?<strong>Chapter 1188:</strong>


    Once, Evie had dreamed of finding beautiful love and marriage, too. But after what had happened, she realized she could no longer look at the men who pursued her with the same innocent lens.


    Evie still believed in love—it was just that she no longer believed it was meant for her. She could only watch from a distance, observing the happiness of others, as she was doing now.


    Just as she reached for another ss of wine, a hand—clearly a man’snded gently on her shoulder.


    Evie jumped in surprise. She quickly jerked away, her eyes warily scanning the person behind her.


    “Huh? Little Evie, did I scare you?” Waylon asked, clearly amused. At the sound of his familiar voice and the sight of his handsome face, Evie’s defenses melted away.


    Her eyes lowered, and after a moment of regaining herposure, she whispered, “Hello, Waylon.”


    Waylon frowned, noticing the strange tone in her voice. Why did Evie sound like she was on the verge of tears?


    He took a few steps toward her, and as she raised her gaze, he was taken aback.


    She was wearing an elegant pale-yellow dress, half-backless, the color enhancing her delicateplexion. A string of lustrous pearls adorned her neck, with a sparkling star-shaped pendant in the center, catching the light with every subtle movement.


    Her face was flushed from the wine, and her eyes shimmered with a mixture of sorrow and confusion.


    Waylon stopped in his tracks, momentarily frozen.


    “Waylon?”


    Evie’s voice broke through his daze, pulling him back to the present.


    Realizing how lost he had been in that moment, Waylon took a deep breath and patted his forehead, chiding himself for being so out of sorts.


    When he looked at Evie again, all the emotions he had seen before were gone. She was simply gazing at him in quiet confusion, as if the sadness he’d glimpsed earlier was nothing but a figment of his imagination.


    Waylon quickly remembered why he was there and said, “Today isn’t about us. Your brother is with my sister, and I thought you might be bored. So, I came to keep youpany. By the way, how are you getting home after the banquet? Need a ride?”


    Evie nced around the hall and spotted Madisyn chatting with Andrew and some business partners.


    She turned back to Waylon and said, “No need.


    My driver’s picking me up. Besides, you’ve been drinking, right? Even if I did need a ride, your driver would be the one taking me home, wouldn’t he?”


    Waylon met her gaze, her yful smile making him scratch his head.


    “You’re right. Alright then, how about this? I’ll stick around until your driver shows up, and then I’ll make sure you get to your car safely.”


    “Okay.”


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