Charlotte had been his childhood friend, practically family. They’d grown up together and Christopher would never let his fiancée undermine her. Besides, his business partnership with the Sinclair Family was far too important to jeopardize over a petty conflict.
As long as Evelyn apologized and Charlotte calmed down, he’d have been satisfied.
But to his disappointment, Evelyn raised her head stubbornly, her eyes meeting his without flinching.
“And what, exactly, did I do wrong?”
Christopher’s expression darkened instantly.
If she wouldn’t acknowledge her mistakes, then he’d have to teach her.
Standing tall in the snow, Christopher’s cold gaze bore into Evelyn. His voice was like frost. “Then you’ll kneel for another day. Get up tomorrow night.”
With that, he grabbed Charlotte’s wrist and turned away. “Let’s go. Time to cut the cake.”
As they disappeared into the warmth of the villa, Evelyn tilted her head back, watching the snow swirl and fall around her.
Obedience.
The word echoed in her mind as snowflakes melted on her cheeks.
Christopher was her test of obedience, wasn’t he?
Five years ago, he had saved her from a human trafficking ring. And from that moment on, Evelyn had latched onto him, seeing him as her anchor.
Her family had been no anchor at all.
Her father, who had abandoned her for another woman, barely bothered with an occasional call—at least until his new wife and child came along, after which even the rare phone calls stopped altogether.
Her mother, a barely-educated woman who had struggled to raise her alone, had finally remarried and started a new family of her own.
Evelyn had become a leftover piece of her broken family, a shadow nobody wanted.
And so she had clung to Christopher, following him, obeying him.
But now, kneeling in the snow, Evelyn wondered if she was clinging to salvation—or if she had simply traded one prison for another.
Evelyn’s past had shaped her rebellious streak. She had grown strong, fiercely independent and stubborn to a fault. Her reasoning was simple: if even her own parents had abandoned her, how could she possibly expect goodness from anyone else?
That was, until she met Christopher.
The day they met was etched into her memory—a moment both humiliating and life-changing.