Chapter 66

......

The living room still carried the faint scent of tobacco from Nathan Evans' visit yesterday.

Evelyn Langley spent the entire afternoon cleaning, even removing the sofa covers for washing. By the time she finished, evening had fallen. She decided to stay in and review her studies, completing two practice exams before setting her pen down.

For dinner, she made kimbap but miscalculated the portions, leaving over half uneaten.

After tidying the kitchen past eight, she planned to tackle one more exam before bed. Just as she set her alarm, her phone vibrated abruptly.

A friend request notification popped up.

The contact field clearly displayed: Ethan Winston.

Evelyn stared at the screen for several seconds. Though they often crossed paths at social gatherings, she and Ethan had virtually no private interactions.

After a brief hesitation, she accepted the request.

Thirty minutes passed with no message in the chat window.

Must have been a mistake. She set the phone aside and returned to her studies.

......

The bar's lights swirled hypnotically.

Ethan pocketed his phone as Dylan Lowell returned from dropping someone off. "She's home safe?"

Dylan took a swig of beer. "Almost ran into Mrs. Evans. Good thing I moved fast."

Margaret Evans had been frequenting Nathan's villa lately. Getting caught would mean endless questioning.

"By the way," Dylan continued, "you've been turning me down for weeks. What changed tonight?"

Ethan swirled his glass. "Finished some business."

"Wait!" Dylan slammed his drink down. "Didn't Evelyn finish her grad school exams?"

"Two days ago."

Dylan grinned. "You're keeping close tabs."

The corner of Ethan's mouth lifted. "I have an excellent memory."

"Typical finance guy—detail-obsessed."

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

"You're not even pretending to be modest." Dylan clicked his tongue. "Six months and Nathan still hasn't patched things up with Evelyn? Ridiculous."

Ethan's tone remained even. "It's inevitable."

"True, they'll reconcile eventually." Dylan nodded sagely.

Ethan: "......"

"Speaking of which, you and Evelyn get along?"

Dylan immediately straightened. "Of course! She's made me her special nourishing porridge before. We're tight."

Ethan's eyes darkened slightly. "Finishing exams deserves celebration."

"How?" Dylan blinked.

"Take her to dinner? Might help create reconciliation opportunities."

Thinking of Nathan drowning his sorrows in alcohol, Dylan's eyes lit up. "Brilliant! Even if Evelyn's giving Nathan the cold shoulder, she wouldn't refuse me. I'll organize it—say it's to celebrate her exams, then..."

"Clever as ever." Ethan took a sip, hiding his smirk behind the glass.