Chapter 13 - BLAKE WAS ALREADY THEREEvelyn asked Blake to meet her at a small café in Alexandria.
Neutral ground.
No Harrison.
No Sloane.
Blake arrived early.
When Evelyn entered, he stood automatically.
For one painful second, he looked like himself again.
“Mom.”
She sat.
His eyes immediately went to her cheek.
The redness was gone.
“Are you okay?”
It was the first time he had asked.
“Physically.”
He looked down.
“I’m sorry.”
Evelyn waited.
“For what?”
Blake’s jaw tightened.
“Everything.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Mom.”
“What exactly are you sorry for?”
He looked around the café.
“For losing my temper.”
“And?”
“For grabbing you.”
“And?”
His discomfort deepened.
“For pushing you.”
“And Sloane?”
He went silent.
Evelyn nodded slowly.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“You can apologize for your hand. You can’t admit what you allowed.”
“I didn’t allow anything.”
“You knew she was going to confront me.”
Blake froze.
Evelyn saw the answer before he spoke.
“Who told you?”
“Does it matter?”
“How do you know?”
“The cameras.”
His face changed.
Again, fear before shame.
Evelyn noticed.
“We saw you talking to her before she stopped me.”
Blake rubbed his jaw.
“She said she wanted you out of the reception for a while.”
“And you said?”
“I told her not to make a scene.”
“You didn’t tell her not to throw your mother out?”
“She was upset.”
“So you left.”
“I had guests.”
“You had a mother.”
“Mom.”
Evelyn’s voice remained quiet.
“That’s the part I can’t understand.”
Blake looked down.
“She’d been angry all day.”
“About my dress?”
He sighed.
“Not really.”
Evelyn waited.
Blake realized he had said too much.
“Then what?”
“Nothing.”
“What was she angry about?”
“Forget it.”
“No.”
Blake looked at his mother.
Something old passed between them.
The instinct to tell her the truth.
He fought it.
Then lost.
“She thought you were going to talk to Dad.”
“About the shares.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn’s stomach tightened.
“So this was about keeping me away from Harrison.”
“No.”
“You just said—”
“She thought you were going to interfere.”
“Which means yes.”
Blake rubbed his forehead.
“I told her you weren’t.”
“Because you had asked me not to.”
“Yes.”
“And she didn’t believe you.”
“No.”
Evelyn stared at him.
Blake looked miserable.
“She thought if Dad saw you upset before he signed anything, he might delay.”
Evelyn felt cold.
“Did you?”
“What?”
“Did you think that too?”
Blake didn’t answer quickly enough.
She stood.
“Mom.”
“You wanted me gone.”
“No.”
“You were willing to let her remove me.”
“I thought you’d take a walk. Calm down. Come back later.”
Evelyn laughed softly.
“I needed to calm down?”
“That isn’t what I meant.”
She picked up her handbag.
“Mom, please.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“My entire life, I believed your worst flaw was impatience.”
Blake’s eyes reddened.
“I was wrong.”
She walked away.
Blake did not follow.
For the first time, he understood that his mother was not leaving to make a point.
May you like
She was leaving because being near him hurt.
And there was no punishment his father could design that felt worse than that.
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