Chapter 395

Evelyn returned to her room after the conversation, gathering her few possessions with swift efficiency. The suitcase clicked shut with finality as she descended the stairs, her heels echoing through the grand foyer.

"Nathan's not here to see you off?" Winston's voice held surprise when he spotted Evelyn with her luggage. His expression softened with unspoken regret. The divorce papers had been signed too quickly in his opinion.

"Goodbye, Winston."

She flashed him a bright smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'll visit when I can."

The older man nodded stiffly. "Take care, Miss Hartley. I hope life treats you kindly."

"Thank you." The words tasted like ash as she turned toward the door.

Evelyn walked away without glancing back at the mansion that had been her prison for three years. The weight of her decision settled on her shoulders like a mantle of freedom. The woman who had loved Nathan Black to the point of self-destruction no longer existed.

Alexander took her suitcase wordlessly while Natalie squeezed her hand in silent support. The trio moved toward the waiting car under the watchful eyes of the household staff.

Meanwhile, Margaret Hayes nearly dropped her teacup when Leonard delivered the news. "Divorced? Already? But Evelyn worshipped the ground Nathan walked on! That girl would have walked through fire for him!"

Her fingers trembled against the porcelain. Though she'd never approved of Evelyn as a daughter-in-law, the abruptness of the separation left her strangely unsettled. This wasn't how aristocratic marriages ended.

"Leonard, how could you let this happen?" she demanded. "Didn't you try to stop them?"

Leonard's face darkened. "Stop them? After how our son treated her? This divorce is the best thing that could've happened to that poor girl." He massaged his temples. "Do you think I didn't try? But Evelyn's mind was made up. The banquet incident was merely the last straw - years of neglect brought her to this decision."

He added bitterly, "Perhaps now they'll both find some peace. Evelyn deserves someone who'll cherish her properly."

Margaret found no rebuttal to her husband's logic.

At the new penthouse, Evelyn's friends helped unpack while carefully avoiding any mention of Nathan. Laughter and gossip filled the space as they transformed the sterile rooms into a home. Evelyn moved through the motions with practiced ease, but the shadows beneath her eyes betrayed her carefully constructed composure.

That evening, as they gathered around the dining table laden with Evelyn's cooking, she broke the unspoken rule first. "You don't need to tiptoe around me like I'm made of glass." Her lips curved in a wry smile. "Strangely enough, I feel... lighter."

Natalie seized the opening. "Of course you do! Staying in a marriage where your husband's heart belongs to another woman is emotional torture. This divorce is your liberation!"

Alexander remained uncharacteristically silent. He'd always believed Nathan cared for Evelyn in his own way. But now... He shook his head. What did it matter? The marriage was over.