Part 3Till Death Do Us Marry

The anniversary quickly arrived. She never received my call, not even a single demanding text message. Unexpectedly, she actually came to the villa herself. The entire villa was eerily silent, deathly quiet.

Evelyn, familiar with the layout, arrived at the door of my bedroom. Moonlight filtered through the blinds. She could see a figure lying quietly on the bed, seemingly sound asleep.

“Owen, may I come in?”

No response.

She gently knocked on the door: “Owen?”

Still no answer.

A sigh. She softened her voice: “I’ll handle things with Adrian; he’s just a business tool.” Her voice was low, almost a whisper. “After all these years, our relationship doesn’t need to be this fractured over an outsider. It’s our anniversary today; can we talk properly?”

In private, she rarely spoke to me with such a negotiating tone. I still offered no response. Her hand rested on the doorknob. She hesitated for a moment, then let it fall disheartened. Turning, she leaned against the doorframe and sat down on the corridor floor, without a word.

I was stunned. During that mission, I was gravely wounded, running a high fever. She had stood guard at my door just like this, never leaving, saying she was afraid I would die inside. Evelyn Lewis, what are you doing now?

“Owen.” She spoke softly, a trace of weariness in her voice: “If you’re truly so against it… then I’ll listen to you.”

I froze.

“My feelings for him are purely utilitarian; love… there’s simply none. I didn’t expect you to protest in such an extreme way.” She paused, her voice tinged with a strange mix of resignation and hope. “If this marriage alliance causes a complete break between us, that’s not what I want.” She continued, “How about this? The engagement party is just a formality, a show for the Harris family. Next month, on your birthday, we’ll go register our marriage. I’ll make you the only recognized master of the Lewis household, alright?”

Still no response.

“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take that as a yes.”

A long silence. Evelyn smiled, a hint of confident control in her demeanor. I had always been like this. When we had a disagreement, I would use silence to confront everything. She would then try every possible way to “solve the problem,” proposing various solutions. If I didn’t accept, I would directly interrupt her. But if I tacitly agreed, yet was too proud to reconcile immediately, I would remain silent. She would then know I had compromised.

But this time, it wasn't.

“Then, it’s settled. Next month, we’ll get married.”