Chapter 16: Shattered Facades
The night had already fallen by the time Reginald finally confronted her. Evelyn could feel the tension building in the air, the weight of his anger pressing down like a storm cloud waiting to burst. She had known it was coming. His silence over the past few weeks had been suffocating, and his frustration was becoming harder to ignore.
Reginald's steps were heavy as he approached, the sound of his boots echoing in the hall. She stood by the window, staring out into the darkness, hoping for some clarity, some understanding. But there was none. Not yet.
"Evelyn," his voice cut through the quiet, sharp and demanding. "We need to talk."
She turned slowly, her eyes meeting his with a calm that belied the storm inside her. "What is it now, Reginald?" she asked softly, though the coolness in her tone was a stark contrast to the tempest that was brewing between them.
He didn't wait for her to ask again. His gaze was hard, eyes narrowed with frustration as he advanced toward her. "I'm done pretending. Why won't you divorce Vivienne?" The words were like a slap to her face, and the anger in his voice only made them sting more.
Evelyn's breath caught in her throat, her chest tightening at the accusation. "You want me to divorce Vivienne?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly, though she did her best to keep her composure. "And why is that?"
His lips curled into something that might have been a smile if it weren't so cold. "What can my younger sister offer? Nothing. I need you, Evelyn. I need your support, your loyalty. And Vivienne is nothing but a distraction."
Evelyn's heart clenched, a mix of disbelief and bitterness flooding through her. She took a step forward, closing the space between them. "You've always thought that, haven't you?" she murmured. "That I was just a pawn in your game. That I was a means to an end. But I'm not. And I never have been."
Reginald's eyes darkened with anger, and he stepped closer to her, his voice rising. "You don't understand, Evelyn. If we're going to take control of Liore, if we're going to make our mark, I need your full commitment. I need you to cut Vivienne out of the picture. She's a liability."
Evelyn could feel the weight of his words, but there was something else—something more insidious—in the way he spoke. It wasn't about Vivienne or their marriage anymore. It was about power. His obsession with power.
"I never loved you," she said suddenly, her voice steady but sharp. Reginald flinched as though she had slapped him. "You wanted power, and I gave it to you. I left Maxwell for this. I gave up everything. I came here, and I've been your shield. I've kept you protected, kept people from asking questions, kept them from prying into your life."
Her words were heavy, her tone breaking through the layers of their shared history. The silence between them stretched for a moment before she spoke again, her voice low but full of conviction.
"You think you own Eva, don't you?" she said, her eyes meeting his. "You think you can control her, shape her into what you want her to be. But you're wrong, Reginald. She's mine. She's not your trophy. She's not a prize to be won."
Reginald's jaw clenched, his expression twisted in disbelief. "You're betraying me," he spat. "You've always been so protective of Vivienne. You've always chosen her over me."
"Vivienne has always been there for me," Evelyn said, her voice cold now, biting. "She's the one who's sacrificed everything. Not for power, but for me. And Eva will never be your heir. She will never give way for you or for me. She has her own path."
Reginald's eyes narrowed, the anger in his gaze flaring. "Then what do you expect me to do?" he demanded. "Sit back and let Vivienne take everything I've worked for? You're the one who's blinded by sentiment."
Evelyn shook her head, the years of frustration bubbling to the surface. "No, Reginald. You don't get it. You don't care about me. You don't care about Vivienne. You only care about your last name. You want what we have, but you don't know how to keep it. You never wanted me—you wanted my name, my legacy. And now you're too blinded by your own ego to see it."
Her words hung in the air, thick with the weight of truth. She could see it now, the realization dawning on his face, and it wasn't one of clarity. It was anger. The kind that had always been there, buried beneath the surface.
"I don't need you anymore," Evelyn said, her voice firm. "I don't need this anymore."
Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked out of the room, leaving Reginald standing there, fuming.