Chapter 281 Make Money!
Evie stepped aside to answer the call, her expression hardening as she saw the caller ID. It was an unknown number, but something about it made her hesitate. After a brief moment of contemplation, she swiped the screen and brought the phone to her ear.
“Hello?” she said, her voice steady but with an undercurrent of curiosity.
“Evie,” came a deep, familiar voice from the other end of the line. “It’s Byron.”
Evie froze for a moment, her heart skipping a beat. It had been years since she’d heard his voice, and yet, it still held a certain weight—something she hadn’t realized she was holding onto until now. She cleared her throat, trying to keep her tone neutral.
“What is it, Byron?”
“Can we talk?” His voice was calm, but there was something in the way he said it that made her pause.
Evie glanced over at Mia, who was happily playing with Alice, and sighed. “I’m at dinner with my family,” she replied, keeping her voice even. “This isn’t a good time.”
“I know,” Byron said quickly. “But it’s important. It’s about… everything that’s been left unsaid between us.”
Evie’s chest tightened. The last thing she wanted to revisit was the past—everything they had been through, all the emotions she had buried deep inside. She had moved on, hadn’t she? But as much as she tried to convince herself of that, the truth was that something about Byron’s words unsettled her.
“I don’t think there’s anything left to say, Byron,” she said, her voice soft but firm.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line before Byron spoke again. “I don’t believe that. Please, just give me a moment of your time. We owe each other that much.”
Evie closed her eyes, the weight of the moment sinking in. She wanted to hang up, to leave the past where it belonged, but there was a part of her—one that she couldn’t quite ignore—that still cared. She didn’t want to, but she knew she had to confront this. For her own peace of mind, for Mia, for the future.
“Alright,” she said quietly, taking a deep breath. “One minute. That’s all you get.”
There was a brief pause before Byron spoke again. “I’ll keep it short. I just wanted to let you know that I haven’t forgotten about you, Evie. Despite everything, I still think about what we had. And I know I made mistakes—huge ones—but I’m not the same person I was back then.”
Evie’s heart raced as she listened to his words. She wanted to be strong, to keep her guard up, but hearing his voice again—so familiar, so full of emotion—was making it harder than she had anticipated.
“I don’t need your apologies, Byron,” she said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. “I’ve moved on. I’m not the same person either.”
“But you’re still angry with me, aren’t you?” Byron’s voice softened, his words carrying the weight of years of regret. “You still haven’t forgiven me, have you?”
Evie’s grip on the phone tightened. “It’s not about forgiveness, Byron. It’s about… letting go. I can’t keep carrying everything from the past with me.”
“I understand,” Byron said after a moment. “But I need you to know something—” Before he could finish, Evie cut him off. “I have to go, Byron. This conversation is over.”
Without waiting for a reply, she ended the call, her heart pounding in her chest. She stood there for a moment, staring at the screen, as if willing herself to not let his words affect her. But deep down, she knew that this conversation—this brief encounter with the past—was far from over.