When He Knelt Before My Grave

The rain fell mercilessly against the broken windows of the abandoned warehouse.

Water mixed with blood on the cold concrete floor.

A young woman lay there, struggling to breathe.

Her once-beautiful white dress was soaked crimson.

Every breath felt like knives piercing her chest.

Her vision blurred as she coughed another mouthful of blood.

"...Help..."

Her voice was barely a whisper.

Click...

Click...

Click...

The sound of high heels echoed through the silent warehouse.

A woman in a red dress stopped in front of her.

Beautiful.

Elegant.

Smiling.

Her stepsister...

Sophia Ashford.

"Oh, my dear sister," Sophia said with a sweet smile. "You're still alive?"

Evelyn looked at her with tear-filled eyes.

"S...Sophia..."

"Why...?"

Sophia crouched beside her and gently brushed a strand of hair away from Evelyn's face.

"If you hadn't been born, I would have had everything."

"The Ashford family."

"The inheritance."

"The company."

"And the man everyone admired."

Evelyn frowned.

"What... are you talking about...?"

A pair of polished leather shoes appeared beside Sophia.

Lucas Sterling.

The man Evelyn had trusted more than anyone.

The man she divorced her husband for.

Her fiancé.

She smiled weakly.

"Lucas..."

"You came..."

"Please... save me..."

Lucas looked at her with complete indifference.

Then...

He wrapped his arm around Sophia's waist.

Evelyn's smile froze.

"...Lucas?"

Sophia laughed loudly.

"Oh, she still doesn't understand."

Lucas chuckled.

"Evelyn..."

"I never loved you."

"I only wanted your family's money."

Her heart stopped.

"N-No..."

"You promised..."

"I did."

Lucas shrugged.

"And you believed every word."

Sophia crossed her arms proudly.

"You know what was even easier?"

"Making you hate Damien."

Evelyn's body stiffened.

Her ex-husband.

The man she had divorced six months ago after five years of marriage.

The man she believed had ruined her life.

Sophia smiled cruelly.

"The anonymous messages saying Damien had countless women?"

"I sent them."

"The fake photos?"

"I created them."

"The rumors?"

"I spread every single one."

"The servants who lied to you?"

"They worked for me."

Evelyn stared at her in horror.

"No..."

Sophia continued.

"Every time Damien tried to explain..."

"You refused to listen."

"You always believed Lucas instead."

Lucas laughed.

"Honestly..."

"You were so easy to manipulate."

Evelyn's tears flowed endlessly.

"I..."

"I..."

Sophia pulled a small bottle from her handbag.

"The poison that has been slowly killing you..."

"I've been putting it in your tea for almost a year."

Evelyn remembered.

The dizziness.

The fainting.

The constant pain.

The doctors never finding a reason.

Damien had begged her to change hospitals.

He had begged her to stay away from Sophia.

He had begged her to trust him.

She had called him controlling.

She had hated him.

She had divorced him.

Sophia leaned close to her ear.

"Want to hear another secret?"

Evelyn couldn't speak.

"The man who secretly paid for your mother's treatment..."

"Damien."

"The man who protected your company after the divorce..."

"Damien."

"The man who still followed you every night to make sure you got home safely..."

"Damien."

Lucas smirked.

"And every love letter Damien wrote after the divorce..."

"We burned them."

"No..."

Evelyn whispered.

"No..."

She had misunderstood him...

For five long years.

Suddenly—

BANG!

The warehouse doors burst open.

"Search everywhere!"

Dozens of bodyguards rushed inside.

A tall man in a black overcoat ran through the rain without caring about anything around him.

His usually neat hair was soaked.

His breathing was uneven.

His eyes searched desperately.

Then they found her.

"...Eva."

His voice broke.

Damien Blackwood.

Her ex-husband.

He dropped to his knees beside her so hard that the concrete cracked beneath him.

"Eva..."

"No..."

His shaking hands carefully lifted her into his arms as though she were the most precious treasure in the world.

His expensive suit became stained with her blood.

He didn't care.

His icy blue eyes were filled with tears.

Real tears.

"Eva..."

"I found you."

"I'm here."

"You'll be okay."

"You promised me you'd always fight."

Evelyn looked at him.

She had never seen him like this.

Not during their wedding.

Not during their divorce.

Not even when she walked away from him.

She slowly reached up and touched his face.

"...Damien..."

He immediately held her hand against his cheek.

"I'm here, Eva."

"I'm here."

"I'm sorry I was late."

"I should have protected you."

She cried harder.

"No..."

"It wasn't your fault..."

He shook his head.

"It was."

"I knew they were dangerous."

"I should have forced you to stay with me."

"I should have ignored your hatred."

"I should have protected my wife."

Even now...

After the divorce...

He still called her his wife.

Her heart shattered.

"I'm... sorry..."

"I never believed you..."

Damien closed his eyes.

"I never needed your apology."

"I only needed you."

She smiled weakly through her tears.

"...Did..."

"...did you really love me?"

He looked into her fading eyes.

A tear slid down his face.

"I loved you yesterday."

"I love you today."

"I'll love you until my last breath."

"You were always the only woman in my life."

"And you will always be my Eva."

A sob escaped Evelyn's lips.

She wanted to tell him she loved him too.

She wanted another chance.

Another life.

Another beginning.

But...

Her strength disappeared.

Her hand slipped from his face.

"Eva?"

Damien whispered.

His voice trembled.

"Eva..."

"No..."

"No!"

He pulled her lifeless body tightly against his chest.

His broken scream echoed through the warehouse.

"EVA!!"

Outside...

The sky split with thunder.

As darkness swallowed Evelyn's soul, only one wish remained in her heart.

If fate gave her another chance...

She would never leave Damien Blackwood again.