Evelyn clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms. Absurdity and fury washed over
her like a tidal wave.
Since when did a mistress have the gall to demand that a wife simply step aside?
She opened her mouth to answer, but the nurse assigned to her hurried over, voice urgent. “Ms. Hart, why are you out here? It’s time to change your dressing. Oh–your wound is bleeding again!”
The pain throbbed. Evelyn inhaled, forced herself to stay quiet, and shot Sophie one last, hard look
before following the nurse.
To Sophie, Evelyn’s silent exit read as provocation–a refusal to yield. Sophie watched her go, her
expression cooling. She murmured, “Won’t give in? Fine. I’ll make sure you do it willingly.”
After the dressing was changed and the IV finished, Evelyn was bone–tired and desperate for
sleep. Just as she began to drift, the hospital room door was kicked open with a thunderous bang.
Graham filled the doorway. His face was darker and colder than she had ever seen it, and the calm depth that usually lay in his eyes had been replaced by a terrifying, boiling rage.
They had been married for years and she had never seen him look at her like that. She went still.
“Evelyn–was it you?” Graham strode in, his voice edged with ice. “Did you tell Sophie’s ex where
she was?”
Evelyn blinked, stunned. “What…what do you mean? I don’t-”
“Don’t play dumb.” Disappointment and anger flashed across his face. “Sophie’s ex is a
psychopath. He refused to accept the divorce; she had to file for a no–fault divorce to get away
from him.”
“I worked to keep her hidden these past few days. But because I rescued Sophie from the river first, you got jealous, right? You dug up his contact info and called him with the hospital address, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t!” Evelyn finally understood the accusation and shook her head hard. “I don’t even know
her ex. I never called him.”
“You’re still denying it?” Graham’s tone went sharp, full of contempt. “Because of your leak, he found her and stabbed her three times. She nearly didn’t make it.”
—
“At first she refused to finger you tried to protect you. I had to press her several times before
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she reluctantly said your name. She even said you were young and it was a lapse in judgment.”
“She’s been nothing but considerate toward you–and this is how you repay her? Evelyn, I always thought you were innocent and kind. When did you turn malicious?”
Malicious.
The word struck her like a blade, twisting into her chest.
She looked at the man she loved, watching him burn with anger on another woman’s behalf, and
the whole thing felt both absurd and unbearably painful.
“So you take her word as gospel?” Her voice trembled with hurt and disbelief. “Won’t you hear
my side? I said I don’t know her ex. I never made that call.”
“Who else could have told him?!” Graham snapped. “Only the three of us knew she was here- you, me, and Sophie. Do you think she invited her ex to stab her three times just to frame you?”
His eyes were cold and disappointed. “Evelyn, you’re young–I can forgive mistakes. But the
worst thing is refusing to acknowledge them. Sophie almost died. I owe her an answer.”
He turned away from her pale face and called out, flat and commanding, “Security!”
Two military police officers stepped into the room.
“Ms. Hart is suspected of intentionally endangering another person,” one officer said. “Escort
her out. She’ll receive twenty lashes and one night in solitary for reflection.”
“Graham, please! I swear I didn’t! Believe me!” Evelyn sobbed, thrashing and pleading.
But Graham did not look back.
They hauled her away.
Even though the MPs were instructed to show restraint because of her status, each of those twenty lashes felt like fire tearing her skin. Her back burned and throbbed until it felt raw and
split.
By the time they dumped her in a damp, shadowed isolation cell, she was barely holding on.
She curled up in the cold corner, shaking from the pain and the chill, and silent tears tracked down
her cheeks.
Late into the night, faint rustling sounded outside the door. Sophie’s voice slid through the crack, low and cruel. “How do those lashes feel? Enjoying solitary, are you?”
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C
