The mansion felt different the moment Evelyn stepped out of it. The air in the vast halls was thick with tension, the usual silence now a heavy presence in the rooms she once wandered through. Augustus stood frozen in the living room, his glass of whiskey still held tightly in his hand, his eyes following Evelyn as she walked out of his life, or so he thought.

Katherine, who had been the source of all his distraction that evening, was now looking at him with confusion. The easy chemistry between them had turned awkward. Augustus hadn’t even responded to Katherine’s questioning glance as Evelyn disappeared from view.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Augustus found himself immobilized, not by a business deal or the pressure of his family’s expectations, but by a woman.

Katherine, sensing the sudden shift in the atmosphere, placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Augustus, what's wrong?" Her voice was soft, but it carried the unmistakable sting of being ignored. She was used to being the center of his attention, but tonight, Evelyn had taken that spot.

Augustus, still staring at the door, shook his head, a short, impatient sigh leaving his lips.

“She left,” he muttered.

“What?” Katherine blinked in surprise, stepping closer to him. “Left? Where?”

“Out. Left the house.” Augustus's voice was quiet, but the weight behind it was palpable. “She just… left me.”

Katherine blinked, trying to grasp what was happening. She couldn’t have imagined things were this bad between Augustus and Evelyn. “But why? You two are married, Augustus. What do you mean she left?”

He turned to her, his eyes clouded with frustration and confusion. “She caught us. Me and you.” His voice was low, raw, and there was something in the way he said it that made Katherine hesitate.

A silence settled between them. Augustus swallowed the knot in his throat before looking at Katherine again. “It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done.”

---

The next morning, Evelyn sat in the small, cold apartment she had fled to. She hadn’t been able to sleep the entire night, her mind racing with thoughts of everything that had happened. The sight of Augustus with Katherine, the sting of her own heartbreak, and the overwhelming realization that her marriage was a lie—an illusion she had been living in for so long.

She hadn’t called anyone, not even Hazel, after their initial conversation. She needed space. She needed time to process. But most of all, she needed to stop feeling so damn helpless.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Evelyn took a breath and felt the tight grip of her emotions loosen, just a little. She sat on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest, feeling the empty space of the apartment embrace her.

But that feeling of peace didn’t last long. The shrill sound of her phone ringing shattered the quiet.

Her stomach churned as she saw the caller ID. It was Augustus.

For a moment, she debated ignoring the call. He hadn’t cared about her when it mattered, when she was there, giving everything for a relationship that was never hers to claim. Why should she pick up now?

Her finger hovered over the screen. She had half a mind to turn off the phone and block his number. She didn’t owe him anything. But as she looked at the name flashing on her screen, something inside her made her answer. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was the tiny hope, deep inside, that he would finally realize what he had done.

She pressed the phone to her ear, her voice low and guarded.

“What do you want, Augustus?”

On the other end, Augustus was silent for a moment. His voice, when it finally came through, was distant, but there was something else, something she hadn’t expected to hear.

“I need to talk to you,” he said, his voice rough around the edges. “Please, Evelyn.”

Evelyn closed her eyes, frustration rising in her chest. “Talk to me? After everything that happened? After you—you left me to deal with all of this on my own, with no explanation? You don’t get to come to me now and act like nothing happened.”

“I… I’m not asking for forgiveness,” Augustus said quickly. “I just need to explain. Please, let me talk.”

Evelyn gritted her teeth. She didn’t want to hear his voice anymore, didn’t want to hear his excuses. But there was something in his tone—a crack, a sign of desperation—that made her pause.

“Explain? How could you possibly explain *this*?” she shot back. “You paraded your mistress in front of me like I didn’t exist. And now, you want to talk? After all that?”

“I—” Augustus began, but his voice faltered.

Evelyn’s heart was racing now, but it wasn’t with anger—it was with disappointment. She could almost hear him waging an internal battle, trying to figure out how to say the right words, the words that would somehow make everything better.

But she knew they couldn’t. There was nothing he could say now that would undo the damage, nothing that would make her forget the image of him in Katherine’s arms.

“I don’t want to talk to you, Augustus. I’m done. Just leave me alone.”

She hung up the phone before he could respond, not caring about the consequences. The brief moment of hesitation was gone, and she felt her walls go back up, stronger than ever. She was done.

---

Back at the mansion, Augustus stood motionless, staring at the empty screen of his phone. He hadn’t expected her to answer. But he had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that there might be a way to fix this.

His mind raced with thoughts of the past few days—how everything had spiraled out of control. He had never anticipated that one moment of weakness, one slip-up with Katherine, would lead to this. He had never thought that Evelyn, who had always been strong, would walk away so easily.

But that was the thing about emotions—they didn’t make sense. They didn’t follow logic. And right now, he was drowning in his own mess.

Augustus paced around the living room, his hand running through his hair in frustration. Katherine was still sitting on the couch, watching him quietly. She knew Augustus well enough to recognize that something was off.

“Augustus,” she said quietly, her voice tinged with concern, “What’s going on?”

Augustus didn’t look at her. “It’s over. She’s gone.”

Katherine frowned, crossing her arms. “Gone where? You mean she left the mansion? Augustus, you need to talk to her. If you don’t, you’ll lose her for good.”

Augustus clenched his fists, fighting the urge to scream. “I know that, Katherine. But it’s not that simple.”

Katherine sighed. “You can’t just let her go, Augustus. She’s your wife. You—”

“I know what she is,” he snapped. “I know what she means to me. But she’s done. She doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore.”

Katherine’s expression softened, but she didn’t say anything else. She knew better than to push him further.

The hours dragged on, and Augustus tried calling Evelyn again. And again. And again. But each time, she ignored his calls. Each time, he was met with nothing but the deafening silence of his mistakes.

---

Evelyn, on the other hand, felt her heart slowly harden with every unanswered call, every message he sent. She had made her decision. She was not going back to that life.

Her apartment felt small and comforting now, the walls a barrier between herself and the past. But there was a tiny, bitter part of her that felt a sliver of hope when she thought of the future. No more lies. No more heartbreak. No more wondering what was real.

She had taken control of her life. It was time to move on.

And so, as Augustus sat in his mansion, lost in the hollow silence of his own regret, Evelyn finally made peace with the fact that sometimes, walking away was the only way to find herself again.