Chapter 38

Evelyn's breath caught when she spotted the half-finished embroidery still lying on her worktable.

The intricate needlework was breathtaking - a perfect replica of Van Gogh's Starry Night recreated with silk threads. Every brushstroke had been painstakingly reproduced with such precision that it could fool museum curators.

"You did this yourself?" Victoria's voice dripped with barely concealed envy as she pointed at the masterpiece.

The question snapped Evelyn from her reverie. She moved to gather the embroidery, hands trembling with urgency.

But Victoria was faster. With a cruel smile, she produced a vial of crimson ink from her designer purse and poured it over the delicate fabric.

The liquid spread like blood across the canvas, obliterating months of work in seconds.

"Have you gone completely mad?" Evelyn's voice shook with barely contained fury.

Victoria merely smirked, then deliberately tipped the remaining ink onto Evelyn's new evening gown.

Evelyn stood frozen, her vision blurring with unshed tears.

Her fingers clenched around the ruined embroidery until her knuckles turned white. The sight of Margaret's birthday gift - the dress Liam had specially commissioned - now stained beyond repair shattered something inside her.

In that moment, Evelyn understood what murderous rage truly felt like.

Victoria carelessly tossed the empty vial onto the bed, then used the cleanest corner of the ruined dress to wipe her hands. The deliberate humiliation made Evelyn's blood boil.

"Remember your place," Victoria said airily. "Someone with your... background would only embarrass the Blackwoods at Margaret's gala. Besides-"

The sharp crack of Evelyn's palm meeting Victoria's cheek silenced the room.

Victoria staggered back, clutching her face in shock. "You dare strike me?"

Evelyn refused to let her tears fall. She wouldn't give Victoria the satisfaction of seeing her break.

Instead, she grabbed the ruined dress and shoved it over Victoria's perfectly styled hair, grinding the stained fabric into the golden locks with all her strength.

"You destroy my work? My gifts? Then you'll wear the consequences!"

Victoria shrieked as Evelyn yanked her toward the door by her hair. With one final shove, Evelyn ejected the screaming woman into the hallway and slammed the door.

The torrent of obscenities that followed would make a sailor blush, utterly destroying Victoria's carefully cultivated innocent image.

Evelyn turned away from the door, her gaze falling on the devastation in her room.

Should she really stay away from Margaret's celebration? Was her presence truly such a disgrace to the Blackwood name?

Even if she wasn't worthy of being Liam's wife, why did Victoria have to destroy what little happiness she'd found?

Two silent tears traced paths down Evelyn's cheeks before she could stop them.

She tilted her head back, pressing her palms against her closed eyes until she saw stars. Her slender frame trembled with the effort of containing her sobs.

The pain in her chest was so acute she feared it might stop her heart.