Chapter 7 - The Man Who Once Ignored Her Now Feared Losing Her
The following months were strangely peaceful.
Vincent dismantled much of his criminal operation.
He kept the legitimate businesses.
He sold the rest.
People thought he had gone soft.
They were wrong.
He had simply discovered something stronger than fear.
He had found a reason to live.
Evelyn, meanwhile, expanded Hawthorne Manor.
The kitchen became a registered nonprofit.
The greenhouse grew year-round.
The old stables became workshops.
The manor hosted weddings.
Fundraisers.
Community dinners.
Children's art classes.
Vincent watched all of it.
Sometimes from a distance.
Sometimes beside her.
He learned how to knead bread.
Badly.
He learned how to prune roses.
Worse.
He learned that Evelyn drank tea at exactly nine every morning.
And he learned that she hated being treated as fragile.
So he never asked whether she needed help.
He simply offered it.
One spring morning, Evelyn found him carrying bags of soil.
“You're doing it wrong.”
He looked at the bag.
“How?”
“Your back.”
“I'm fine.”
She stared.
He immediately laughed.
“That sounded like you.”
“Yes.”
She took the bag.
“I'll show you.”
He watched her lift it correctly.
“You're stronger than you look.”
She froze.
Vincent immediately winced.
“That sounded worse.”
“Much worse.”
He laughed.
She joined him.
But the peace did not last.
A newspaper published a story about Vincent's transformation.
The article praised his charitable work.
It also attracted attention from the criminal world.
One of Vincent's former allies, Rafael Moretti, believed Evelyn had weakened him.
Rafael came to Hawthorne Manor with an ultimatum.
Return to the organization.
Or watch everything he loved disappear.
Vincent refused.
Rafael kidnapped Mason.
Evelyn blamed herself.
Vincent stopped her.
“This isn't your fault.”
“They use me to reach you.”
“They use anything they can.”
“I make you vulnerable.”
He looked directly into her eyes.
“You make me human.”
She cried.
He held her.
Then he whispered, “And I will never apologize for that.”
The rescue was dangerous.
Mason survived.
Rafael escaped.
But Vincent understood the war was not over.
That night, he sat beside Evelyn's bed.
“I need to ask you something.”
She opened her eyes.
“What?”
“Will you stay?”
She smiled.
“You finally had to ask.”
He nodded.
“I'm asking.”
May you like
Evelyn reached for his hand.
“I've been home for months.”
