Chapter 14: Proof and Poison

Evelyn Hart

Easton Hill Estate | Day Three

There was something strange in the way Zyden looked at me now.

Detached. Almost suspicious.

I'd felt it first during breakfast — the way his eyes hovered just long enough to study me, but not enough to hold my gaze. The flicker of pause when I poured his coffee. The delay before responding when I asked him if he'd seen the rain outside.

Small things.

But I'd learned long ago that the smallest shifts were the loudest warnings.

And something had shifted.

---

Selena was cheerful as ever that morning.

She wore soft pink and laughed louder than usual. Her hand brushed Zyden's shoulder too comfortably, her compliments sweet enough to rot. No one called her out — of course not — she had perfected the art of the harmless girl.

But I saw her watching me.

Not watching like a sister.

Watching like a cat circling a bird with clipped wings.

---

After breakfast, she insisted we all walk the gardens together. She led the group playfully, tossing crumbs to the ducks near the pond, talking about "memories and healing and how this place could be good for us."

Zyden walked slightly behind her, hands in his pockets, nodding where required.

Caelan followed in silence.

I trailed behind.

Out of place. Again.

---

Selena had orchestrated the group perfectly.

And she made sure I felt it.

---

Later | The First Trap

I returned to the library around noon to pick up a book I had left.

Zyden was already inside.

He didn't see me come in — his back was turned, eyes focused on something on the center table.

A photograph.

One I didn't remember.

I stepped closer, heart slowing as I realized what it was.

It was… me.

Me and Caelan.

Back in university. At a gathering, a bonfire, laughing, his arm loosely around my shoulders. My head tilted toward him like I was leaning in.

Out of context… it looked intimate.

But it wasn't.

It had been taken the day we'd pulled an all-nighter with friends. I hadn't even known someone had taken a photo.

But someone had printed it.

And placed it here.

In the middle of the library. For Zyden to find.

---

He looked up when I approached, his face unreadable.

"Did you come here for more books?" he asked evenly.

I nodded, trying not to glance at the photo again. "Yes."

He didn't move. "Interesting choice of bookmark."

There was no mistaking the coldness now.

The implication.

"I didn't—" I started, but stopped.

He wasn't asking for explanation.

He'd already drawn a conclusion.

Or been handed one.

---

Selena's voice carried in from the hallway. "Oh, did someone find my old scrapbook photo? I must've dropped it. So sorry, Eve — I brought it down while sorting through things!"

Sweet. Harmless.

Planned.

Zyden didn't say anything more.

He left the photo on the table and walked past me.

Without looking back.

---

Evelyn's Room | That Evening

I sat on the edge of the bed, clutching my journal in my lap, my fingers trembling.

Everything was falling apart.

Again.

And I didn't know why.

I hadn't done anything wrong.

But Selena didn't need me to.

She didn't accuse. She didn't point fingers.

She just… planted enough poison for others to drink.

And they were drinking it.

One by one.

---

Zyden Cross

His Study | Night

He stared at the fire too long.

The photo sat in his drawer now, hidden but not forgotten.

He told himself it didn't matter.

That it had nothing to do with the present.

But he remembered how quiet Evelyn had been the morning of the wedding.

How she didn't protest.

How she didn't fight it.

Just walked down the aisle and accepted it.

Like it was always meant for her.

Like it had never belonged to anyone else.

Like she knew what she was doing.

---

He didn't know if he hated her.

But he couldn't trust her.

And that — that was worse.

---

Selena Hart

Balcony | Midnight

She smiled to herself, sipping tea she didn't like.

The first string had been pulled.

Zyden looked at Evelyn differently now.

He wouldn't confront her. He wasn't the type.

He'd just pull back slowly.

And by the time Evelyn realized it…

He'd be long gone from her side.

Just like Caelan was from hers.

---

Because some girls wore crowns.

And some girls wore chains.

Selena had worn both.

And she would never be the one left behind again.

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