Chapter 446
No.1
The ring box in his pocket grew warm again.
Julian's mood lightened...
He'd confess after the banquet.
No matter the outcome, he wanted her to know how he felt.
As long as she didn't return to Alexander, he was confident he could win her heart...
......
Evelyn took out her keys, about to unlock her door.
No.2
A voice drifted from the end of the hallway.
"I heard Alexander Kingsley threw you away?"
A chill ran down Evelyn's spine, like a cold snake slithering up her back.
The voice was melodious yet sinister—like a flower at its peak just before decay, or the damp flicker of a serpent's tongue. Unforgettable.
"Tsk tsk..." The sound grew closer. "I told you he was unreliable, but you wouldn't listen... Evelyn, still so stubborn."
"Long time no see," Evelyn turned, her gaze icy as she faced the man now standing before her.
"...William West."
No.3
William West.
That name first entered Evelyn Sinclair's world through Julian Ashford's warning.
"If you see this man, walk away immediately." The teenage Julian's gaze was razor-sharp. "The West family murdered your parents."
Evelyn's fingertips turned ice-cold.
"They killed my parents... and still won't stop?"
"Because," Julian's voice darkened, "your father took William West's father's life too."
It had been a mutual destruction.
No.4
William's mother fled with him, but fate caught up with them regardless.
"He'll come for revenge." Julian gripped her trembling shoulders. "Evelyn, either stay under the Kingsleys' protection forever, or become strong enough that no one can touch you."
Evelyn once tentatively mentioned the name to Alexander Kingsley.
"Who told you that? Has he contacted you?" Alexander's reaction was violently intense.
The next day, she found herself shadowed by round-the-clock bodyguards.
From that moment, Evelyn faced an impossible choice—remain the Kingsleys' caged songbird, or grow claws of her own...
Fate never gave her the chance to decide.
No.5
......
"Long time no see, Evie." William West looked down at her, lips curving in a dangerous smile. "Even more captivating than before."
His voice dripped poisoned honey. His delicate features bordered on ethereal, pale skin carrying a sickly pallor like some creature bred in darkness.
At their first meeting, he'd called her "Evie"—a deceptively sweet nickname laced with venom.
This was a true serpent, his dazzling beauty the deadliest warning.
"I hear you've been thriving lately." His smile never wavered.
William always smiled.
No.6
That careless amusement dancing in his eyes almost looked genuine.
But Evelyn knew—he smiled most beautifully when killing.
"I always said the Kingsleys would waste your talents. With your skills, restoring the Sinclairs' former glory would be child's play."
"I always said."
Those four words turned Evelyn's stomach.
The pretentious affectation reeked of nauseating arrogance.
Only his striking looks saved the act from being laughable.
No.7
"Business?" Evelyn's key remained motionless in the lock.
"Extending an olive branch." William cut to the chase. "Heard you're back in the game... Come to Orange Media. The editor-in-chief position is yours."
Just as expected.
Julian's intel was never wrong—Orange Media did belong to William.
"Pass." Wasting words on him was intolerable.
She turned the key, entered, and slammed the door in one fluid motion.
William's sigh carried through the wood: "What a... pity."