"I'm the one who ruined your life?"
Faced with his accusation, Evelyn Grant finally understood what it meant to be condemned on any pretext whatsoever!
"Of course it was you! If you hadn't said you wanted to marry me three years ago, Jane never would have resorted to such desperate measures to get me. We could have been a happy family right now!"
"But I said I'd marry you. Why didn't you refuse?"
Julian's expression turned grim. "That's because my grandfather—"
Evelyn cut him off. "It doesn't matter what the reason was. You didn't refuse the marriage back then. That was your choice, and you should be the one to bear the consequences!"
'Just like her now—wrongly accused of murder, thrown in jail, and spending three years in a marriage where she'd groveled like a dog only to end up with nothing. Hadn't she borne it all on her own?'
"..."
"Julian, from now on, I hope we never see each other again." Evelyn pointed to the door. "Please leave my home."
Looking at her gaunt little face, so thin she was almost unrecognizable, he noted her voice was mostly flat, but the resolve in her eyes was exceptionally firm.
Julian felt as if a giant hand had suddenly clenched around his heart.
The pain made him instinctively hunch his back.
Just as he was about to say something, his peripheral vision caught sight of a black shell jacket draped over the living room sofa.
Julian recognized the jacket. It was his younger brother, Ryan's.
"You're telling me to leave, yet you welcome Ryan to come up?!"
His question reminded Evelyn; she'd forgotten to return the jacket after getting out of the car earlier.
However, none of this had anything to do with Julian anymore.
She just repeated herself. "Get out."
"Are you regretting you chose me?" Julian's brows knitted together, his face darkening. "I'm telling you, it's too late for regrets! Don't think for a second that just because Ryan picked you up from prison and spoke up for you a little, he's actually interested in you! Ryan is only doing it because you two grew up together!"
"Ryan's career in Eldoria is thriving, and he has countless women throwing themselves at him. There's no way he would possibly be interested in a divorced ex-con like you! So don't even think about interfering and driving a wedge between us brothers!"
He had barely finished speaking when a series of urgent knocks echoed from the door.
Evelyn and Julian both turned to look. Since Julian was closer, he opened the door, his handsome face taut with anger.
To his surprise, it was the very subject of his "absolutely impossible" speech.
"Ryan? What are you doing here?"
It was a loaded question.
The moment he said it, it created the impression that he was the man of the house, and Ryan was merely an outsider.
As it happened, Ryan was slightly taller than his older brother. When he looked down at people, he naturally gave off an intimidating aura.
"I think the question is, what are *you* doing here, brother?"
Julian replied with a cold expression, perfectly self-righteous. "I'm here to discuss a family matter with your sister-in-law."
The implication was obvious.
Ryan smiled. He ignored his brother's attempt to block his path, his dark eyes fixed on the woman behind him.
Only after confirming she was unharmed did he begin to speak in a low voice, "Then I'm here to—"
Evelyn suddenly realized what Ryan was about to say, and she quickly raised her voice, cutting him off to finish the sentence herself.
"He's here to get his jacket! Right?"
After speaking, Evelyn quickly shot Ryan a meaningful look.
But he refused to play along. "Is that so?"
"..."
"I guess it is, then."
Ryan simply shoved Julian, who was blocking his way, aside. He then strode into the living room and scooped up his black shell jacket.
Before leaving, his dark eyes lingered on her for a few seconds before turning to the man at the door. "Leaving together, brother?"