by Trisha Grace
She scowled at him.
“You haven’t even met my parents.”
“Oh, I have. Your mom tried to slap me, remember?”
Dan laughed, but his laughter only irritated her further. She looked away and saw the silver beamer pulling up.
“Kate’s here. And I’m done talking to you.” She pushed herself off the ambulance and hugged her best friend. “Look who finally showed up.”
Kate stepped out of their hug and twirled her around. “Not a scratch,” she said, with tears brimming in her eyes.
“Not a scratch.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. I know it must be horrible.”
Evelyn shrugged it off. At the moment, she was consumed with indignation at Dan.
“Are you all right?” Kate asked.
“Yeah.” Evelyn smiled. “Don’t cry, I’m fine.”
Wiping off the tears hanging on the corner of her eyes, Kate sniffed and said, “I expected you to be happier than this, or maybe upset. But why do you look angry?” Kate narrowed her eyes and stared at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Later.”
“Okay then, let me fill you in.” Kate hooked her arm around hers and walked toward the silver beamer. “We were with Detective Allen. We showed him the video and he got a warrant to search the house. We’ve got proof, more than enough, to keep David Morgan away for a long, long time.”
“Perfect. What about the older Morgan?”
“What older Morgan?” Kate asked.
It was Evelyn’s turn to fill her in.
“There was nothing on the videos to indicate that anyone else was involved,” Kate said.
“So he’ll be freed?”
“I’m sure Detective Allen will do everything he can.”
For now, that was good enough. Though David Morgan committed the horrible acts, she was sure Richard Morgan was behind it all. He was the ultimate mastermind, and it wasn’t fair that he was going to get away.
Then again, that’s life.
Evelyn turned to look at David Morgan and found space in her heart to pity him.
She used to think that Amy got off easy. After what Amy had done to her, Amy’s only punishment was counseling. Now, she realized it wasn’t Amy’s fault. Perhaps it wasn’t just self-preservation. Perhaps Amy was simply yearning for the acceptance that none of them ever had as a child.
She sighed and pushed the thoughts from her mind.
For now, the chapter with the Morgans was over.
Her mind went on to brood over how blatantly Dan had rejected her. Wasn’t he the one who wanted a proper relationship and a family? She was giving him what he wanted, wasn’t she?
Then, the self-conscious voice that she hadn’t heard in a while dropped an idea in her mind.
Maybe she wasn’t the one he was looking to have all that with.
“You know what? I’m so tired. I’m going home.”
“Eve, are you all right?”
Evelyn smiled and gave Kate another hug. “I’m fine. I’m just…tired.” She saw Kate reaching for her necklace. “Kate, I’m fine. I swear.”
“All right, but call me if you need anything.”
“Right now, I need you to go home and get some rest.”
Chapter Twenty Five
Dan pushed the heavy glass door open and entered the store with the rest of the guys. Instead of having bright spotlights around the store, it was set in a low yellow glow. Spotlights were only found in the display cases, casting off brilliant sparkles.
The contrast between the dim lightings of the store and the display only emphasized the dazzle of the diamonds.
“Good evening, sir. Can I help you?” The sales assistant clad in his well-pressed suit and white gloves smiled politely at him.
“I’m looking for an engagement ring.”
“Ah…” The sales assistant’s brows rose. “Right this way, sir.”
“Do you have any design in mind?”
“No, he doesn’t have a clue,” Ryan answered for him.
He shot Ryan a glare.
Though it was absolutely true, there wasn’t a need for Ryan to announce it to the world.
He hadn’t dared to entertain the thought of proposing to Evelyn. Even when she’d proposed after the incident with David Morgan, Dan had thought she was merely reacting to the scare she went through.
Besides, Evelyn never brought up that subject again. He assumed she recovered from the episode and was glad that he hadn’t taken it seriously.
He had even half-expected Evelyn to move back home the moment David Morgan was arrested, and when she didn’t, he’d concluded that Richard Morgan was the reason why she was still there.
Then, he received that crazy phone call from Kate where she went on ranting without even explaining to him what was going on. He simply allowed her to continue, and it was a good ten minutes into the call before he realized it was over Evelyn’s proposal and his flat-out rejection.
Once he got over the initial surprise and disbelief, he started planning. The proposal was the easy part; the specifics of the ring were what he had no idea of.
Dan turned back to smile at the assistant. “I want something special. Not like the normal bands you see.”
Stopping by a section, the sales assistant nodded. “Let me see.” The sales assistant studied the rows of rings and pulled out several of the display trays, laying them on top of the clear glass.
All the guys bent over the trays and stared at all the bling. They continued staring for a minute without anyone offering any suggestions.
He should have brought Kate instead, but he didn’t really have a choice. He needed Kate to distract Evelyn with some shopping so that he could plan his surprise.
Standing there with the guys who had gone mute, he realized he should at least have brought Marianne.
He turned to them with a raised brow and noticed that Tyler wasn’t with them. Looking over his shoulders, he noticed Tyler over at the earrings section. With all the time Tyler had on his hands, he had to choose this moment to buy something for Kate.
Dan turned back to the rings, still completely clueless.
The sales assistant must have noticed. He smiled and asked, “Does your girlfriend prefer simple or slightly flashier designs?”
“Simple.”
Reaching below the shelf, the sales assistant pulled out an empty tray and set it before Dan. He picked a few of the rings and slotted them into the empty tray. “Then I would suggest solitaire or trinity rings without any side diamonds on the band. And if you’re looking for something special, this one has a unique band.”
Dan grinned the moment he saw the last ring being placed into the tray. He took it in his hand and turned the ring to scrutinize it.
The square-cut diamond was set in a band that curved away from each other, twisting the square diagonally.
“This is nice,” Joseph said.
“Yeah, I think so, too,” Ryan added.
Dan was certain they would agree to whichever ring he picked up. “When it’s your turn, I suggest you guys bring Marianne or Kate.”
“Right, we know you’re actually grateful for our wise insight,” Ryan joked.
Dan couldn’t stop himself from shaking his head. He was tempted to take a photo of the ring and send it to Kate, but it was too risky. Kate was such a bad liar, and she rarely checked her phone.
Placing the ring back onto the tray, Dan gave the other rings another look. He liked the first one he’d picked, but he wasn’t sure.
“This one looks good,” Tyler said, pointing to the ring Dan had just placed back.
“You’re done choosing Kate’s present?” Dan couldn’t hide the frustration in his voice.
“They’re wrapping it. This is good.” Tyler picked up the ring. “It’s different.”
“Just like her,” Dan continued. “But I thought bands were supposed to be one complete round, like…I don’t know…together forever kind of thing?”
R
yan and Joseph became mute again.
“Kate would say that it’s like two different people on different paths coming together to become a family,” Tyler said after a while.
Dan looked over at Tyler. He wanted to tell Tyler that Kate was the best thing that happened to him, but instead, a corner of his lips sneaked up. “I love Kate.” He knew that would irritate the hell out of Tyler.
“Everyone needs to stop loving Kate.”
That brought about a round of laughter from the rest of the guys while Tyler went off to pay for the pair of earrings he had picked out.
“I’ll take this.” Dan said, his heart already pounding with excitement. The moment he made the choice, he could see Evelyn wearing the ring.
She would love it. That was if she still wanted to marry him.
Evelyn’s phone vibrated as she dropped her shopping bags onto the chair. The cafe was abuzz with customers and she was glad there were still seats available. Her feet were aching from all the shopping, and she desperately needed to rest them before they fell off her.
She took a glimpse of her phone and handed it to Kate who was just settling into her seat.
Evelyn was sure her number was second on Tyler’s speed dial. Whenever he couldn’t get Kate, which was quite often, he’d call her.
Kate took the phone from her. “Sorry,” she said when she saw Tyler’s name on the screen and answered the call.
“Chamomile tea?” Evelyn mouthed.
Kate nodded. “Thanks.”
Evelyn moved toward the counter, checking out the menu hung on the wall. She didn’t want to be drinking coffee so late at night, but the aroma of it was so strong and tempting that she gave in to it.
When making her way back after the purchase, Kate was off the phone and was staring at her engagement ring.
Evelyn sighed quietly as Dan’s rejection came back to mind.
After Dan had rejected her proposal, she had convinced herself that it was for the best. She wasn’t in her right mind when she had asked him, probably the result of impulse.
Dan seemed adamant about putting her question behind him as well. He hadn’t brought up her proposal since that day.
His silence on the topic brought about waves of insecurities, and the thought in her head soon dropped into her heart. She wasn’t the one Dan wanted all the relationship stuff with. He’d tried it out with her and realized it wasn’t what he wanted.
Or maybe she was too late.
Maybe she’d pushed Dan away so many times that he didn’t think they could ever move beyond their current status.
“Do you think I should move back home?” Evelyn asked as she set the tray down on the table.
“No.”
“I moved in because of the whole David Morgan issue, now that David Morgan is locked up and—”
“And Richard Morgan?”
Evelyn placed Kate’s tea and her coffee onto the table and handed the tray back to a staff passing by. “Thanks.”
The evidence they had on David Morgan was enough for the judge to deny him bail, but they didn’t have much on Richard Morgan and the district attorney was reluctant to charge him.
Turning back to Kate, she smiled. “I was just asking. Just a thought.”
“And does that thought has something to do with your question to Dan?”
She took a sip of her coffee and shrugged.
“He isn’t having second thoughts, Eve.”
“And how would you know that?”
Kate reached for her necklace, and Evelyn continued. “See, you don’t know that. You’re just trying to make me feel better.”
Dropping her hands, Kate scowled at her. “I didn’t reach for my necklace because I was guilty, it’s just a habit.”
“Right.”
“When David Morgan got you, I saw how worried Dan was. He went after you, he didn’t let you down.”
Evelyn leaned her head lazily against her hand, but said nothing.
“You knew he would come for you, and that kept you sane. It gave you enough strength to keep yourself from falling apart.”
She did know Dan would come for her, and that did give her strength to hang on, to keep herself calm and hold her wits together.
She wasn’t in complete control, though. She had a little help. “There was a voice that I kept hearing. I…”
“I know, Dan told me.”
“You know I don’t believe in miracles, angels, or ghosts, then I see your necklace…” Evelyn said as she thought about the encounter that Kate had with Tyler’s parents.
Kate had told everyone what happened when she was trapped in the fire. She explained how Tyler’s parents, who had been dead for over twenty years, helped her out of the fire and gave her the necklace.
Evelyn would’ve brushed the story aside, thinking it was the lack of oxygen that gave Kate her hallucination. But the necklace Kate was wearing on her neck proved she wasn’t imagining things.
Marianne had sworn that Tyler’s mom never took off the necklace, and despite much effort, his grandfather couldn’t find it.
Now, the necklace was around Kate’s neck.
“It doesn’t matter what you believe; all I care is that you’re safe, and you’re going to keep staying at Dan’s. Or, I’m not going to accept the baby crib you’re making.”
“That’s not fair.”
Kate smiled sweetly and fluttered her eyelids. “I know.”
Chapter Twenty Six
Evelyn was exhausted after a full day of work and a whole night of shopping. She’d expected Tyler to send her back to Dan’s place. Instead, he had dropped them off at the mansion and said he had to make a trip to the office to solve some problem.
Evelyn couldn’t help feeling that she was being kidnapped as Kate pulled her into the house and made her look through all the drawings for the new room.
She tried paying attention, but she wasn’t in the mood to discuss the room. All she wanted was to go home and sleep.
The thing about being such great friends was that Evelyn had no problem telling Kate how tired she was, but neither did Kate have any problem insisting that she stayed.
Kate never asked anything that would inconvenience anyone unless it was really important.
For a moment, she thought herself to be an awful friend. Of course, Kate was excited about the room; it was their first child. Evelyn was thrilled for them as well, and she shouldn’t allow her doubts about her own relationship to dampen Kate’s mood.
So, she stayed, smiled, and gave as many suggestions as she could.
As time dragged on, Evelyn became suspicious that Kate was keeping her around on purpose.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, cutting Kate’s speech about the clouds she wanted to paint on the ceiling wall.
Kate paused and opened her mouth.
Evelyn waited, but no words came out.
Then, Tyler suddenly came in, telling Kate that it was late and he should take Evelyn home. He didn’t wait for either of their replies. He stretched his hand to help Kate to her feet. “Let’s go.”
She thought Kate had gotten into a squabble with Tyler, but the smile that Kate was giving him said otherwise.
Something was wrong.
She wanted to stop Kate and ask what was wrong, but she was dead tired.
Tomorrow, tomorrow she’d ask Kate about it.
“Evelyn.”
She felt a light tap on her shoulders and sprang upright.
“It’s just me,” Tyler said when he saw the shock on her face. “You’re home.”
“I fell asleep.”
He nodded.
She stretched and leaned forward.
Tyler immediately put his finger to his lips and said, “She fell asleep, too.”
“Thanks for sending me home,” Evelyn whispered and pushed the car’s door open, then closed it softly behind her. Heading up the stairs, she dug into her bag for the keys that Dan had given her.
There was no hint of lights behind the
windows, so she assumed Dan had gone to bed. She opened the door as quietly as she could, but gasped the moment she stepped in.
From the edge of the door, two fake walls covered the entire living room except for the narrow path leading to the kitchen and the staircase leading upstairs.
The fake walls were overlaid with wallpaper. On the wallpaper was a blossom tree, its branches stretched across the length of the walls. Stenciled words of various colors and size were written across every plain surface.
Petals of red roses were scattered across the narrow path, and small tea candles placed in transparent glass tubes lined the edge of the floor.
She ran her fingers under the first message. You make me the happiest man on earth. She smiled and moved along, reading every message on the wall.
When you’re in my arms, every worry melts away.
Waking up next to you is the best thing in life.
Your smiles light up my day.
You’re always on my mind.
No one had ever done anything like this for her. Her tears fell as she read the messages, and all the doubts she had about Dan and her completely faded. She picked up her pace and moved toward the kitchen. She couldn’t wait to see him and go into his arms.
Pushing aside the translucent white drapes painted with small golden flowers, she entered the kitchen and skidded to a halt.
The kitchen was completely transformed. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, holding five tea candles, illuminating the entire kitchen in the dim glow. Every surface of the countertop was covered with tiny red flowers. In the middle of the kitchen, where the dining table used to be, stood a tree with the same flowers that were on the countertops.
Christmas lights were draped across each branch, adding to the orange glow in the room. She stepped toward the tree and ran her hand down the trunk. She already knew it wasn’t a real tree, but she couldn’t figure out how Dan got it in and managed to get it standing upright in the kitchen.
“I know you don’t believe in fairy tales,” Dan said, turning her head.
The transformation of the room had captured so much of her attention that she hadn’t realized he was standing by what used to be the fridge.