"Poppy''s in the early stages of her pregnancy, Soren. It''s when she needs you most. So where have you run off to, ignoring both her and your own injuries?"


    The moment he answered the phone, Soren was greeted by Helena''s voice, a mixture of gentleint and amusement.


    He''d just seen the messages between his mother and Evangeline and had already sensed Helena''s disapproval.


    For years, he''d never thought much of it, chalking it up to the usual expectations an elder has for the younger generation.


    But for some reason, a strange andplicated feeling stirred within him now.


    "Something''s happened to Evangeline," he said.


    She was his mother, after all. Soren did his best to keep his voice even.


    Helena had, of course, heard the news as well. She''d felt a flicker of regret, but that was as far as it went. The happy news of Poppy''s pregnancy had quickly overshadowed any lingering sympathy.


    "I heard what happened," she said. "But you can''t put all the me on yourself. You did everything you could. If anything, it was just her bad luck."


    "Besides, what''s done is done. The dead are gone, but the living have to move on. Your engagement to Poppy is just around the corner. You need toe back and get ready for it..."


    Soren was stunned by Helena''s cold, detached tone.


    He could hardly believe what he was hearing. "Mother, that was a person''s life we''re talking about. That was Evangeline."


    She had been his wife.


    "She''s in this mess because of me! How can you call it bad luck? How could I just leave her?" His voice was agitated,ced with disbelief.


    Helena sensed the shift in his tone. After a brief pause, her voice softened slightly.


    "Marrying into the Fawkes family means making enemies and facing danger. She should have been prepared for that from the very beginning. It was a risk she should have considered."


    "Still, she was once a Fawkes daughter-inw. Aspensation, I''ll have your father send some of our people to look for her. But you need to stay out of it."


    "At the end of the day, Soren, you and Evangeline are divorced. She''s not your concern anymore."


    "Have you forgotten how she publicly announced your divorce, right in front of everyone, just to be with another man?"


    Soren fell silent.


    An emotion he couldn''t quite name washed over him, tight and suffocating.


    After a moment, he spoke, his voice low. "I''ve done the same thing to her, many times."


    His voice held a slight tremor.


    Helena paused. She could tell her son was different today.


    Soren never used to waste a moment''s thought on Evangeline, much less reflect on his own actions because of her.


    Was this really her proud, unshakable son?


    But Helena didn''t dwell on it. She simply assumed he was in shock from the news of Evangeline''s death.


    "You''re not the same," Helena said. "You''re a man. It''s perfectly normal for a man to do what you did. Besides in all the years you were


    Besides, im


    married, you never denied her the title of Mrs. Fawkes."


    "As a husband, you did more than enough."


    That was right.


    He had never denied her the title of Mrs. Fawkes.


    So in everyone''s eyes, he had afforded her the ultimate respect. But Evangeline... what had she done wrong?


    All these years, did she have to endure so much malice simply because he didn''t love her?


    For a moment, Soren felt disoriented.


    Something felt wrong, but he couldn''t put his finger on it.


    When he remained silent, Helena assumed her words had gotten through to him. She changed the subject with a lightugh. "Poppy is already a month along if we wait much longer, she won''t be able to hide it."


    "Your father, your grandmother, and I have talked it over. We''re going to skip the engagement and go straight to the wedding. That means you have even more to prepare for now."