"Why did you give Seraphina more than you ever gave Evelyn?" Dominic looked back and forth between Julian and Seraphina, his gaze heavy with a growing, gnawing suspicion.

Seraphina’s eyes brimmed with tears that threatened to spill at any second. "Because Evelyn was always working overtime," she whimpered. "Julian had already bought the tickets. If I hadn't gone with him, they would have been wasted. Besides, we never kept it a secret—it was Evelyn who suggested I go with him in her place!"

Dominic shook his head slowly. "She told you to accompany him? Why on earth would she do that?"

Julian, his patience fraying, snapped back, "What, do you not believe us now?"

"Why was she working so much? Why were you at the cinema?" Dominic pressed. "Once or twice is a coincidence, Julian, but every single time? Did neither of you stop to think how it looked? A man and a woman, alone in the dark—people talk."

Julian’s chest tightened with indignation, but he forced himself to explain. "Evelyn was obsessed with getting that ‘Model Worker’ title. She was in the factory day and night. Every time I went to see her, she sent me away. I assumed she felt guilty for neglecting me, which is why she suggested Seraphina go. And as for the gifts... Seraphina gave up her free time to keep me company. As a friend, I felt it was only right to compensate her. It was a gesture of gratitude."

"Evelyn never doubted us," Seraphina added, her voice a fragile reed. "Not once."

Dominic looked at them—his best friend and the woman he had long admired—and felt a wave of cold disappointment. "If she never doubted you, then why did she call off the wedding? Why was she so resolute in severing every tie with you?"

Julian’s face darkened. "What happened at the wedding was a mistake on my part, but was Evelyn entirely blameless? I never said I wanted to cancel the marriage! She’s the one who refused to listen to reason. She’s the one who blew everything out of proportion until it spiraled into this!"

His hand swept across the room, indicating their current state—huddled in the countryside like refugees.

"You didn't even show up to your own wedding," Dominic remarked, his voice dripping with irony. "And yet you claim she’s the one who made a mistake by ending it?"

Julian stared at him in disbelief. This wasn't the Dominic he knew. Usually, Dominic agreed that Evelyn was being temperamental and dramatic.

"A three-foot layer of ice doesn't form in a single day," Dominic said quietly. "I’m beginning to think her decision wasn't an impulse after all."

"Dominic!" Julian’s chest heaved. "You’re actually choosing not to believe me? Or Seraphina?"

He knew Dominic’s heart; he knew his friend’s quiet pining for Seraphina. He couldn't fathom how Dominic could doubt the very woman he loved. But Dominic was done. The lack of boundaries, the sheer carelessness of their "friendship"—it was all beginning to turn his stomach.

Without another word, Dominic turned and walked out.

"Brother!" Caleb called out, but Dominic didn't slow down. Julian slammed his fist onto the table in a fit of impotent rage.

Seraphina watched him go, her mind racing with a different kind of panic. "Julian... is there really no other way? You know my health... if I have to stay here and work the fields..."

"The news of the scandal has spread through the factory like wildfire," Julian said, his voice flat and weary. "The union has already suspended your employment."

The color drained from Seraphina's face as she collapsed into a chair.

"Don't worry," Julian said, trying to find a note of comfort. "In a year or two, once you go back, we’ll find you another position."

Seraphina bit her lip, her tears finally falling. She had spent years carefully cultivating her reputation as the sweet, fragile innocent. Now, it was ashes.

"Is there truly no other way?" she sobbed. "The labor here... it will kill me."

Julian remained silent. The decision had been made by his father and sanctioned by Seraphina’s own mother. There was no appeal.

While Caleb felt a twinge of pity for her, a darker part of him was relieved. If he was stuck in this hellhole, at least he would get to see Seraphina every day.

Dominic wandered aimlessly through the village until, almost subconsciously, he found himself outside Evelyn’s door.

"Evelyn!"

Evelyn stepped out, her expression tightening into a mask of annoyance when she saw him. "What do you want now?"

Dominic glanced at Tess, who had followed Evelyn out. "Can we speak in private?"

Tess started to turn away, but Evelyn caught her arm. "No. Tess is my best friend. She knows everything. I have no secrets from her, especially none involving you."

Tess’s eyes lit up with a fierce, loyal pride. Her parents always warned her that city folk were slippery and untrustworthy, but Evelyn was different. She had called her "best friend" more than once, and Tess had vowed then and there that Evelyn was the sister of her heart.

Dominic sighed, realizing he wouldn't win this. "Fine. The scandal in the city has caught up with Seraphina. Someone reported her and Julian to the Committee. She’s been barred from returning to Jiang City. She’s been assigned to the labor corps here."

Evelyn’s lip curled into a smirk of pure, sharp derision. "Caught up with her? She was in the middle of it from the very start."

"I didn't come to argue," Dominic said, sounding exhausted. "I just... Julian said that every time he tried to take you to the movies, you were working. He said you were the one who pushed Seraphina to go with him."

Evelyn looked at him with a chilling calmness. "Do you know why I worked every single day?"

Dominic nodded. "Julian said it was for the ‘Model Worker’ award."

"The reward for that title was a bicycle," Evelyn said, her voice like ice. "Caleb told me he wanted one for his birthday. I worked those hours because our mother took my entire base salary. If I didn't pull overtime, I wouldn't have had a cent to send to you in the countryside."

Dominic felt a sudden, bitter taste in his mouth. "I... I didn't know Mother took your pay. You didn't have to..."

"I was a fool then," Evelyn interrupted. "I’m not a fool anymore."

Dominic’s fingers curled into his palms, a wave of regret washing over him. "Julian still cares for you," he blurted out. "I can help you two find your way back to each other."

Evelyn frowned, her expression one of genuine revulsion. "I fought like hell to get out of that engagement. Why would I ever choose to go back?"

Dominic’s eyes widened. "But... you’ve loved him since you were a child. How can you just throw away years of feeling like that?"

It wasn't just him; the entire Ward family, and Julian himself, believed the same thing. They believed her love was a permanent fixture, something that could be bruised but never broken.

Evelyn simply stared at him, the silence saying more than words ever could.

E