The Day Our Promise Breaks
Chapter 28

Evelyn's scream of despair echoed through the room, fueled by Charles' provocation.

For the sake of Charlie, her daughter, she had thrown caution to the wind and fought with everything she had. Yet he, Charlie's father, had prioritized paving the way for his beloved girlfriend to marry into the Jenkins family over their own child. With a single, careless sentence, he had shattered her hopes. If Charlie couldn't find peace in the afterlife because of this...

"Evelyn!" Charles' face was as hard as iron, his voice thundering in anger. "You would say anything to marry me, wouldn't you? Charlie is your daughter, but you curse her time and again. Do you even deserve to be a mother?"

"I don't deserve to be a mother? Charles, it's you who doesn't deserve to be a father! Charlie is dead! My Charlie... she's really gone!" Evelyn's cry of agony broke out. Tears streamed down her face, large and unending. Even after more than a month, the thought of her daughter's tragic death still tore her apart.

Charles was furious. "Evelyn, enough! If you dare..."

His further scolding was suddenly choked off.

He watched Evelyn, whose tears were washing over her face. The despair and sorrow in her eyes were so real that Charles felt a sudden heaviness in his heart.

In that moment, he inexplicably panicked.

Almost instinctively, Charles denied, "That's not possible!"

Charlie couldn't be dead. She was supposed to be healthy and alive.

Evelyn laughed sorrowfully. Looking at Charles, who still refused to believe her, she wiped her face with one hand and suddenly grabbed his arm, "You still don't believe it? I'll take you to see!" Ignoring her tears, Evelyn urgently dragged Charles outside.

Charles didn't believe her. To him, Evelyn was a woman who never spoke the truth. Yet, his legs involuntarily followed her outside.

...

As they stepped out, they bumped into Dahlia walking their way. Evelyn ignored her, continuing to pull Charles along.

Dahlia sensed the tension, and approached with concern, "Charles, Evelyn, what's going on?"

"Get out of the way!" Evelyn was in no mood for pleasantries. She pushed Dahlia aside, who then stumbled to the ground with a pained grunt.

The sound was soft but loud enough for Charles to hear. He would surely stop.

However, to her surprise, Charles didn't even pause, nor did he look back. In a blink, they were gone from Dahlia's view.

Dahlia's expression darkened in an instant.

...

This was Charles' third visit to Maple Garden, but never had his steps felt so heavy.

He followed Evelyn inside. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and her emotions were beginning to stabilize.

They stopped at a side door. Evelyn turned to Charles, unlocking the door. "Go in. Charlie's ashes and her death certificate are inside." Just as Evelyn was about to push the door open, Charles' phone rang. The familiar ringtone halted both their actions. It was Dahlia.

At that moment, Charles frowned but still took out his phone and answered in front of Evelyn.

Dahlia's voice came through first, tinged with excitement, "Charles, I saw Charlie."

Evelyn, standing close by, heard her too.

"Saw Charlie?"

The words hit her hard. Evelyn's grip on the doorknob loosened. She turned and dashed out, but after just one step, she stopped.

The glimmer of hope in her eyes quickly extinguished.

How could Dahlia have seen her Charlie? She was dead.

The panic in Charles' eyes faded quickly after Dahlia's call. He observed Evelyn's instinctive reaction to Dahlia's words, and his gaze turned icy. "Keep Charlie in sight. I'm on my way."

After hanging up, he turned and walked briskly away.

Charles passed by Evelyn, and his voice was cold. "Evelyn, being your daughter was the greatest misfortune of Charlie's life."

Without another look at Evelyn, he strode off.

Evelyn stood frozen, biting her lip, her body trembling uncontrollably. Charles' last words cut deep into her heart.

He was right. It was the greatest misfortune to Charlie. Evelyn was unloved and had doomed Charlie to the same fate.

...

Charles sped all the way to the park Dahlia had mentioned.

The park was near the venue of the jewel design competition. Before the car even fully stopped, Charles rushed out. He followed Dahlia's directions and quickly found her. Charles approached swiftly.

"Where's Charlie?"

Dahlia turned at the sound of his voice, her appearance unlike her usual self.

Normally, Dahlia always presented her best self to Charles. But now, her hair was disheveled, her face flushed from running, with sweat at her temples, looking utterly disarrayed. She watched Charles, panting, and apologized, "Charles, I'm sorry, I... I couldn't catch up..."