Chapter 35
Evadne lost interest in going to the hotel and decided to head home instead.
After a long silence, Jason finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity, “Ms. Evadne, does Thaddeus know that you’re the princess of the Ashbourne family?”
“Yes,” Evadne replied quietly, her face blank.
Jason came to a sudden realization. No wonder she had sent a substitute to meet Thaddeus the last time he visited. It all made sense now.
“Jason, I didn’t mean to hide it from you…”
“I understand.”
Evadne looked at him in surprise.
“Who wants to talk about their heartbreak? Naturally, everyone wants to bury it deep in their heart. I’m just worried about you, worried that Chairman Emeric would be hurt and upset if he knew about this.” Jason’s hand was tightly gripping the steering wheel, his eyes glistening with tears.
This was the princess their family dearly loved, and she was being treated so poorly by that jerk Thaddeus. If Chairman Emeric found out about this, he would probably be furious.
“The longer it’s kept a secret, the better. I’ve been through a failed marriage, and now I just want to live alone. I don’t want to get married again.”
Evadne closed her eyes. Thaddeus’ hurtful words were flooding her mind. She laughed lightly. “How boring.”
“If you’re not getting married, then I won’t either,” Jason stated seriously.
“No, no, no… get married when you want to. You’re my secretary, not a monk. Don’t let people think that working for me means staying single; that would ruin my reputation.” Evadne quickly waved him off.
Jason chuckled awkwardly, his heart heavy with sadness. He knew he wasn’t worthy. But he was willing to silently guard the light in his heart. “Ms. Evadne, why… why did you marry Thaddeus?”
Evadne’s eyes were half-closed, and her expression was calm but filled with complex emotions.
‘I’ve overstepped. I won’t ask anymore.”
“When I was eleven, I participated in a mountaineering activity organized by my school. I lost a sapphire pendant, a keepsake from my mother, on the mountain.

“Despite the teacher’s warnings, I went up the mountain alone to find the pendant. I walked the same path over and over again, but I couldn’t find it. I ended up getting lost and was caught in a severe hurricane. I was trapped in the deep mountains with no cell signal. I nearly lost my life.
“At that time, Thaddeus was working as a forest ranger in a national park. He braved the harsh weather, led a team up the mountain to find me, and finally found me behind a huge rock. I was almost frozen…”
Evadne gently recounted the unforgettable experience.
“When I opened my eyes, I saw Thaddeus in his mountaineering gear. His handsome face was wet, and his beautiful eyes shimmered with light, even more beautiful than the starry sky. I was truly captivated by him…”
–“Thank goodness, you’re okay! Don’t be scared, I’ll take you down the mountain!”
That encounter made Evadne deeply attached to Thaddeus, an attachment she couldn’t forget.
“On our way home, he carried me on his back the whole time. He was afraid that I would fall asleep, so he kept telling me some funny jokes, even though his jokes weren’t very funny,” Evadne recalled calmly, a small smile playing on her lips.
–“Little girl, what’s your name?”
–“Won’t tell me? Then I’ll call you Ilana. You’ve got such a small body, small mouth, and small nose…”
–“I-I’m not small! I grow faster than other girls!”
–“Little girl, you just need to tell me this. Don’t tell other boys.”
–“Why?”
–“I’m afraid some bad boys will take advantage of you, silly,”
Evadne’s breathing became slightly erratic, her heart pounding. Thaddeus was only seventeen that year. He wasn’t as tall and sturdy as he was now, but he gave her an irreplaceable sense of security. Later, they almost fell off a cliff. But Thaddeus protected her in his arms, risking his own life for hers. Then, Thaddeus disappeared from her life for three years. The next time she saw him was on TV; he was attending a charity event with the Abernathy family.
Since then, Evadne embarked on her journey of “seeking the light”. When she heard that he had gone to the battlefield, she decided to become a member of Doctors Without Borders, just to be able to fight alongside him in a place he couldn’t see.
The pain of the past changed into the despair of the present; she couldn’t love anymore. Evadne gave a bitter smile. So even a thirteen-year infatuation could fade.
Jason quietly listened to her story, feeling shocked and regretful.
“But Jason, I can’t bring myself to hate him.” Evadne reached out her hand, feeling the wind slip through her fingers, just like the love she couldn’t grasp.
“Everything I did for Thaddeus was voluntary. I have no regrets about what I did. I’m thankful for our encounter. I don’t think there’s any debt between us.”
Thaddeus was in a daze on his way back to Windermere Estate. His head was buzzing like it was filled with a thousand flies. He felt a suffocating pressure on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. Evadne’s final look of disappointment and anger kept flashing before his eyes as if they were enemies.
Why did he feel such an emptiness in his heart? It was as if he had lost something very important.
As soon as Thaddeus walked into his study, Alva followed him in, looking a bit unhappy.
“Sir, Ms. Acacia’s car has arrived downstairs. You should go greet her.”
“I’m not going.”
Alva was taken aback. What on earth was going on with him?
“I know why she’s here.”
Thaddeus slumped on the sofa, his eyes slightly vacant. “Go tell her, if she’s here for Ives, she doesn’t need to bother. The Stirling family must be in chaos right now. She should go back and spend more time with her parents. I’ll see her in a few days.”
*If she insists on not leaving…”
“Whatever, let her be.” Thaddeus took a deep breath, rubbing his aching temples.
The phrase “good for nothing ex-husband” kept echoing in his mind. Da mn it! How did he become good for nothing?
How would she know he was useless?
Alva chuckled in reply, secretly admiring Thaddeus in her heart, quickly leaving the study.
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