Chapter 6 – A Truth She Never Saw Coming
Evelyn felt like the air had been sucked out of the room.
"Because loving him would have gotten you killed."
The words echoed in her mind, but they didn't make sense. They couldn't.
Her mother sipped her tea as if she hadn't just turned Evelyn's entire world upside down.
Evelyn forced herself to breathe.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice sharp. "Why would being with Adrian put my life in danger?"
Her mother sighed and set her cup down. "Because, Evelyn, Adrian's disappearance wasn't an accident. And it wasn't just about him."
She leaned forward. "It was about you too."
Evelyn's stomach twisted painfully.
Her mother's words felt like pieces of a puzzle that didn't fit together.
"I don't believe you," Evelyn said, shaking her head. "You kept the letters from me. You lied to me for seven years. How do you expect me to trust anything you say now?"
Her mother's lips pressed into a thin line. "Because, whether you believe me or not, it's the truth."
Evelyn clenched her fists. She didn't want to listen.
She wanted to storm out. To run back to Adrian and tell him that her mother had kept them apart for no reason.
But something in her mother's voice made her pause.
Something about the way she said, "It wasn't just about him."
Evelyn swallowed. "Then tell me everything."
Her mother sighed, rubbing her temples.
"You were never supposed to know," she murmured. "But I suppose it doesn't matter anymore."
She looked up, her gaze steady.
"What do you know about Adrian's father?"
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The Secret Behind Adrian's Disappearance
Evelyn stiffened.
Adrian's father.
She had barely thought about him in years. He had died when they were sixteen, in a car accident. Adrian never talked about it much, and she never pushed him.
"What does his dad have to do with this?" she asked.
Her mother exhaled, folding her hands together.
"Because, Evelyn, his father's death wasn't an accident."
Evelyn's heart skipped a beat.
Her mother's expression was unreadable. "Adrian's father was involved in something dangerous. Something that got him killed. And when Adrian started looking for answers—"
She hesitated.
"That's when he disappeared."
Evelyn's throat felt dry.
She had spent years believing Adrian had chosen to leave her.
But now, she was hearing that he had been taken.
That someone had wanted him gone.
Her hands trembled. "Who did this?"
Her mother's expression darkened. "I don't know for sure. But whoever it was… they were powerful enough to erase Adrian from your life completely."
She met Evelyn's gaze.
"And I had no choice but to help them."
---
Betrayal Runs Deep
Evelyn's breath caught.
She stared at her mother, her chest tightening.
"You helped them?" she whispered.
Her mother's face remained calm. "I did what I had to do to keep you safe."
Evelyn shook her head. "Safe from what?"
"From ending up like Adrian."
The room felt too small. Evelyn felt like screaming.
For years, she had lived with the pain of thinking Adrian had abandoned her. Now, she was learning that someone had stolen him from her.
That her own mother had been part of it.
And the worst part?
She still didn't know why.
Evelyn stood up abruptly.
"I don't believe you," she said, her voice shaking. "And even if I did, you had no right. No right to take him away from me."
Her mother sighed but didn't argue.
Evelyn grabbed the letters and shoved them into her bag.
She needed to get out of there.
She needed answers—from Adrian.
---
Back to Adrian
Evelyn didn't stop walking until she reached Willow Café.
She pushed open the door, her chest rising and falling too fast.
Adrian was exactly where she had left him.
The moment he saw her, he sat up straighter, his gray eyes locking onto her.
"Evelyn?"
She stormed up to him and slammed the letters onto the table.
"You were right," she said, her voice sharp. "Someone did keep us apart."
Adrian's expression hardened.
Evelyn's hands shook as she pulled out the second letter—the one where he had written, "Someone you trust is the reason we were separated."
"I just talked to my mom," she continued, her throat tight. "She admitted to keeping the letters from me."
Adrian's eyes darkened.
"But that's not all," Evelyn whispered. "She said your father's death wasn't an accident."
Adrian's breath hitched.
"She thinks that's why you were taken."
For the first time since he had come back, Adrian looked shaken.
Evelyn could see it—the flicker of something in his eyes.
Something close to fear.
And suddenly, she realized—
Adrian hadn't known.
He had been searching for the truth about his own disappearance.
But now, for the first time, he was realizing that this had started long before he ever left.
And that whoever took him… wasn't finished yet.
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