Chapter 5

Victor furrowed his brows. "Evelyn, what exactly do you mean by that?"

Evelyn shrugged nonchalantly. "It's pretty clear, isn't it? I'm apologizing. Sorry, Miss Fraser. I truly am. I shouldn't have crossed the line with you, and I definitely shouldn't have lost my temper. I deserve to be punished. Please, have mercy on me and forgive me."

Victor was confused, feeling like something was off with Evelyn today. Every word she spoke seemed laced with sharpness, making it uncomfortable for anyone to listen.

Before he could ask her what was going on, he was interrupted by Sophia's tearful voice.

"Evelyn, I don't know what I did to upset you, but why would you go to such lengths to slander me? I accidentally broke your trophy, but I picked out the one I liked the most to replace it. And if you're still not satisfied, I'll kneel and apologize to you! Please don't misunderstand the relationship between Victor and me. All those rumors are false. We're just good friends."

To Evelyn's surprise, Sophia actually kneeled right there.

Evelyn was startled, her instinct was to pull away and retreat, but before she could, someone behind her forcefully pushed her wheelchair over Sophia's hand.

Sophia screamed in pain, and Victor, his eyes red with anger, wasted no time in kicking Evelyn's wheelchair aside.

The support behind her suddenly disappeared, and before Evelyn could react, the wheelchair tipped over, sending her crashing to the ground.

At that moment, the chandelier above them suddenly loosened and began to fall.

A huge shadow loomed over Evelyn. For a split second, she forgot that her legs were no longer paralyzed, and, in panic, she struggled to crawl a few steps forward.

The crowd gasped in horror.

In the last moment before losing consciousness, Evelyn caught sight of Sophia, tightly held in the arms of two men, throwing her a mocking smile.

When Evelyn regained consciousness, she found herself in a hospital room, eerily quiet.

She tried to move her feet-they still worked, and there was no pain. Thankfully, she had managed to crawl a few steps away earlier; otherwise, the consequences could have been devastating.

The housekeeper from the Blake estate came in just then, and seeing Evelyn trying to get out of bed almost caused her to faint.

"Mrs. Blake, the doctor said you're not supposed to get out of bed yet!"

Evelyn obediently settled back, then asked, "How long have I been out?"

"An entire day and night! The doctor said your legs haven't fully healed, and now with additional injuries, you might never be able to walk again."

The housekeeper then sighed. "And Mr. Blake... he went off to 'comfort' Miss Fraser, saying she was shaken up and traumatized. But from the look on her face, she was positively glowing. Didn't look traumatized to me."

Evelyn just smiled faintly and didn't respond.

She had been in the hospital for three days, and Victor hadn't shown up even once. Instead, Lucas had come by twice.

Whenever she asked about Victor, Lucas would look at her with pity in his eyes, then respectfully reply, "Mr. Blake has been very busy, and he entrusted me to look after you. If you need anything, feel free to let me know. I'm at your service."

On the day she was discharged, Lucas helped pack her things. When he mentioned that Victor and Sophia were shopping at a newly opened mall, Evelyn suddenly remembered something and decided to tag along.

At the entrance, one security guard sneered and blocked her way.

"This isn't a place anyone can just wander into. A cripple like you should just stay away."

Without hesitation, Lucas kicked the guard in the leg, sending him tumbling back. "Didn't you see this is Mrs. Blake? Get your eyes checked."

The moment the rest of the security staff realized who Lucas was, their attitude flipped, and they ushered Evelyn in with exaggerated politeness.

This was a shopping mall Victor had invested in, filled with all kinds of new and exotic items shipped in from overseas.

Evelyn headed straight for the pharmaceutical section the moment she entered. There, among the neatly organized shelves, was a new drug developed in a foreign lab-rumored to work wonders for leg injuries.

Victor had once promised to give her a dose of it.

The display was packed with options, but Evelyn had already seen photos of the packaging. She found it quickly and clutched it tightly in her hand-only to hear Lucas quietly remind her, "Mrs. Blake, I believe Mr. Blake is on his way over. This particular medication was reserved under his instruction."

Evelyn smiled and nodded. "I know. But I'm his wife-what's his is mine. It doesn't matter which one of us picks it up, does it?"

Lucas fell silent.

But then, a sharp voice cut through the air behind them. "Stop right there! That medicine-I had my eye on that first!"

Evelyn didn't even look back. She simply said, calm and unbothered, "Mr. Grant, go pay for it."

She was still legally Mrs. Blake. Any shared marital assets she wouldn't get after the divorce-she might as well use them now.

Gasps rippled through the surrounding crowd.

"Who is she? Is she insane? Trying to fight over something with the woman Mr. Blake personally brought along? I'd say she has a death wish."

Sophia stormed over and gave Evelyn's wheelchair a hard kick.

"Are you deaf? I said I had my eye on that first!"

Lucas spun the wheelchair around and Evelyn smiled politely.

"Apologies, Miss Fraser-but first come, first served. This one's already ours."

Sophia hadn't expected the woman to be Evelyn. Flushed with embarrassment, she quickly turned to glance pitifully at Victor for help.

And right then, Evelyn met Victor's gaze-cold and unreadable.