Evelyn went quickly through the city, hoping the fresh wind would help her calm down. The streets were too small and the air too dense. She had been trying to get away from the pandemonium and move on for the past few days.
But nothing seemed to work, her thoughts kept swinging back to Alexander. She stopped in her tracks when she turned a corner. There, standing a few steps ahead, was him, Alexander.
His sleek, fitted suit looked just as perfect as it always did. His black eyes scanned the crowd before they found hers. For a short time, all else went away. The sounds of the city and the people surrounding her were gone. It was only him and she.
"Evelyn," he began in a low, drawling voice that made her heart race even though she didn't want it to.
He didn't get any closer, yet the tension between them felt like it was there.
"Fancy seeing you here." Her heart thudded in her chest, the distance between them too large, yet it felt like they were standing right next to each other.
"What do you want, Alexander?" she inquired, attempting to keep her voice steady.
He smirked, the same arrogance in his gaze. "I see you're still trying to get away." He took a hesitant stride toward her, and his presence loomed over her, uncompromising.
"You really think you can outrun me?" She stepped back and felt the cool wall of a building nearby push against her. "I'm not trying to run away from anything." He narrowed his eyes a little and looked at her as if she were a conundrum he still needed to figure out.
"You can't get away from me, Evelyn." You never could. His voice dipped lower, both mocking and menacing, like a menace wrapped in the most lethal sort of charm.
Her throat got constricted. She hated how simple it was for him to upset her and bring up sentiments she thought she had buried. She had moved on, She had gone on. But standing there, looking at him again, hearing those words, and seeing that smile, it felt like she was still in his orbit.
A part of her, the portion that had once belonged to him, yearned to reach out, to return to the comforting darkness of his world.
But another portion, the stronger part, fought to stay free. The option hung in the air between them, and for a split second, Evelyn wondered if she would ever really be able to leave him behind.
Evelyn walked back and forth in her apartment, and the sound of her footfall echoed off the hardwood floors. She had really tried to get rid of Alexander's lingering presence. But each time she closed her eyes, his face was there. She felt she could move on and leave his world behind for good by going away.
But every time she saw someone who knew him or heard his name, it dragged her back, like a weight around her neck that wouldn't let off.
There was a buzz on her phone. She looked at the screen, expecting to see another work text, but it was a message from him instead. Alexander.
"You can't run from me forever, Evelyn. I won't let you." She gasped. The words weren't a threat; they were a promise.
Evelyn perched on the edge of the couch, her mind racing. She had felt the draw of him that night at the gala, and even now, the magnetic energy of their past was impossible to ignore. She still wanted him. She still missed him. But she knew better. She understood the kind of man Alexander was, the manipulative, calculated force that had always been just out of her reach, constantly utilizing their relationship to his advantage.
She couldn't go back to that way of life. She couldn't let him use her as a pawn again. She stood abruptly, her gaze looking for some form of explanation. But the truth was, she had no answers, only questions. Questions she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answers to.
She moved away from the phone and tried to shake the heavy feeling in her chest. But as she made her approach to the door, she heard his voice, faint but distinct.
"You'll be sorry for this." You always do. It made her pause in her steps. She battled the impulse to turn around as the words resonated in her head.
Was he correct? Would she feel bad about leaving him?
Would she always crave what he offered, whatever the consequences? Her pulse thudded in her chest as she strode into the night, unsure of where she was going or if she could even flee the shadow of the past.
The invitation came just a few hours after they met on the street.
A short note: "Dinner." Tonight. You and I.
Evelyn had tried to ignore it, tried to pretend it didn't matter. But as the hours went by, she knew she couldn't. Not after everything that had transpired, not after the pull that was still there in her mind.
Now, she was sitting across from Alexander at a private table with candles. The restaurant was quiet and sophisticated, the air thick with unspoken words.
As always, he was dressed perfectly, and there was a hint of a smile on his lips. "You look... different," he remarked, his gaze lingering on her as if he could see right through her.
"Not the same woman I knew." Evelyn looked him in the eye and fought the impulse to turn away. "I've changed.
You can't just walk back into my life like nothing happened. He leaned forward and spoke softly, trying to convince her. "I'm not asking you to. I'm only asking you to evaluate it." His eyes got darker as he spoke, and it was evident what he meant.
"You know, Evelyn, that you can't truly be free of me. Not after all we've been through. She shook her head, battling against the attraction of his words. "I've changed since we were together." He grinned. "No. But I'm still the man you need." Her chest felt tight.
She didn't want to, but he was right. He was still the one who had her heart in his hands. He always has been. "You think I need you?" She muttered, and her voice was hard to hear. "I know you do," he responded in a low, firm voice. "I'm not the same man you left, Evelyn. But I am the man you need." She tightened her hands under the table, almost giving in and falling back into his arms. But she knew better. She had to leave.
The night went by too fast. The last words had been said, and the polite small talk between two old loves who hadn't completely let go of each other at dinner was finished.
Evelyn stood on the steps outside the restaurant, the cool night air stinging at her skin. She couldn't stop thinking about what Alexander had said. "You'll come back to me," he continued, and his voice sounded like a prophecy. "You'll be back, I know you will." Her heart thudded in her chest. She was about to walk away when his voice stopped her.
"I've always known what you need, Evelyn. You can walk away, but you'll always be lured back to me."
The truth hung in the air between them, harsh and irrefutable. The option was never as straightforward as he made it appear. She could go back to him, to the world she used to know, or she might walk away forever, leaving behind all she had ever wanted.
She was about to do something that couldn't be undone. She could feel the severity of the moment, the weight of the decision weighing down on her. But she stepped aside.
His voice, gentle but sure, followed her into the night. "You'll be back." I know you will." And as she walked away, every part of her screamed that she wasn't walking away forever, not from him. Not from the life he said he would provide him. But the concept kept coming back to her like a ghost, and she wasn't sure how long she could remain away.
Evelyn's fingers trembled as she flipped through the folder she had just found buried deep within the stack of documents in her office. It was a file, one that shouldn't have been there. She had believed it was an outdated report, but as she began to read, her stomach wrenched.
The papers spelled everything out.
Alexander's dealings, the money laundering, and the hidden changes that affect every business choice. The truth hit her like a freight train. She had been deceived for a long time. Everything was planned: the world he had promised her, the life she had once known. Her heart raced in her chest. How had she not seen it before?
The way he controlled her life in every way, even in small ways. She turned around when the door behind her creaked open, and her heart raced. A person stood in the doorway, their face only partially visible in the dark.
A sign of danger. The apparition remarked, "You're deeper than you think," in a chilly, threatening voice.
Evelyn's throat tightened. She didn't know the voice, but something in her gut told her it wasn't a coincidence.
Before she could do anything, the person slipped back into the shadows, leaving her feeling quite uneasy.