That photo had been photoshopped, but in five years, Evangeline had never once changed it.


    Sometimes, he would even catch her just staring at the screen, lost in thought.


    Soren swiped the screen open, and as soon as he did, a notification from a social media app popped up.


    "Soren''s about to get engaged. You''re really in the mood for a date?"


    The ount that sent the message looked familiar; it seemed to belong to one of his friends.


    Confused, Soren tapped on it instinctively.


    He discovered it was a post Evangeline had made a few days ago about an outfit for a date.


    It was a simple, everyday post, but thement section was flooded with hundreds of replies.


    "I bet this post is just for Soren to see. Give it up, you don''t have a chance anymore."


    "Honestly, the dress is nice, but it feels like a waste on you."


    "I can practically smell the desperation through the screen. But hey, I like desperate girls. Why don''t youe find me? I promise I''ll make you feel good."


    It wasn''t just the publicments. Her private messages were flooded too, filled with vile, obscene messages that disgusted even him, a man, to read.


    What shocked him even more was that most of these people were from his own social circle, all of them acting under the guise of defending his honor.


    Soren''s breathing grew shallow, his body trembling uncontrobly.


    He never knew about any of this.


    He kept scrolling, and with every line he read, a deeper sense of despair washed over him.


    For years, a group of his friends, led by Liam Leigh, had been constantly pressuring and warning her to divorce him. To that end, they had sent Evangeline countless intimate photos of him and Poppy.


    They didn''t just belittle her, telling her she wasn''t good enough for him; someone had even taken unttering photos of Evangeline and posted them alongside pictures of Poppy forparison.


    Faced with the torrent of undisguised malice on the phone, Soren felt a sense of panic he couldn''t begin to describe.


    No wonder Evangeline had been so insistent on the divorce.


    No wonder she had tried again and again to draw a clear line between them.


    But why didn''t she tell him?


    The thought had barely formed before he btedly realized the answer.


    Evangeline had tried to tell him how hurt she was. But at the time, he had been convinced that she was a maniptive schemer that she was just acting to drive a wedge between him and Poppy.


    But now, the truth was telling him that Poppy was the one who had been lying all along.


    The incident where he thought Evangeline had hurt Poppy—it was all fake.


    Soren''s fists clenched.


    His mind was flooded with shes of everything he had done to Evangeline over the years.


    He thought Evangeline had set out to humiliate Poppy, so he had deliberately humiliated her at a party in return.


    To prove to Evangeline that her


    ''schemes'' wouldn''t work, he had intentionally flirted with other


    women in public, even making Evangeline carry bags and polish the shoes of women whose names n? didn''t even know. The worst time, he brought one of them back to their vi and spent the night.


    At first, his actions would drive Evangeline to tears, but gradually, she became more


    and more stoic.


    Poppy


    oliam''s advice entn''t


    he, thinking his punishments severe enough had


    tinued to be ''bullied,'' and


    He had humiliated her in bed, allowed others to torment her, and even cut off her


    living expenses...


    Soren gripped the phone so tightly his knuckles turned white.


    The memories he had long since buried came rushing back, each one a vivid, damning indictment.


    Before he knew it, he had copsed to the ground.


    For the first time, an uncontroble urge to pull Evangeline into his arms and hold


    her tight washed over him.


    But in the next instant, cold, hard reality dragged him back.


    Evangeline''s fate was unknown. She was likely dead.


    They hadn''t even found a body.


    "Evangeline."


    Soren''s voice was hoarse, but he found his throat was so choked with grief he couldn''t even speak her name properly.


    *Ring, ring-*


    His own phone began to ring, a shrill, urgent sound.


    Soren pulled it out and saw the caller ID: Helena Carlisle.