The Queen Returns—And She's Unforgiving

Now that Evelyn's health had taken a hit, she naturally avoided unnecessary stress whenever possible.

Besides, whatever was going on with Lucas no longer had much of an impact on her. It was certainly not enough to warrant drinking her sorrows away.

So Justine ended up making plans with other friends instead. On her way home, Evelyn received a call from Sebastian. He casually asked about the exhibition, but Evelyn brushed over the details.

"Come over for dinner tomorrow. My dad's off work, so strike while the iron's hot and win him over," he said.

Evelyn paused. She still had a few challenges with her new project and could use the advice of Graham, so she agreed.

"I'll pick you up," Sebastian added.

Evelyn simply replied, "Alright."

The next day, she made a point to stop by a famous old pastry shop in Northwood to wait in line for the palmier Graham loved.

When Sebastian arrived, he got out of the car to open the door for her, and without missing a beat, handed her a warm bag of caramel-roasted chestnuts.

"Your favorite," he said. "Have some before you starve."

Evelyn's eyes lit up. "Thanks, Seb."

Sebastian tapped her on the head and raised a brow teasingly. "There's no need for thanks. Just keep looking at me. Maybe next time, you'll pick a guy with better tastes."

Evelyn couldn't help but laugh. As their car drove off, someone in the Bentley parked across the street finally rolled down the window.noveldrama

Jason sat inside, his expression complicated as he watched them disappear. He had just come to buy pastries for Fiona and hadn't expected to see Evelyn and Sebastian on what was clearly a personal outing.

In all the time he had known her, he had never seen her smile so softly and sincerely-so calm and affectionate.

Could she really be letting go of Lucas? He didn't think that was likely. Back in the day, both he and Mason had seen the way Evelyn treated Lucas with their own eyes.

After hesitating for a long moment, Jason pulled out his phone and sent Lucas a message. "What's going on between you and Evelyn lately?"

Unless Lucas was really getting divorced, Jason couldn't understand why Evelyn would be spending time with another man.

Lucas responded fairly quickly, "What exactly do you mean?"

Realizing what he had just done, Jason frowned. Why did he care so much? From Lucas' reply, it seemed like nothing had changed.

Jason rubbed his brow before replying. "Nothing. I just ran into her by chance." He didn't go into detail. Not that it mattered, of course. Lucas didn't ask anything further. In fact, he didn't even reply.

Jason shook his head. It had been obvious for a while. Apart from their relatively peaceful first year of marriage, Lucas had grown increasingly indifferent toward Evelyn over the following two years.

That coldness and disregard were why both he and Mason had started to look down on Evelyn.

But now, Jason couldn't help but wonder-if Lucas hadn't disliked her from the beginning, what changed so drastically?

Was it just a man's inherent selfishness or something else entirely? He didn't have an answer yet.

Evelyn spent the entire afternoon at Graham's house. Graham scolded her relentlessly and pointed out all her mistakes with a sharp tongue, but he also shared some insight on new directions for technological innovation, which left her deeply inspired.

Other than that, he barely acknowledged her. Still, Evelyn thickened her skin and kept asking questions.

Eventually, Graham snapped. "What are you doing right now? Mooching off me for free? Are you my student or something? Get out! That's enough for today!"

Evelyn smiled at last. She wasn't afraid of him getting angry. What she feared was being ignored.

After dinner, Sebastian drove her home. Evelyn was completely drained, but she still forced herself to take her medication.

Just as she sat down, her phone rang. It was Lucas.

She hesitated for a moment, then picked up. His voice was calm, but there was a distinct cold edge to it. "Did you block my number on WhatsApp?"