Chapter 329

Evelyn Sinclair clutched her phone, her fingers trembling with barely contained rage. Nathan Blackwood had not only unblocked himself from her contacts but had the audacity to rename himself Life Saver in her phone.

The sheer arrogance made her blood boil. Was this his way of guilting her into keeping his number?

She bit her lower lip, refusing to engage, and spun on her heel to leave. Nathan followed, his steps unhurried but persistent, matching her pace like a shadow.

As they reached the restaurant's grand entrance, he suddenly spoke, his voice low but firm. "Evelyn, I'll teach you how to swim."

The memory of the near-fatal plane crash flashed through his mind—the terror of searching for her in the endless ocean, only to learn from Lucas Sterling that she couldn't swim.

That variety show incident with Ethan Caldwell? Her panic hadn’t been for him. It was the water itself that paralyzed her.

How could someone as fiercely independent as Evelyn not know how to swim? He needed to change that.

But at his words, Evelyn froze. Her back stiffened, her breath hitching as if the air had turned to ice.

The suffocating weight of old memories pressed down on her—the sensation of being held underwater, lungs burning, darkness swallowing her.

Even now, just the thought made her skin prickle with cold sweat.

She turned slowly, her almond-shaped eyes sharp with frost. Nathan frowned, confused by the sudden shift in her demeanor.

"Mr. Blackwood," she said, voice dripping with disdain, "meddling is an exceptionally irritating trait."

He stepped closer, undeterred. "Is it? Then tell me why you refuse. Give me one good reason."

His dark eyes gleamed under the restaurant's entrance lights, like stars reflected in a midnight lake.

Evelyn’s jaw clenched. Her face paled, the chill in her gaze unmistakable. Nathan realized he’d stumbled upon something deeply painful—which only made him more determined to understand.

For a moment, she hesitated. Then she laughed, the sound hollow.

"Have you forgotten, Mr. Blackwood?" Her voice was rough, barely above a whisper. "Three years ago, you pulled me out of a swimming pool before I bargained my blood for your hand in marriage."

"Why would I learn to swim now, just to drown again?"

Nathan recoiled as if struck. Shock and something darker—something like horror—flashed across his face.

Evelyn watched his reaction with grim satisfaction. Her smile widened, but the light in her eyes dimmed.

"So you didn’t remember?" she mused. "Or maybe you never knew the woman you saved was the same one who later traded her blood for your name."

Nathan’s face drained of color. He remembered the emergency call that had sent him to that private pool—the woman floating lifeless in the water.

He’d revived her, sent her to the hospital, and left without another thought.

He never connected her to the desperate woman who later appeared, offering her blood in exchange for marriage.

Now, the truth slammed into him like a physical blow. His chest tightened, breath turning shallow.

A thousand questions burned in his mind—How did she end up in that pool? Who did this to her?—but Evelyn only smiled, cold and detached.

"It doesn’t matter now," she said, her voice brittle. "The past is dead. Let it stay buried."

And with that, she walked away, leaving Nathan standing there, drowning in the weight of what he’d just learned.