But we both know the psychological evidence—the violation, the stolen privacy, the years of surveillance—that will take longer to heal.
If it ever does.
Chapter 29 - Eve
The loft is empty now. All my furniture is gone, my clothes, my books. Just bare walls and dusty floors and the ghost of the woman I used to be.
I stand in the center of the living room, where I used to curl up with design sketches and dreams of building my empire. That woman feels like a stranger now.
My chest tightens with emotion as I look around. She was so careful, so controlled. She built walls around her heart and called it strength. She thought power meant standing alone.
She was wrong.
I touch the wall where Alex's photo used to hang, tears pricking my eyes, and I smile through them. Real power, I've learned, is having the courage to choose something terrifying and dark and complicated, and not apologizing for it.
I'm not that careful, controlled woman anymore. I'm Nathan Hale's queen. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
I take one last look around, my hand pressed to my heart, then close the door behind me for the final time.
Goodbye, old Eve. Thank you for getting me here.
***
"Thank you for meeting me," I say as I slide into the booth across from Lucy, my voice trembling slightly.
The cafe is quiet, tucked away in a corner of the city where no one knows us. Lucy looks tired, dark circles under her eyes, her coffee untouched in front of her.
"I wasn't sure you'd come," I admit, my heart pounding.
"I almost didn't." She finally meets my eyes, and I see the pain there. "Eve, I don't understand. Help me understand why you're doing this."
I take a sip of my own coffee, my hands shaking, gathering my thoughts. This conversation is important. Not because I need her approval—I don't. But because she's been my friend for years, I owe her honesty.
"You know about Alex," I say quietly, my voice thick with emotion. "About the accident. About Nathan's guilt."
She nods, her eyes already glistening.
"For sixteen years, I've been running. From grief, from pain, from anything that might hurt me again." My voice cracks. "I built this perfect life, this perfect business, and I told myself I was strong. But I was just scared, Lucy. Terrified of letting anyone close enough to hurt me again."
"And Nathan doesn't scare you?"
"He terrifies me," I say honestly, tears threatening to spill. "But not in the way you think. He scares me because he sees through all my walls. He knows the parts of me I hide from everyone else. And he loves me anyway. He loves me because of those parts, not despite them."
Lucy shakes her head, her own tears falling now. "But the stalking, Eve. The manipulation. How can you just accept that?"
"I'm not saying it's right," I say carefully, reaching for her hand, my voice breaking. "But I understand it. His obsession came from guilt, from a desperate need to protect me. Was it twisted? Yes. Was it wrong? Absolutely. But it was also... love. In his own damaged way, he loved me when I didn't even know I needed it."
"That's not love," Lucy says, her voice breaking. "That's possession."
"Maybe it started that way." I squeeze her hand, tears streaming down both our faces now. "But it's not anymore. We're partners now. Equals. He doesn't control me, Lucy. I chose this. Willingly. Completely. And I've never felt more free in my life."
She's crying openly now. "I just don't want to lose you. You're my best friend, Eve. My sister."
"You haven't lost me," I say gently, my own voice thick with tears. "I've just changed. But I'm still here. Still your friend. If you can accept that this is who I am now."
She looks at me for a long moment, studying my face, searching for something. Then she squeezes my hand back, and I see the moment she makes her decision. The moment she chooses our friendship over her fear.
"Okay," she whispers, her voice shaking. "Okay. I don't understand it. I might never understand it. But I see that you're happy. And that has to be enough."
