Chapter 663
No.1
Her voice shook. "And if I refuse?"
"Then we're done." No hesitation. "Choose: apology or breakup."
Tears fell silently, soaking the pillowcase.
Alexander Kingsley had completely forgotten the story behind that butterfly brooch.
Or perhaps, he never cared to remember.
At thirteen, Evelyn Sinclair had clutched three years' worth of saved allowance and gone alone to the auction.
She stood in the last row, watching helplessly as bidding paddles rose again and again for the multicolored diamond butterfly brooch.
No.2
The final price was ten times her entire savings.
She cried under her blankets for seven straight days after returning home.
On the eighth midnight, Alexander kicked open her bedroom door.
"Take it."
The butterfly brooch landed in her lap, its diamonds glittering in the moonlight.
"When a Kingsley wants something, they take it." He looked down at her coldly. "If you can't take it yourself, come find me."
Evelyn cradled the brooch, tears welling as she gazed up.
No.3
Suddenly, Alexander flicked her forehead.
"Keep crying and I'll take it back."
That was the first—and only—time he showed her tenderness.
Orphaned too young, it was Alexander who taught her how to survive among the elite.
"Fight for what you want," he'd told her. "If you can't win, I'll fight for you."
Now she'd finally learned to fight.
And he called her spoiled, demanding to break off their engagement.
No.4
How ironic.
The phone's shrill ring shattered her memories.
Martha Nash's roar exploded through the receiver: "Alexander sent a cease and desist letter!"
Evelyn rushed to check out.
The front desk clerk smiled sweetly. "Your room is prepaid for a month."
She insisted on leaving, transferring the remaining balance to Julian Ashford.
[Senior, consider this an IOU.]
No.5
Horizon Media was in an uproar.
"He took her ring shopping! Put his coat around her shoulders! Seven years of secret dating confirmed!" Martha waved the legal letter. "Now he's suing us for defamation? Bullshit!"
Evelyn accepted her copy.
"Why am I the primary defendant?"
"Picking the easy target." Martha rolled her eyes. "The whole company got sued, but you got special attention."
Simon York whistled. "Junior's article broke click records. Alexander's panicking."
Others chimed in: "He wouldn't lash out unless every word was true."
No.6
Evelyn looked pointedly at Martha. "The editor-in-chief said there wouldn't be major repercussions."
Martha crunched her lollipop. "I'll piss on the Kingsley family graves!"
Legal department staff came for her ID.
Alexander was specifically suing over Horizon Entertainment's exposé about his seven-year secret affair with Isabella Winslow—Evelyn's all-nighter masterpiece.
As she reached for her wallet, a slender hand intercepted.
Rip.
The letter became confetti in Julian Ashford's grip.
No.7
"Let him sue." The crown prince's expression turned glacial. "Can't handle the truth?"
No one had more right to condemn Alexander than Evelyn.
The legal team hesitated.
Julian's gaze sharpened. "Can't Horizon protect one employee?"
He'd never let Evelyn stand in a defendant's box.
Alexander didn't deserve that privilege.
...