Part 3A Summer Love Worth Cherishing

Sylvia seemed to realize what she had said a second too late. She quickly covered her mouth and looked at Roxie in alarm.

"Oh, Roxie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean you were filthy...

"I just meant you're soaked..."

Flustered, she turned to Evan. "Evan, please explain for me. I really didn't mean it that way. I don't want Roxie to misunderstand and get mad at me again."

Evan smiled and affectionately ruffled her hair.

"I know what you meant. Roxie isn't going to be mad at you. She's not that petty."

Then he turned to Roxie.

"Seven just changed into clean clothes. You're soaked, and you'll get them dirty.

"You have no idea how much trouble that kid gets into. I bought him ten new outfits yesterday, and he managed to ruin eight of them almost immediately."

A man, a woman, and a child.

Standing together like that, they looked exactly like a family.

Roxie didn't even look at Evan. Her cold gaze remained fixed on Sylvia.

"Take off my robe."

The silk bridal robe Sylvia was wearing had been hand-embroidered by Roxie's mother. A pair of white doves had been carefully stitched into the fabric.

Her mother had made it especially for Roxie's wedding night.

And now Sylvia was wearing it.

The room fell silent.

Sylvia shrank back as if Roxie's stare had frightened her. She bit her lower lip, looking hurt.

"Roxie, I'm sorry. I... I'll take it off right now."

Her eyes reddened as she looked to Evan for help.

"But... my clothes got dirty last night. Evan washed them for me, and they still aren't dry..."

Evan frowned at Roxie.

"It's just a robe. What's with the attitude?"

All the hurt and anger Roxie had held in throughout the night finally exploded.

"Last night, you dumped me on the side of a road where I couldn't even get a cab because you had to rush to a bar for your precious Sylvia!

"My phone was dead, and I walked through a storm all night just to get home!

"And when I finally get back, I find my fiancé spent the night with another woman, and she's wearing the bridal robe my mother made for me!

"Evan Shaw, tell me, what kind of attitude do you expect me to have?"

Sylvia's eyes filled with tears.

"Roxie, please don't misunderstand!

"I just drank too much last night. Evan was worried about me, so he brought me back here.

"Nothing happened between us. We slept in separate rooms!"

She turned to Evan in tears.

"Evan, what am I supposed to say so Roxie won't misunderstand us?"

Suddenly, Seven hurled the collectible figure in his hand at Roxie's head.

It scraped across her cheek, leaving a thin streak of blood.

"You're bullying my mommy! You're a bad woman!"

The trace of guilt on Evan's face disappeared. His expression turned cold.

"Roxie Foster, don't project your filthy thoughts onto everyone else!

"You're a grown woman. Can't you handle one little problem on your own? You come home and take your anger out on Sylvia when she hasn't done anything to you, and you still think you're in the right?"

Roxie laughed bitterly.

"So the two of you are completely innocent? Just a perfectly pure friendship?"

"Stop fighting." Sylvia wiped at her tears. "This is all my fault. I'll take the robe off and give it back right now."

She grabbed the fabric with both hands.

Rip!

The silk tore open at the shoulder.

Sylvia's eyes instantly welled with tears. She looked even more panicked than before.

"I'm sorry, Roxie. I..."

Evan immediately took off his jacket and draped it over Sylvia's shoulders.

"It's okay," he said gently. "You didn't do it on purpose."

Roxie stared at the torn robe, trembling from head to toe.

It was obvious that Sylvia had done it on purpose.

Roxie rushed forward and raised her hand to slap her, but Evan caught her wrist before the blow could land.

"Roxie, what the hell is wrong with you?

"It's just a robe. I'll buy you another one."

Roxie's voice shook with rage.

"My mother made that for me. How exactly are you going to replace it?"

Her mother had once been a renowned embroidery artist.

After Roxie's father betrayed her, years of grief had taken a severe toll on her health and damaged her heart. Eventually, her hands became too unsteady to hold an embroidery needle.

Even so, before Roxie's wedding, her mother had ignored her own failing health and secretly spent countless hours making that robe for her.

And now Sylvia had destroyed it.

"Then that's even easier," Evan said. "Just have your mother make you another one."

He let go of Roxie's wrist.

"We're about to get married. I don't want to fight with you. Go calm down."

Roxie stared at him as if she had just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"You stood me up at City Hall eight times because of her.

"You abandoned me alone in a storm because of her. Then you let her wear the bridal robe my mother made for me and sleep in the bed that was supposed to be ours.

"Evan Shaw, what makes you think I still want to marry you?"

"The wedding's off!"

At that moment, the front door suddenly opened.

Roxie's mother stood in the doorway, staring at her in shock.

"Roxie, what do you mean, the wedding's off?"