The Marriage That Never Existed novel Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A month slipped by, and I slowly began to emerge from the shadows of what had happened.The bones in my wrist and fingers had been mended, but the delay in treatment meant I would never again hold a scalpel. To say I wasn’t sad would be a lie, but life, after all, had to go on.

So, I signed up for a painting class.

I wanted to see what it felt like to trade a scalpel for a brush.

When class ended that day, I looked at the painting on my easel, a quiet sense of accomplishment

rising within me.

But just as I stepped outside, a familiar voice called from behind.

“Evelyn.”

My body froze at the sound of my name.

I clenched

my palms and turned to face Adrian, my voice calm and distant.

“What are you doing here?”

Adrian stubbed out his cigarette and walked toward me.

“I came to take you home.”

The words were so absurd I almost laughed.

My lips curved into a faint, mocking smile.

“Home? You mean the one you share with Lila?”

“As far as I recall, there’s nothing between us now. Please don’t joke like that, and stay away from me. I’ve had enough trouble already.”

Adrian looked at me, his tone as steady as ever.

“To our home. We can reissue the marriage certificate.”

“I’ve already had Lila sent abroad. I won’t see her again, and no one will ever hurt you again.”

His gaze dropped to my wrist, his voice lower, quieter.

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“Evelyn, I’ll make it up to you–everything I owe.”

In that moment, laughter rose in my throat–and I let it out. I brushed the tears from my eyes, my voice edged with bitter irony. “Adrian, don’t tell me that after everything we’ve been through, you’ve only just realized you love me.“Adrian met my gaze and answered without hesitation.

“Yes, Evelyn. I’m in love with you.”

The calm I had fought so hard to build shattered in an instant.

“Adrian, I hate you! I hate you so much!”

“When I loved you, you didn’t. You let Lila hurt me. You used me, treated me as nothing more

than a body to warm your bed. Even the marriage I believed in was a lie.”

“But now that I’ve left, now that I’ve finally begun to piece my life back together, you show up

tell me you’ve realized you love me?“My eyes burned red, my emotions surging.

“Adrian, what makes you think that just by lifting a finger, I’d come running back to you?““Get

out of my sight. I never want to see you again.”

Adrian’s brows furrowed as he stepped closer.

to

“I know I hurt you before, but back then, I hadn’t realized my true feelings.““I’ll make it right. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it right. Evelyn, give me one more chance to begin again.“The careless calm in his voice made my stomach twist in disgust.My fingers dug into my palm, my

voice cold and final.

“Never! Adrian, I will never forgive you–for the rest of my life.“The scars still marked my body. My wrist still ached where it had broken. And those hours of horror still haunted me like shadows

I could never escape.

“In this life or any other, I never want to see you again.“I turned away, done with words, done with him.Just then, a car sped toward us at a terrifying pace.

Through the windshield, I saw Lila’s face twisted with madness behind the wheel.

In that instant, I stood rooted to the spot.

“Evelyn!”

The next second, Adrian shoved me out of the way.

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A deafening crash followed. When I looked up, I saw Adrian crushed beneath the car, and Lila frozen in panic.

“How could this happen? Adrian, why did you save her?”

“No! I didn’t mean to–Adrian, please, don’t die!”

Adrian lay motionless in the spreading blood, his eyes fixed in my direction, as if trying to make

sure I was unharmed.

I stood frozen, my limbs numb. Everything had happened so fast that my mind went blank. All I could do was follow the ambulance to the hospital.

“This is all your fault, Evelyn–you wretched woman!”

“It should’ve been you! If it weren’t for you, Adrian would never have sent me away!“Lila

screamed at me with a distorted face before the police dragged her away.

Adrian was in surgery for six hours. His life was saved, but both of his legs were shattered. From now on, he would be confined to a wheelchair.

He remained in a deep coma, and no one knew when he might wake.

When I heard that he had survived, I finally exhaled.

At least I was spared the guilt of having a life on my conscience.The rest, I told myself, was fate’s way of evening the score.

After that, I never went back to the hospital. I only sent someone to pay his medical bills — repaying, in my own way, the debt of his saving me.

I no longer loved him, nor did I pity him. Even guilt had long left me.

Two weeks later, Lila was sentenced to ten years in prison.

As for Adrian, I never saw him again.

Looking out at the sunlight, I felt an overwhelming sense of ease and freedom.