The words hung in the air, stunning everyone into silence.


    Mr. Howard looked intrigued. Poppy''s face went deathly pale. Evangeline thought she must have misheard. Even Soren himself seemed shocked, his pupils constricting for a fraction of a second. The name had tumbled out of his mouth before he could even think.


    After a few moments of silence, Mr. Howard looked at Soren with renewed interest. "Evangeline? Are you sure?"


    "Mr. Fawkes, we''re trying to find a new angle. Stall him," Gregory''s urgent voice crackled in his earpiece.


    Soren''s fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. His palms were slick with sweat. He didn''t speak.


    Mr. Howard chuckled. "This is fascinating. The whole city whispers about how you were trapped in a loveless marriage with Evangeline, all while you could never forget Poppy. You made Evangeline''s life a misery for years because of Poppy. Wasn''t she the one you loved? Why, at a moment like this, would you choose to save Evangeline? I wonder how Miss Poppy feels about that answer."


    Poppy''s hands dug into her own palms. Her face was ashen, but her eyes were red with unshed tears. She had suspected Soren''s feelings for Evangeline were changing, but everyone had told her she was the one he truly loved. His care for her, his agreement to the engagement, the meticulous nning for their party-she had allowed herself to believe it. She had convinced herself that maybe he had a flicker of affection for Evangeline, but his heart was still hers.


    Now, his instinctive, desperate cry had shattered that illusion. All her fears and insecurities came rushing to the surface.


    She bit her lip, and for a moment, the jealousy and hatred she felt for Evangeline were overwhelming. A bitter regret washed over her. She should have killed her when she had the chance, when the dagger was in her hand.


    But regret was useless now. Poppy quicklyposed herself. She wasn''t dead yet. She still had a chance. She looked at Soren and saw the guilt and helplessness in his eyes. She knew she could still use that guilt to turn the situation around.


    Her expression softened into one of tragic understanding. Her voice trembled, but she filled it with tenderness. Soren no matter who you choose, I respect your decision. If one of us has to die today, bept my fate. It''s better that something happens to me than to you."


    She paused, then lowered her gaze to her stomach. "It''s just... I''m sorry that our child will never get to see the world."


    Soren''s eyes widened in shock. "What? What child?"


    Poppy''s voice was barely a whisper. "I haven''t been feeling well the past few days. I went to the hospital, and they found out... The baby is almost a month along."


    Soren felt a hammering in his temples. How could this be happening?


    Mr. Howard raised his eyebrows. This was getting more interesting by the second.


    "Well, Mr. Fawkes," he said with a grin, "I suppose I can give you the chance to choose again."


    Soren''s head was spinning. Two voices were screaming inside him. One told him that Evangeline was an innocent victim in all this, that she didn''t deserve to die for his mistakes. The other reminded him. of his duty to protect Poppy, that he couldn''t let any harme to her.


    A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead.


    Evangeline saw the torment on


    Soren''s face, and her heart plunged.


    She didn''t care if Poppy was


    pregnant or when the child was


    was


    conceived. All she knew was that she wanted to live. She didn''twant to die as coteral damage in someone else''s war.


    She struggled against the ropes. "Soren!" she cried out, her voice raw with desperation. "Have you forgotten that I already lost a child because of you?"