On the day my fiance called off our wedding. I accepted a transfer order from Aegis Technology Research Institute and left New York without telling anyone. “Chloe is in very poor health.She needs my last name and that top-tier medical insurance more than you do.” “Evelyn,you’ve always been the most rational.This is just a temporary measure.Once she’s stable,everything will go back to the way it was.” In New York’s social circle,everyone thought I—who had given up a full scholarship to MIT to follow my boyfriend,Karen Thorne,a superstar in the North American Hockey League,to New York—would cry,throw a fit,and beg him not to leave me. After all,in their eyes,without Karen,I was just a useless unemployed girlfriend,a pretty ornament under his halo. But I just nodded calmly. Then I got into a black Cadillac One personally sent by the founder of Aegis Institute. Three years later,as the chief designer of Hermes,a revolutionary sports prosthesis,I attended its launch at the World Sports Technology Conference. Karen,as the league’s ambassador,saw me among the well-dressed crowd. But there was no longer any sign of him in my eyes. …… Three years ago,at the MVP celebration party held by Karen’s team for him. In front of all the media and teammates,he unilaterally announced the end of our engagement and introduced Chloe,the younger sister of his late best friend,as his fiancée. He didn’t even glance at me.He spoke directly to the reporters surrounding him:“Due to special circumstances,Chloe and I will hold our engagement ceremony as soon as possible.” The team manager looked at me,then at Karen,his face full of embarrassment. “Karen,you and Evelyn’s wedding news has already been released.The cover of next month’s Sports Illustrated is already shot.” “This is so unfair to Evelyn.” Chloe,standing behind Karen,coughed twice at the right moment,her face as pale as paper. She whispered,“Brother Karen,let’s just forget it…Don’t embarrass the manager,and don’t put Sister Evelyn in an awkward position.” “I…I can go back to my hometown to recover too.” As soon as she finished speaking,she broke into a violent cough,her body swaying unsteadily.
Karen immediately held her up,his brows furrowed tightly. “Nonsense!Your heart can’t stand the climate there at all.Have you forgotten what the doctor said?” He turned to the team manager,his voice turning cold:“Manager,Chloe is the only family member of my best brother.He ruined his career protecting me on the ice and died of depression.Now Chloe is all alone and seriously ill.If I don’t take care of her,who will?” “I’ll take this responsibility.If the board has any issues,tell them to come to me directly!” With the labels of“morality”and“responsibility”pressed on him,no one at the party dared to say another word. The manager sighed and signaled the PR team to prepare a new press release. My gaze shifted from the flashing camera lights to Karen’s face. He never looked at me. “Karen,”I said calmly. He finally spared me a glance,obvious impatience in his eyes. “What now?Evelyn,I thought you were the most sensible.” “Sensible?”I repeated the word. For three years,I had given up my major and my bright academic future just for these two words. I had gone from a promising biomechanical genius to the“sensible”woman he spoke of,one who could be sacrificed at any moment. “You’re with me so I can focus on my games.Chloe needs me to survive.” He looked at me,saying word by word: “Can’t you tell which is more important?”
I stared at the man I had loved for three years and followed for more than 5,000 kilometers. I asked him:“If it were me dying today,would you give up Chloe’s future for me?” He froze. Chloe beside him reddened her eyes and tears fell. “Sister Evelyn,how could you say that…My brother died for Brother Karen…How could you curse me like this…” Karen snapped back to his senses,his irritation turning to faint anger. “Evelyn,apologize!” I didn’t move. “I told you to apologize to Chloe!”he raised his voice eight degrees. Everyone at the party stared at me,their eyes full of blame and confusion. As if I were some vicious woman. I laughed. “Fine,I’ll apologize.” I walked up to Chloe. “I’m sorry.” “I shouldn’t have compared a healthy person to the sister of a hero.” “After all,healthy people are meant to make way for the sick.” Chloe’s face turned pale instantly. Karen’s face turned livid.He grabbed my wrist tightly:“Evelyn,have you had enough?” “No,”I shook off his hand.“Karen Thorne,you don’t have to worry about the engagement.I’ll handle it myself.” I took out my phone from my purse and,in front of everyone,deleted all photos and announcements related to him on my social media. “From today on,Evelyn Reed and Karen Thorne have nothing to do with each other.” I turned and left. He didn’t chase after me. Behind me came Chloe’s tearful voice:“Brother Karen,it’s all my fault.Go explain to Sister Evelyn…She must have misunderstood…” Then came Karen’s voice,still gentle despite his suppressed anger. “Ignore her.She’ll calm down in a few days.I’ll take you home to rest first.” My heart turned completely cold at that moment.
I went back to the penthouse apartment Karen and I shared. The artwork we picked out together still hung on the walls. Everything felt like yesterday. I started packing my things. I had very few belongings—they fit into a small suitcase. Most were professional books. Karen had never liked me reading them. He said that as the girlfriend of a hockey star,I should just learn art,fashion,and socializing.Why read such“boring”stuff? I pulled the suitcase and prepared to leave. Just then,the door opened. Karen came back,followed by Susan,the team’s PR director. Susan was a decisive woman who had always been kind to me. “Evelyn,honey,what are you doing?” Susan saw my suitcase and hurriedly persuaded me:“Don’t run away from home just because you’re angry.Karen is an idiot,but he cares about you.Calm down.” I ignored her and pulled the suitcase toward the door. Karen stood in my way,frowning:“Where are you going?” “Home.” “Isn’t this your home?” “This is your home,not mine,”I said calmly.
He suddenly scoffed:“Not here?Then where?Your ordinary family in that small Midwest town?Did your parents send you to the East Coast just to cause me trouble?” The most hurtful words always come from the people you love the most. Susan quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “Come on,Karen,watch your mouth.Evelyn,Karen is doing this out of responsibility.Chloe’s situation is really special.Those of us by his side need to be more understanding.” She said to me:“Look at you,you’re so well-educated.Why can’t you understand this?Just do a good deed and give up this title.Karen will definitely compensate you later.” Compensate?With what? With the identity of an ex-girlfriend mocked across the country,or the rest of my life he charity-gives me? “Susan,this is my business.It has nothing to do with you.”I walked around her. Karen grabbed my arm again. “Did I say you could leave?” He pushed me hard into the room.I hit the wall,my back aching. “Evelyn,I gave you time to calm down,not to go crazy!” “Go back to your room and reflect on whether what you said at the party was appropriate for a well-bred woman!” “Come out only when you’ve come to your senses.” He kicked my suitcase aside and turned to lock the bedroom door. Just then,my phone rang. It was an encrypted number. I answered and said nothing. A calm male voice came from the other end:“Hermes,this is Arthur Zhou,founder of Aegis.” My pupils shrank sharply. “Headquarters order:Project Prometheus is activated early.You must report back within six hours.The special car is already downstairs.” I glanced at Karen subconsciously. He was staring at me impatiently,thinking it was just a friend calling. “Are you done?Hang up and get inside!” I clenched my phone and whispered to the caller:“Received.” After hanging up,I looked up at Karen. It was the last time I looked at him with the eyes of a lover:“Karen,are you sure you want to do this?” “I won’t say it again.”He had run out of patience. “Fine.” I nodded,never looking at him again,and turned into the small guest bedroom with only a single bed. The door clicked shut behind me,locked from the outside.
The guest bedroom balcony faced the apartment’s back garden,a private wooded area. I opened the floor-to-ceiling window,and cold wind rushed in. The third floor wasn’t high.I tore the expensive Egyptian cotton bed sheets into strips,twisted them into a rope,tied one end to the balcony railing,and threw the other end down. I grabbed the rope and climbed over the balcony. The moment my feet touched the ground,I didn’t even look back at the place I had lived for three years. In the snow,I walked step by step toward the apartment gate. My phone vibrated again.A text message arrived: “Car at the gate.License plate:AEGIS-01.” I quickened my pace. At the apartment gate,the security guard stopped me. “Ma’am,where are you going so late?” I had been locked up by Karen and had nothing with me except my phone. Just as I didn’t know how to explain,a middle-aged man in a high-end tailored suit stepped out of the black Cadillac. He walked straight to the security guard and showed an electronic ID on his phone. The security guard’s face changed drastically.He immediately stood straight and bowed respectfully. “Good evening,sir!” The middle-aged man nodded,walked to me,and opened the car door. “Dr.Reed,please get in.” I got in,and warm air surrounded me. The car slowly started.I watched the luxurious apartment building fade away in the snow through the rearview mirror. My phone rang.It was Karen. I hung up. He called again.I hung up again. The third time,he sent a text: “Evelyn,my patience is limited.Don’t force me to bring you back by force!Apologize to Chloe on your own within a day,and this will be over.”
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