After returning from the banquet, Evelyn stood in the luxurious bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror.
Her makeup was flawless. Her dress elegant.
But her heart was in ruins.
Tonight's battle was a quiet one, but it had left her exhausted.
Every smile she wore was like armor.
Every word she spoke was a weapon.
She closed her eyes and recalled Noah's face when he saw her arriving with Adrian.
Jealousy.
Regret.
And a trace of panic.
It was exactly what she wanted him to feel.
Yet strangely, her heart wasn't satisfied.
She suddenly remembered what Adrian whispered to her in the car.
"If pretending with me makes him suffer, I'll play this role to perfection."
He had smiled casually, like it was just another game.
But Evelyn knew—Adrian was no longer pretending.
⸻
Noah sat in his office late at night, his phone screen still on the photo of Evelyn at the banquet.
She had changed.
She no longer chased after him.
No longer looked at him with love-struck eyes.
Now, she walked beside another man, calm and untouchable.
He clenched his fists.
"I let her go… and someone else picked her up."
Suddenly, the office door opened. Sophia walked in, heels clicking.
"Noah," she said sweetly, "you didn't answer my messages."
He looked up coldly. "Do I need to?"
Sophia's smile froze.
"I'm the one standing by your side now," she reminded him. "You can't keep thinking about your ex-wife forever."
Noah's voice was sharp. "Then maybe you shouldn't try to replace her."
Sophia turned pale.
The silent war between them had just begun.