The Day Our Promise Breaks

"Let's keep up the act. Relax." Brooks chuckled softly.

Hearing that, Evelyn felt a weight lift off her shoulders. "Brooks, can you swing by the restaurant I was at yesterday? I accidentally left my purse there."

Just the way she said, "Brooks," made his eyes light up with a twinkle. "I already grabbed it for you last night; it's in the back seat."noveldrama

Evelyn turned around, spotted her purse, and reached back to snag it. "Thanks."

She pulled out her phone, noticing it had powered down. Naturally, Brooks took it from her and plugged it in to charge. "Thank you," Evelyn said again. Brooks gave her a playful look. "Hey, you are my girlfriend. You don't have to be all formal with me, you know."

Evelyn felt a sudden warmth in her cheeks. She had never really been in a relationship. Since her first crush, she'd only had eyes for Charles and couldn't see anyone else. It wasn't like she didn't have admirers; she just couldn't see them. Then Charles ended up with Dahlia. And five years ago, an accident brought Evelyn and Charles back into each other's lives, but it was all just physical...

"Okay," Evelyn replied softly.

The car started moving. Evelyn remembered the morning news in the living room and turned to Brooks. "I saw the news about Michael today. Thanks. You've got to accept this 'thank you.' It's not just for me, but for all the girls he hurt."

She knew. Michael had hurt those girls, but they hadn't spoken up-not because they didn't want to, but because they were scared. Michael was a Robinson, and with that surname, he could pretty much do whatever he wanted to ordinary people. If it hadn't been for Brooks stepping in, those girls wouldn't have dared to come forward.

Brooks was taken aback. Bringing Michael to justice and convincing the victims to testify so quickly wasn't his doing. Though he hadn't investigated, he knew Charles was the only other person in the Capital who could pull off something like that so fast. It seemed Charles cared more about Evelyn than he let on.

But...

"About what happened..."

Brooks hesitated for a moment, then decided to come clean with Evelyn, just as his phone rang. It was his uncle, Michael's dad. They had begged Brooks the night before pleading with him to intervene and get Michael out. Michael was their only son and couldn't get into trouble.

Brooks hadn't promised anything and just asked them to leave. By this morning, everything had settled. It was a done deal, and they couldn't change it.

Without stepping aside, Brooks answered the call.

"Brooks, you think you're something now, huh? We begged you to squash this, and what did you do?

"You've destroyed Michael's life!

"Regardless, he's your cousin, you—"

"He got what he deserved," Brooks cut Michael's dad off, his voice turning icy. Even if Charles hadn't acted, Brooks wouldn't have let Michael off the hook. The Robinson family couldn't tolerate such behavior.

With his last words, there was no room for negotiation, and Michael's dad hung up in frustration.

Brooks was about to return to their previous conversation when Evelyn's phone buzzed to life, fully charged. As soon as it powered on, it vibrated with a flood of messages. Evelyn quicklyswitched it to silent and noticed several missed calls from a contact named SJ. She saw SJ's name, and her expression hardened.

She didn't bother continuing to charge it and immediately picked it up. SJ was a private investigator she had hired The last time she exposed Dahlia's real nature to Charles, he had given her two million to keep quiet. With that money, she hired a PPto keep tabs on Dahlia,

Evelyn didn't return the call in front of Brooks. She noticed they had left the private road and were approaching a subway station. Evelyn said, "Mr. Brooks, can you stop at the subway station up ahead? I'll take the subway from here." Brooks gave her a searching look. He didn't correct her formality; it was clear her mind was elsewhere. Brooks realized she wanted some space, so he didn't press further and pulled over at the station.

After thanking him, Evelyn got out of the car, found a quiet spot, and called SJ back.