked again...but there was still no sound or movement from inside. Letting out a resigned sigh, he figured he was too late and she must have already gone to sleep. His hand lingered against the door for a moment before he exhaled softly and turned away, heading back to his room.
Closing the door behind him, Ivan walked to the window and sat down, his eyes drawn to the moon, its incomplete shape mirroring the way he felt inside. He picked up his sleek cigarette case, lot one, and took a slow, long drag before exhaling, the thin trail of smoke curling upward as he continued to stare at the moon silently.
Though he often sat there in solitude, today felt...different. Something was missing from the quietness of his room. His molten red eyes moved to the empty, perfectly made bed, and suddenly an image of Evelyn lying there, with beautiful, thick locks sprawled across the pillow, flashed vividly in his mind. As he continued to stare at the empty space where she usually rested, she turned her beautiful, beguiling blue eyes towards him in his imagination....but just when he blinked, she disappeared.
He let out a deep sigh and ran a frustrated hand through his raven-black hair, and regretted being late.
After what had happened in the Headmaster’s office, he wanted to speak to her...but he found himself at a complete loss over how to approach the topic. Though he had claimed her as his, he had failed to consider one crucial detail...her father’s interference and his intentions to marry her off to another man.
Maybe that was because he hadn’t expected her father to interfere in the first place, as she had only been at the academy for three months and so much had already changed during that time. He hadn’t thought King Solan would be so insistent on calling his daughter back so soon... after all, what could be the reason?
He was well aware that the political alliances within the Kingdom of Luminear were unstable, with factions divided in their support between Evelyn and her brother as the next heir to the throne. Yet, despite that, the king had sent his daughter far away from her kingdom at such a crucial time. Indirectly giving her brother more leverage to strengthen his position in her absence. So did the king change his mind? Ivan could only speculate that perhaps he wanted her back as an heir, which was why he was pushing her to marry. But then again...if that were the case, why would he want to send her off to a human kingdom?
Just thinking about her marrying another man agitated him so badly. The idea alone made him want to destroy the entire realm! Then another question rose on his mind...if not this prince...what about the next one? Would he let her go then?
The answer came as clear as water...No. Never!
He would never allow her to be anyone else’s except him.
But then came the question he’d been avoiding...the one waiting at the back of his mind, glaring at him, but Ivan was just too afraid to even think about it.
He just wanted her so bad...that one day of her absence in his night made him feel hollow. But he knew...it was too early to tell whether he was ready for that heavy question. What after that? After he had removed every obstacle that stood between them....would he...?
F*ck!
Blocking his thoughts again...he closed his eyes and pressed the back of his head against the cold window panel. The moonlight spilled over is pale form as he whispered, "Eve..." hoping for the night to pass quickly so that he could see her tomorrow again.
While Ivan was sitting by the window, yearning for Evelyn, separated from her only by a thick column on the other side of the wall, the object of his desire sat by her own window, gazing at the same moon; only her heart, mind, and thoughts felt empty.
When she had returned from the dining hall after speaking to everyone, she had locked herself away in the confines of her room. She stripped off her uniform and submerged herself in cold water for as long as she could remember. Before she knew it, big, fat tears had begun to roll down her cheeks as every painful memory of her father resurfaced, every cruel word, moment of pain, every act of abuse he had turned a blind eye to, wrapping around her like chains she thought she was breaking free from.
She had truly believed she’d left it all behind. For the first time in her life, she had friends, a sense of belonging...and him. Yet now, the man she was falling deeply for was pushing her straight back into the nightmare she’d barely escaped.
Ivan’s actions confused her, but more than that, they hurt her. She thought he would understand or at least care enough to stand by her. But instead, his silence, his agreement, made it feel like none of it mattered to him.
She perceived his answer as a sign that he simply didn’t care...yet a small part of her still wanted him to react, to be angry, to argue, to show something that said he didn’t want her to be given away to someone else...someone who wasn’t him.
Confused, conflicted...pained and lost, she could only cry her heart out. She didn’t know how long she sat in the cold water until she felt herself shivering.
Weakly pulling herself out, she finally dressed herself sluggishly. With no appetite, she went to sit by the window, finding her only solace in the distant stars and the pale moon that hung in the rare, clear night sky. Wallowing in the dark until it was late, she remained in her place until she heard a hesitant knock on her door, and she knew instantly it was him.
She knew that if she made even the slightest move, he would hear her...he would know that she was awake. So she remained still. She didn’t have the heart to see him now...not when she felt so completely empty and drained after spilling out all her emotions she’d kept inside her. So she remained motionless, waiting for him to leave.
But when a second knock came, her heart squeezed painfully at the thought of him still standing there...waiting for her. Yet she knew she couldn’t give in so easily anymore.
She had given and given...and she knew that if she kept doing so, there would be a time when there would be nothing left for her to give, that she would simply wither away without him.
If their future was meant to drift apart, then she needed to start drawing boundaries now to protect herself...to protect her heart. So that when the inevitable happens, he wouldn’t be completely broken...that maybe, just maybe, she’s still have enough strength left to move on.
And so, for the rest of the night...two lovers sat in silence, separated by a wall...yet bound by the same ache. With the moon bearing witness to two hearts beating for each other...one wanting to run to her while the other wanting to run away.
