Chapter 2: The End of Everything
Evaline:
The forest was stretched endlessly before me, shrouded in an eerie silence. My breaths were coming in shallow gasps as I pushed forward even though my legs had started to tremble from exhaustion.
I was on my way to pack house. It might be a stupid idea knowing Damian would be there, but I couldn’t run away on empty hands. I just wanted to sneak in and grab some clothes and the little saving I had been secretly keeping. It might not be a lot, but it could earn me bread for a few days.
The night air was damp against my skin, but I barely noticed. My mind was consumed by a single thought.
I have to get away.
Ethan had rejected me.
The man I had loved... the only hope in my life... had shattered me without a second thought. Just hours ago, he had held me, made me believe I was wanted. And then, in front of everyone, he had cast me aside like I was nothing.
"You mean nothing to me."
His voice echoed in my head, sounding venomous and final.
And Lillian - my perfect, cruel stepsister - had stood by his side with a victorious smirk on her lips as if mocking me - "Ethan was always mine, Eva. Did you really think he would choose you?"
I clenched my fists, digging my fingernails into my palms as I ran. I had spent my whole life enduring torment at the hands of my stepmother, my stepsiblings, even my own father. But this? This was the final betrayal.