Chapter 171


    The more he tried to ease up the tension between them, the more their rtionship turned sour!


    “What’s wrong?” Evan asked puzzledly when he returned home noticing how listless Davin appeared.


    Davin stopped in his tracks to regard Evan. The longer he stared at him, the more dispirited he felt; he


    couldn’t help butment, “Evan, can’t you just make sure things are in peace?”


    Evan frowned at him in response. “What do you mean?”


    “Do you have any idea how much of a hard time I’ve been going through? I’m worried sick about you!


    Y-You really owe me a sports car because of that!”


    What nonsense is he talking about?


    With a crease on his forehead, Evan eyed him skeptically.


    “Evan, let’s talk about your rtionship with Ms. Lane… Are you sure you aren’t interested in her in the


    least bit?”


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    “Of course I’m not!”


    After a pause, Davin then braced himself and pressed on, “Do you really hate her, or you are shunning


    her on purpose?”


    Evan went speechless as he narrowed his brooding eyes slightly.


    “Evan, are you avoiding her, as well as all other women and all possibilities that might lead to a


    rtionship, on purpose because you’re held back by something that’s been bothering you deep down


    inside?”


    Davin was scrutinizing Evan’s face to see if there was any change to his expression as he audaciously


    finished phrasing his question.


    He astutely caught the trace of intense misery that shed in Evan’s eyes when he mentioned his


    issues.


    Indeed, Evan had yet to move on from his past despite so many years have passed!


    “Evan, that hoyden has already…”


    “It’s gettingte. You should go back home and rest.”


    Obviously having no intention of borating on that topic, Evan interrupted Davin without hesitation


    before striding up the stairs.


    Davin let out a sigh in silence while watching his back.


    It seemed like the hoyden’s bite had left a deep marking in Evan’s heart.


    Although that hoyden was no longer around, he wondered whether the bite mark was still there at the


    same ce after so many years had passed.


    Evan and that hoyden…


    Evan and Nicole…


    Sometimes, one had no choice but to resign to one’s fate.


    …


    When Evan returned to his study, he leaned back on the chair in aid-back manner as he massaged


    his temples. After that, he took a cup of coffee from the desk and took a sip before cing it back.


    “Evan, that hoyden has already…”


    As Davin’s words were still resounding in his head, he fished out a cigarette with uneasiness and lit it.


    Amidst the mist of smoke, some fading memories of his past which he had dreaded to remember came


    flooding back.


    He thought about thest encounter he had with her. At that time, she was like an abandoned doll,


    crouching sulkily beside a flower bed after she was being mocked.


    Staring at her solemnly, he consoled her, “Don’t be sad because I’ll marry you in the future!”


    “Really?!” She blinked her eyes which sparkled like stars.


    “You bet!” He made her a solemn promise.


    Instead of responding to him, she rose to her feet and gazed at him with a faint smile. On the next


    second, she started a round of giggle that was so infectious that it made him start tough too.


    Next, his memories jumped to the part when he received the devastating news.


    “Mr. Seet, the girl you have been looking for has passed away.”


    “What?! No, it’s not possible!”


    “It’s true. We found a tombstone on which there was a portrait. The girl in it looks exactly the same as


    the one in the photo you showed us.”


    When Evan heard that, he felt as though something in his head just imploded and he refused to believe


    it until he went to the graveyard himself and saw the portrait on the tombstone with his own eyes…


    At that moment, he finally realized how it felt to be heartbroken and how vulnerable he was when it


    came to life and death matters.


    At that moment, he buried her in his heart, together with all his feelings for her.


    From then on, he had deliberately avoided rtionships and marriage by focusing his full attention and


    effort on building his career.


    On her death anniversary four years ago, he experienced such intense grief over her demise that he


    decided to drink away his sorrow at a bar. Little did he know, he encountered Nicole on that fateful


    night…


    With that thought in mind, he took a huge puff of the cigarette.


    When the door to his study was suddenly opened, he quickly stubbed out the cigarette and threw it into


    the ashtray.


    “Howe you’re still up?”


    As Juan was approaching him, he noticed the cigarette smoke lingering in the air. “Daddy, are you


    smoking?”


    Evan pinched the cheeks of the adorable boy as he answered, “Look, it’s pretty normal for guys to


    smoke. I just had one.”


    “Daddy, is something bothering you?”


    “Nope.”