Chapter 35 Unfortunate Person

Evelyn gathered up her courage and stepped into the kitchen. Her aunt was busy chopping vegetables. She approached her and said, "Aunt, let me help you."

The middle-aged woman, addressed as Aunt, glanced up lightly at Evelyn and said, "Oh, sure, go ahead."

Evelyn washed her hands and held the knife, slowly and carefully cutting the fruits and vegetables.

"Aunt, how have you been recently?" Evelyn tried to find a topic to end the awkwardness.

"It's okay, but, of course, not as well as you." Her aunt paused for a moment. "Right? You, the prostitute."

The term pierced Evelyn's heart like a needle. Inattentively, she brought down the knife and cut her nail instead. She put down the knife and looked at her hand. Luckily, it was only a nail cut.

"What's wrong? I was just joking with you. If someone doesn't know, they might think I've been mistreating you."

Evelyn heard a sharp and eerie laughter in her ear. She seemed to recall everything. The past scenes played continuously in her mind like a slide show.

When she was very young, she often stayed at her grandmother's house. At first, everything was fine, and she got along well with her cousin Lola. They played games together every day, and everything was good.

But her aunt was always indifferent toward her, while her uncle was easygoing. He always bought Lola gifts, and as long as Evelyn was nearby, she would also receive one.

But when did everything start to change? It should have been when her mother passed away.

Living here for three years was the most painful time of her life. No one understood the grievances and anguish in her heart. She had to work tirelessly every day, afraid that she would do something wrong and make them unhappy.

"What's wrong? Why are you standing there staring? Didn't you come to help me?"

Evelyn slowly walked over. The rice cooker was steaming with rice. The hot steam kept coming out, and Lily forced Evelyn to stand in the place with the most intense steam.

As she continued to endure, Evelyn felt her arms becoming more and more painful. She didn't know how long she had to stand there. Fortunately, William's voice came from outside the door, "Evelyn, your phone is ringing."

Without thinking, Evelyn escaped from the kitchen.

William looked at her red arms. "Why are you so foolish? Why do you listen to others?"

She realized that he had seen it, and she pushed William's hand away. "I don't need you to care!"

"Don't try to be strong, okay? Does it hurt?" William took Evelyn to the bathroom, rinsing her arms with cold water, and she felt much better. "You can sue her. If you're afraid, leave it to me."

"No, thank you."

"It's because you keep giving in over and over again that she has become even more venomous, even more insolent. Do you understand?"

Evelyn couldn't help trembling.

William embraced her. "If you can't bring yourself to be ruthless, leave it to me. If you can't handle it, leave it to me. From now on, everything will be like this, remember that." His tone was firm and ruthless.

Evelyn felt inexplicably at ease, but she still spoke up, "This matter isn't as simple as you think. Don't get involved, okay? Promise me." There was no room for negotiation in her tone.

William could only nod in agreement.

At the dining table, they ate in an eerie atmosphere, and Evelyn simply couldn't taste the food.

Lola spoke up and asked about William's identity. Evelyn then introduced him, and Lola looked at William's handsome face. "Is he my brother-in-law? My standards as a cousin are quite high. You must be excellent."

"Hello! Thank you for your compliment."

Lola just smiled. At the opportune moment, Joseph spoke, "Since the relationship is decided, let's live our lives peacefully." Implicitly, he was still dissatisfied with Evelyn's current job. Evelyn just obediently nodded.

William had never seen Evelyn so appeasing toward others before, and his heart couldn't bear it anymore. But he suppressed his urge to react. He had promised Evelyn that he would not interfere. He couldn't let Evelyn feel embarrassed.

"Is your dad still looking for you?"

"No more."

As soon as Aunt Lily heard him mention Evelyn's dad, she sarcastically interjected, "He's probably dead, isn't he?! He deserved it!"

Although Evelyn also hated this person, he was family. No matter how much she despised him in her heart, it was still difficult and painful to hear such cruel words for him. She could only lower her head, looking at the food in her bowl, not knowing what to do.

But Aunt Lily didn't stop there. "Our once harmonious family was ruined because of your dad. It ended up like this, owing us money and disappearing without a trace. Such a curse."

Since earning money, Evelyn had repaid all the debts that person owed, and still she had to tolerate such words. She couldn't express the bitterness in her heart and clenched her fists tightly under the table.

Seeing her clenched fists, William gently reached out and held her hand, enveloping it in his own palm.

"He left you! Back then, the whole family advised your mother to get rid of you, not to give birth to you. But what did she do? She ignored it and married with the family's money. Now she's left with such a miserable ending. It's her own fault, and you're just like your dad."

William couldn't bear to listen any further. "Aunt, how can a child be at fault for things from the previous generation? Keep your venomous and malicious words to yourself. It's embarrassing to say them out loud!"

Lily was infuriated. She dropped her fork and was about to charge forward, but Lola felt ashamed in front of William and held her mother down on the chair.

He brought his hand to cover her mouth, making a "shh" gesture. Surprisingly, instead of scolding her, he smiled softly and whispered, "Good morning, sleepyhead."

Evelyn blushed and smiled back. In this quiet and warm morning, everything felt just right.

William tightly held Evelyn's hand and asked, "What's wrong? If you want to see, go ahead." He grabbed her hand and traced a path along his own face, then down to his collarbone, chest, and abs.

Evelyn felt like she was going crazy. She wanted to retract her hand, but William continued to hold it tightly. Just when Evelyn was about to explode, he let go of her hand.

"Just kidding! I won't force you to do something you don't want to." There was a tone of grievance and helplessness in his voice.

Evelyn remembered this sentence for a long time. If she didn't want to, she wouldn't be forced. How nice.

In that moment, Evelyn's heart softened.

After bidding farewell to Mr. Garcia and Mrs. Garcia, the two returned to New York.

On the way, Evelyn remained listless while William kept talking, asking her to look at this and that. In the end, Evelyn simply turned her head and pretended to be asleep.

"Actually, let go of the past. Don't think too much, or maybe just stop thinking altogether. It's already difficult enough to live in the present, so it's even more painful to dwell on those worries, don't you think?"

After a long time, Evelyn sighed, "I know, but it's really hard to do."

"Then I'll accompany you as you slowly change, little by little."

Evelyn nodded, and William reached out to ruffle her hair. "Good girl."

In his heart, William thought, "I know you're just pretending to be strong. In reality, you're softer than anyone else. So as long as I'm with you, everything will be alright."

The scenery outside the window kept retreating. It was clear that the decision she made back then would create stormy waves in her future life.

And as time passed bit by bit, when she turned her head and looked back at those years, some inexplicable decisions were like stones thrown into the sea, causing only a few splashes before sinking to the bottom, without any ripples.