Chapter 90: A Wall, An Iceberg And A Clown
She held his wrists and gave him a small smile, "Nothing..I just...just remembered something from my past."
His eyes narrowed with curiosity, "What did you remember?"
She stayed silent for a moment, drawing a shaky breath before smiling faintly, "My mother...she..she used to dry my hair."
He fell silent, his gaze lingered on her as understanding dawned on him that his actions must have triggered some past memories. After a few seconds,he asked, "Do you...want me to stop?"
"No!" Her answer came almost immediately, and she blushed lightly and added, "No...you did it nicely." She gave him a warm smile, "I am sorry, I didn’t mean to cry. It just...took me back for a moment."
Ivan studied her in silence and once again, he realised just how little he knew about her, and it only pushed him more wanting to get to know her better from here on.
So he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss on her lips before pulling her in his warm embrace. He murmured against her hair softly, "I understand."
Although he didn’t say more, she knew this was his way of silently supporting her, and in that moment, she felt grateful for his presence in her life, so she lifted her hands, wrapped them around his waist, and inhaled his fresh, unique scent, gradually calming down.
They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity when a knock on the main door broke the spell. Ivan glanced down at her and asked in a low voice, "Are you alright now?"
She slowly pulled away, giving him a nod, and she whispered, "Thank you."
"I think Damien cannot wait any longer. I’ll go ahead and handle him; you can take your time and then join us, alright?"
"Okay." She responded in a soft voice.
He studied her expression for a moment longer before giving her a quick peck on her lips and then turned around to grab his coat to leave.
Eve watched his retreating back until it disappeared from sight. Seconds passed until her mother’s voice echoed in her mind again.
’I’ll always stay with you..here..’
Her gaze dropped down to her heart, and that was when she finally noticed it... her shattered amber locket. Her stomach dropped as she lifted the empty shell in her hand that once held a beautiful amber stone and whispered in a broken voice, "No...this cannot be...."
She stared at it in disbelief as tears filled her eyes, ’I am sorry, mother...I couldn’t even protect the one thing that was given by you.’ she thought to herself as she felt her heart and throat tighten with multiple emotions surging within her. She curled in on herself and sobbed quietly while sitting on the dressing table.
While Eve was inside trying to collect herself, Ivan stood just outside the dressing room door, leaning against the wall as he stared blankly into nothingness. For others, it might seem as though he was watching Arthur set up the table on the balcony for their breakfast. But if one were to look closer, they would see how his eyes had a vacant look in them while he heard Eve’s muffled sobs. Though his stance appeared relaxed, his clenched jaw told another story as the feeling of helplessness clouded his mind.
...
Later that morning, Damien, Ivan, and Eve were seated on the balcony to have their breakfast in peace. Light breezes blew past them, carrying the scent of salt. Both Ivan and Eve had their breakfast in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
Damien’s ever keen eyes observed the two, noticing the gloomy atmosphere around them, and he put his cutlery down with a dramatic sigh. "Good grief! Did I miss a funeral procession? Or are you two both auditioning for the role of a ’tragic widow’?"
Ivan’s eyes briefly moved to his brother before returning to his glass of blood. On the other hand, Eve snapped out of her reverie, realising she had been rude to be absent-minded while in company.
"Oh, it’s nothing at all," she replied softly and gave Damien what she thought was a convincing smile.
Damien rolled his eyes and said, "Well, well...remind me never to cast you in a play, Evelyn, you’d be terrible in acting. No one will buy that performance."
He continued, "Ah, poor me! I came here from the academy, thinking I’d finally get to enjoy both of your company, and here I am ... .sitting in front of an iceberg and a wall. And I don’t know which is worse," he exclaimed dramatically.
Ivan cast a glance at Eve and said flatly, "Just ignore him. I do."
"My my! So this is what it has come to, brother? Now that you’re in a relationship, you forget your own flesh and blood, huh?" He dramatically pressed a hand on his chest.
Eve, who was sipping water, sputtered at his words, coughing again. Only this time, it was Ivan who moved to gently rub her back to soothe her.
Damien’s eyes sparkled like diamonds at the new development, and he exclaimed, "Oh! Has hell finally frozen? I never expected to see the day when Ivan would help anybody." He paused before adding, "Well, scratch that, I never expected to see Ivan help at all."
Ivan shot him a glare, while Eve blushed as she quietly wiped her mouth. She then cleared her throat and spoke in a calm, composed manner, as if nothing ever happened. "So, what brings you here, Damien?"
Ivan’s lips twitched at her feigning ignorance, and he went back to his breakfast.
Damien’s eyes gleamed with amusement as he mumbled, "Oh, you’re a tough nut to crack. Well...since you asked, I came here because I missed you two!"
When neither of them reacted, he let out a chuckle and said, "I came bearing some news. Thought you both might be interested in it."
"What news?" Eve asked curiously.
"For starters, I found a little note soaked in rainwater and..." He fished something out from his coat pocket and placed a small, intricate dagger on the table. His red eyes focused on Evelyn as he added, "I believe this belongs to you?"
Eve saw that it was the same dagger she had taken with her that night for protection, but still ended up getting kidnapped. She reached out and asked in wonder, "You found my dagger!’ She studied it, noticing that it was clean now, before lifting her head, asking, "How did you figure out that it was mine?"
Damien’s lips broke into a wide grin, "A sapphire gem-crusted, beautifully crafted dagger with a Kingdom of Luminear sigil on it...I wonder how did I figured it out," he replied sarcastically.
Eve stared at him for a second before letting out a sigh, "I get it. And...thank you for returning it to me."
"With pleasure," Damien replied chirpily before sipping on his tea.
Ivan, who was listening to the conversation quietly, shifted his gaze to Eve and asked, "So you did suspect it might have been a plot against you?"
She looked at him and pressed her lips together before responding softly, "Well...I thought it could be a possibility, so I didn’t want to go there completely defenseless."
She felt Ivan’s intense stare directed at her, but she ignored it and calmly went back to sipping her tea.
Damein, who was watching them intently, smirked before drawling, "Alright, love birds, don’t start fighting here."
Eve looked at Damien and asked, "Who’s fighting?" Meanwhile, Ivan just narrowed his eyes at Damien.
Damien rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Anyway...as I was saying, I found the dagger and the note. Being the good brother that I am, I did a little digging and tracked the little rat who had snuck out of the academy that evening."
He paused for dramatics, dragging the silence until Ivan sighed and asked flatly, "What did you find, Damien?"
Damien grinned once he got what he wanted, "Right! So there were two people who snuck out that day. A man and a woman. When we traced the man’s tracks, we discovered it was a little rendezvous with another man who was the owner of a shoeshop in Crimson Hollow."
Evelyn’s eyes widened in surprise, "A man with another man?"
"Oh dear," Damien sighed dramatically, "it seems you’re far too innocent, Evelyn. But don’t worry, I’m fairly certain that is about to change the longer you stay in my brother’s company." He let out another playful chuckle, which earned him a glare from Ivan.
Eve glanced at Ivan in question. He met her curious eyes and sighed again, "Yes, it happens, people have their own preferences," he stated simply.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, while covering her mouth in surprise. She continued to stare at Ivan and then asked, "Do you.....also have such prefer-"
"No," he cut her off before she could even complete her question.
When her gaze continued to scrutinize him, he narrowed his eyes at her. "Shall I prove it to you?" he asked in a low voice.
