Chapter 8
On Saturday, Evelyn attended the class reunion.
She wanted to see everyone one last time, to bid a final farewell to her youth.
She hadn’t expected Issac to come.
He usually avoided such social gatherings in the past, only she and Sophia could drag him along.
Yet today he not only came but brought Summer.
As drinks flowed and music played, someone suggested party games.
“Let’s play Spin the Dare! Whoever it lands on must complete the truth or dare challenge!”
Issac stepped out for a work call, and though Evelyn was hesitant, others pulled her into the game.
The first spin landed on her.
The dare: kiss the next person who walks through the door for ten minutes.
Evelyn clutched the paper slip in silence.
Summer smirked. “Oh Evelyn, I know you’re too pure for this. If you can’t handle it, just get on your knees and polish my shoes instead. That’ll count.”
Evelyn saw the malice in her smile and tightened her grip on the paper.
What did a kiss matter to someone already dying?
“I’ll take the dare,” she said quietly.
Summer’s smile deepened, a calculating gleam in her eyes.
In the hallway, Issac finished his call and turned to see a disheveled homeless man approaching excitedly
The man was bragging on his phone: “Just got paid to kiss some girl at a party. Easy money!”
As he hung up and reached for the door with a leering grin, Issac grabbed his arm.
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“Excuse me.” Issac’s face was cold as he stepped through first.
The room fell silent at his entrance.
Summer’s face drained of color – this wasn’t the plan!
Evelyn stared at Issac in shock.
Issac acted oblivious. “Why is everyone staring?”
Someone hesitantly explained: “Evelyn got a dare… to kiss whoever came in next… for ten minutes.”
Issac sat down calmly. “Childish.”
“Yes, yes, let’s skip this one!” Summer quickly interjected.
Everyone hurriedly moved on, aware of his engagement.
After the party, Summer confronted the homeless man in private. “Why didn’t you come in faster?”
“Not my fault… that guy deliberately pulled me back. Almost seemed intentional.”
The thought that Issac still protected Evelyn infuriated Summer.
Engaged for two years, yet he never mentioned setting a wedding date.
Seething, she made a phone call after dismissing the man.
The next day, Issac’s parents summoned him home.
“You wanted to see me?”
His mother spoke tersely. “When are you planning to marry Summer? You’ve been engaged forever. The Hayes family wants to set a date.”
Issac’s expression remained neutral. “Work is very demanding right now.”
“Excuses!” she cut in. “Don’t think I don’t know – you won’t marry Summer because you can’t let go of
Evelyn!”
Issac’s tea cup froze halfway to his lips, his expression darkening.
His mother knew she’d hit the mark.
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Chapter 8
Furious, she declared, “You and Evelyn can never be together!”
She dragged him to Sophia’s portrait. “Would you marry the woman responsible for your sister’s death?”
“I know she didn’t kill Sophia directly, but she caused it! Sophia died protecting her. If she hadn’t run, maybe Sophia would have had a chance – even the slimmest chance! We can never accept her in this family not unless I’m dead too!”
–
His mother clutched Sophia’s portrait, sobbing uncontrollably.
Looking at Sophia’s young face in the photo and his weeping mother, Issac felt suffocated by the weight in
his chest.
His voice was hoarse as he stated what he already knew: “I won’t marry Evelyn.”
But his mother pushed further. “Then promise, in front of your sister, that you’ll marry Summer.”
Issac was silent for one second, two seconds, three…
Finally, he spoke slowly: “I will marry Summer.”
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