Since that fateful night, Evel had gone to great lengths to evade Max's presence, dreading the moment he would broach the subject that hung between them like a heavy shroud. The memory of their forbidden encounter haunted her, filling her with both longing and fear. She couldn't bear the thought of succumbing to her desires again, terrified that she might lose all control this time.
Though Eve knew that, eventually, she would be bound to him in marriage, duty dictating their union, she was resolute in her determination to keep her heart guarded. She refused to let emotions intertwine with their current arrangement. Moreover, she was plagued by the uncertainty of what he truly felt.
