He Was Reborn To Claim Me But I’m Already Married Chapter 03
After that, I was reborn.
The phantom pain in my chest from my death hadn’t faded. It still came in waves, just as it had in that final moment, threatening to drown me.
I cried until I broke down, and then I was sick for a long time.
During that period, Adrian seemed almost regretful. He sent a steady stream of gifts.
Evelyn surveyed the roomful of peace offerings, then finished reading the apology letter he’d sent and glanced at me uneasily.
Before, I would have softened. I might have even made excuses for him, talked myself into forgiving him.
But now, I just felt hollow. Not a single ripple stirred inside me.
“Evelyn, send it all back,” I said. “I don’t like him anymore.”
As it happened, my grandmother wrote from Newport, telling me she’d been asked to make an introduction. She had thoroughly vetted the man—his photograph, character, and family background were all enclosed—and asked if I’d be willing to meet Daniel Carter. If not, I could simply refuse.
I thought about it carefully, then agreed.
After that, I went to my grandmother’s house in Newport and quietly prepared for my wedding.
During that time, Evelyn wrote to tell me that Adrian had left Boston the day I returned his gifts. She’d heard through the grapevine that he’d gone to the frozen wilds of Alaska in search of a rare plant called the everlasting flower.
I had no interest in knowing more and never replied.
Daniel and I lived in Newport for the next year.
If he hadn’t been transferred to serve as an assistant district attorney in Suffolk County, I never would have chosen to come back to Boston.
“He treats me very well. I like him a lot.” I came back to the present and smiled.
Only when Evelyn saw my expression was genuine did she finally relax.
Then her face fell, a shadow of loneliness in her eyes. She murmured softly, “As long as you can be with the one you love…”
I squeezed her hand.
“Evelyn, if you trust me, then when the painting starts later, whatever you do, don’t stand out.”
When she looked at me in confusion, I spelled it out for her.
“Margaret arranged this reception for Adrian. The entire point is to choose his future wife.”
“Mother never told me…” Startled, Evelyn suddenly understood, a bitter smile touching her lips. “No wonder she just told me to paint my best—and to be sure to paint Margaret’s favorite, the flowering crabapple.”
In my previous life, I’d heard about the selection, too. Evelyn, understanding what I wanted, had deliberately switched our paintings.
Looking at the worry creasing her brow, I couldn’t help but think of the fire that came later.
Mother had always doted on Evelyn, but for some reason, they’d had a terrible fight that day.
The next night, the house where Evelyn was staying caught fire.
The flames were fast and fierce; there was something strange about them.
By the time the firefighters put out the blaze, only one charred female body remained.
Mother was nearly mad with grief, completely unable to handle the aftermath.
In the end, I arranged the funeral myself.
It was while confirming the identity with the coroner and handling the death certificate that I realized something was wrong.
The body wasn’t Evelyn.
But I didn’t say a word.
I hired a private investigator to search for her in secret.
There was never any news.
Not until a year after I married Adrian did I receive an anonymous letter.
The handwriting was unmistakably Evelyn’s.
In the letter, she explained what had happened.
It turned out, Evelyn had always been in love with someone else. When Mother saw that I had married Adrian, the match she’d intended for Evelyn had fallen through. Ignoring her daughter’s wishes, she’d arranged another alliance.
Evelyn had obeyed Mother her entire life, but she refused to yield when it came to her own marriage.
She had cried and begged. She had even knelt.
But when she saw the engagement was about to be announced in the papers, she had no choice but to fake her own death and run away.
It was the first time I had ever seen that side of Evelyn—so brave, so bold, even rebellious.
For all my worry, I had finally been able to breathe again.
From then on, we stayed in touch.
I knew she had settled in a waterfront town near Savannah, Georgia, with a man who adored her and two wonderful children.
Judging by the timeline, she had probably already met him by now.
After hearing me out, Evelyn nodded, her eyes full of gratitude.
“Claire, thank you.”