"Thaddeus? You''re here."


    Chad''s surprise registered on his face as he paused, his bowl hovering midair.


    Snapped from his reverie, Thaddeus murmured, "Brother."


    "Well, since Thaddeus is here, it''s not really appropriate for me to stay any longer."


    Chad gently set his bowl down and offered Evadne a warm, considerate smile. "Ms. Evadne, remember to eat, and take care of yourself. I''ll leave you two to talk."


    "No, wait!"


    Evadne suddenly grabbed Chad''s arm, swallowing the ache in her throat and forcing herself to sound asposed as ever. "At least wait until I finish my soup before you go."


    "But-"


    "Mr. Thaddeus is here, and you''re still wee to stay, Mr. Chad. I don''t see anything inappropriate about it."


    Evadne turned to Thaddeus, who was standing stiffly by the doorway, and shed him a bright, almost dazzling smile-one he hadn''t seen in ages and which stung his eyes. "Mr. Thaddeus, you wouldn''t find it awkward to see your own brother, would you?"


    Thaddeus''s lips parted slightly. "No, not at all."


    Evadne smiled again. "Good."


    Once, they had loved each other with reckless abandon, a passion that seeped into their very souls.


    Now, they were more distant than divorced strangers.


    Thaddeus''s chest rose and fell as he approached Evadne, holding out a bouquet


    of lilies, his voice low, his face unreadable.


    "Grandfather asked me toe check on you."


    Evadne cast her eyes downward and epted the flowers from his hands.


    But the next second, she hurled the bouquet at his feet, her eyes wide and furious.


    "Get out!"


    Thaddeus clenched his jaw, the muscles in his face twitching.


    Chad''s eyes widened in rm. He bent to pick up the bouquet, but Evadne''s


    voice, cold and sharp, rang out above his head.


    "Take your flowers and disappear from my sight-now!"


    It was as if Thaddeus had been punched in the chest. He stared at the fallen lilies, his whole body trembling.


    A fine, invisible needle pierced his


    heart, and blood seemed to leak silently from that tiny


    wound steady, unstoppable. M


    matter how he tried to control his breathing, his heart felt emptter with every beat, copsing in on itself.  s


    "Ms. Evadne, please take care of your health," Chad said quietly, noticing the


    sheen of sweat on her brow and the flush on her cheeks.


    "You''re the one who said you didn''t love me anymore. You''re the one who wanted to break up, every single time! So if you''re going to say it, the have the decency to follow through and vanish from mydifepletely!"  s


    Evadne was breathless, shouting, her eyes zing with red-rimmed fury. "Why are you here now, pretending to care? Do you think I need your pity? Do you honestly believe I want your sympathy?


    Thaddeus... Am I that pathetic to you? You abandoned me two years ago, and now you''re doing it all over again. Do you think still want to see your tape? your Do you actually believe my life is meaningless without you? Did youe just to gloat, to see how miserable I am? Were you hoping for a goodugh?!"  s


    The pain, the bitterness, the humiliation-everything inside her erupted like moltenva.


    She was hurting so badly, and though every word was a lie, she delivered each one with such conviction that it cut straight through the heart.


    "Evadne..." Thaddeus''s voice was hoarse as he called her name.


    But it was as if a thousand nails were driven into his throat-he couldn''t force out another word.<fn7ebe> This text is hosted at f?ndnovel</fn7ebe>


    He''d refused Grandfather at first, unwilling toe. But in the end, some dark, unspoken urge had driven him to change his mind, to order the bouquet and see her onest time.


    "You remember, don''t you? I''ve always loved roses."


    Even as she spoke, Evadne''s tears spilled over, her voice catching on a sob. "You knew all along... I''ve always adored roses, but you still brought me lilies."