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Chapter 5
Late that morning, Evelyn came to a decision.
I need to go see Dylan.
Ever since the Whitewood family banquet, Beneath the Rosewood Tree had already begun.
If she wanted to save Dylan, then she first needed to meet him somehow.
There was just one problem.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door before Evelyn’s bedroom door opened. A maid entered carrying a tray of food and set the dishes down.
“Miss, I’ll leave your meal here.”
“All right.”
The maid turned to leave with the tray, but hesitated and looked back at Evelyn.
Then she spoke carefully.
“Um… Miss, when the master returns later, why don’t you just go apologize sincerely? Everyone cares about you, so they’ll surely forgive you. You can’t stay locked up in here forever, can you?”
Yes.
That was exactly the problem.
Several days had passed since the Whitewood family banquet.
And Evelyn had been confined to her room the entire time.
* * *
Over the past few days, Dylan wasn’t the only one who had been suffering.
During that short yet somehow long stretch of time, Evelyn had come to fully understand what she had done—and what she would have to endure because of it.
Setting aside the fact that she had disobeyed her father, the consequences of her single declaration had caused considerable upheaval for the Primrose family.
As a result, Evelyn’s father, Isaac, had flown into a rage.
“Go and tell him immediately that you’re withdrawing the proposal, Evelyn! Do you have any idea how much trouble our family is in because of you?”
“D-Dear, calm down. No matter what happened, she’s still ill—”
“Stay out of this. We raised our daughter with every care despite her condition, and this is how she repays us? By disgracing the family? Clarence! Couldn’t you even keep your own sister under control and prevent this mess?”
Clarence, suddenly caught in the crossfire, protested indignantly.
“I did exactly as you instructed, Father! How was I supposed to know she’d suddenly run off to Dylan and do something like this? If I hadn’t intervened, the situation would have become even worse.”
Immediately after Evelyn proposed to Dylan, Clarence had nearly fainted from shock and dragged her straight home.
It had undoubtedly been the best course of action.
Had Evelyn remained there any longer, she would only have provided more gossip for those who delighted in scandal.
All she had done was propose.
Yet that single act shattered her once-harmonious family in an instant.
Including the loving faces of the family members who always claimed to cherish her.
“There’s no point discussing this any further. It isn’t too late yet. Before this grows worse, do as Dylan Fitzroy requested. And we must also proceed with the marriage negotiations with Grenville—”
“No. I won’t marry Arthur Grenville.”
At last, Evelyn broke her long silence.
She had no choice.
Dylan’s obsession with Daphne is beyond imagination.
Given even the slightest opportunity, he would find a way to approach Daphne.
Even if she were already married.
That was why Evelyn absolutely could not grant Dylan’s request.
At least not until a definite bond existed between herself and Dylan.
Her unwavering attitude reignited Isaac’s temper, which had only just begun to cool.
“What? You still haven’t come to your senses?”
“D-Dear! Evelyn, why are you being like this? You must listen to your father! You were always such an obedient child when you were young. Why have you suddenly become like this…?”
Her mother, Michelle, anxiously tried to persuade her.
“Your father isn’t asking you to do something harmful. You’re old enough to understand that your actions have placed the Primrose family in a difficult position. Everything we’re doing is for your sake.”
For your sake.
The moment she heard those words, Evelyn felt her chest tighten again.
This was what hurt the most.
Her angry father.
Her mother desperately trying to convince her.
Her brother looking at her with resentment.
This moment, when it felt as though she were betraying the family she loved—the family that had always claimed to love her.
This scene, where she felt that she alone was in the wrong and everyone else was suffering because of her reckless actions.
Even now, she couldn’t stop questioning herself.
What am I even doing? Is it really right to betray my family just to save someone I only saw in a dream?
As Isaac said, it wasn’t too late.
If she simply apologized, lowered her head, and obeyed her father, they would all love her again as they once had.
Perhaps this whole incident would eventually become nothing more than a humorous story occasionally brought up at family dinners.
If only she returned to being the obedient, well-behaved daughter she used to be.
But Evelyn knew she no longer could.
Maybe I could have, before seeing all of this.
Before witnessing how everything she had believed in could disappear because of a single marriage proposal.
What her family truly wanted wasn’t Evelyn.
They wanted someone who could remain alive and contribute to the family.
And if possible, anyone could fill that role.
Anyone at all.
“…Mother, is marrying Arthur Grenville truly for my sake?”
“Of course it is, my dear.”
The moment Evelyn spoke, Michelle brightened and nodded eagerly.
“But I don’t want to marry him. Even so, if I were to die soon, would I still have to marry him?”
“My goodness, what a dreadful thing to say! Why would you die? Don’t say such things and break your mother’s heart. You’ll live a long, healthy life. That’s why you need to marry, just as your father says.”
Michelle’s response was exactly the same as Clarence’s.
So Evelyn gave the same answer.
“Then I want to inherit the family as well. If I’ll live a long life as you say, then I have that right too.”
The room instantly fell silent.
An unnatural stillness lingered for several seconds before Isaac finally spoke.
“Clarence, we’re meeting with investors this evening. Prepare yourself.”
“Have any of them responded, Father?”
“I’ve already contacted the landowners in the western region. We should be able to secure assistance from them.”
It was as though the argument with Evelyn had never happened.
This was something her parents did whenever she occasionally became stubborn about something they disliked.
They treated her as if she were completely invisible.
Every time it happened, Evelyn broke into a cold sweat.
Struggling to breathe, she spoke again.
“Father, I want to inherit the family.”
“Madam, contact your family as well. I heard your sister Camilla recently made a fortune through investments.”
“But Camilla is so greedy and self-serving. I doubt she’ll be willing to help.”
“If I truly can live a long life, then I have the right too. If you permit it, I’ll withdraw the proposal as you asked.”
“Still, it’s worth asking.”
“Please… listen to me. Father, Mother…”
Her voice grew weaker and weaker.
The voices of her family, conversing while completely excluding her, felt unbearably distant.
She knew exactly how this feeling ended.
She would struggle for breath as though being strangled, then eventually admit she was wrong.
I can’t do that.
If this were only her own problem, she would have broken long ago.
But now it wasn’t only about her.
Dylan’s life was involved as well.
Yet no words would come.
No matter what she said, her family would never truly look at her.
Feeling the blood drain from her body, Evelyn acted on impulse.
In that brief moment, her hand had already turned pale.
She reached out, grabbed the flower vase beside her, and hurled it to the floor.
Crash!
The loud shattering noise finally made her family turn toward her in shock.
Only then.
Only then did her trembling lips part.
She didn’t know where the courage came from.
Her body shook uncontrollably, yet her voice emerged without fear.
“I will never withdraw my proposal.”
