"I just... want to go home..."


    Evadne''s eyes brimmed with tears, her grip crumpling his shirt as she sobbed


    uncontrobly, her distress pulling at heartstrings, "I miss my dad, my brothers, I miss... Thaddeus...


    Please... let me go home... okay? Please..."


    He listened in silence, his stride firm and unwavering, offering no words.


    "Give Evadne back to me!"


    Avery, disregarding any semnce ofposure, charged forward, his eyes bloodshot as he blocked Hans''s path.


    "You''re not married to Ms. Evadne yet. Technically, she''s not yours."


    Hans''s gaze was unmoved, eyeing Avery''s pallid face with a slight, mocking curl of his lips, "Besides, even if I were to hand her over, could you really catch her?"


    Avery''s frail body shuddered, his trembling hand retracting.


    Despite being utterly exhausted and shell-shocked, Evadne''s mind was startlingly clear.


    Hans''s words hinted at something more.


    Could it be that Avery was already on hisst legs, a candle burnt to its end?


    The night''s sea breeze grew fiercer, its howling incessant.


    Hans held Evadne close as they moved forward.


    It was only when her cries ceased that he finally spoke softly:


    "A storm ising at dawn."


    Evadne opened her bleary eyes to the man''s deep-set, resolute jawline.


    "Just now, had you attempted to flee, tonight''s sea would have been your grave," Hans''s eyes darkened as they continued on.


    Evadne''s heart skipped, a mix of fear and astonishment.


    Without a phone orputer, she was oblivious to the weather forecast, unaware of the maritime conditions.


    "If... there was no storm? Would you let me go?" she asked him, her voice trembling lightly.


    "Let me tell you something."


    Evadne blinked her swollen eyes, hopeful.


    She always felt that the man before her was Hubery. Or perhaps, in some


    destined way, she hade to see him as Hubery.


    She clung to a sliver of hope that even if he was remade from destruction, even if


    he had lost his memory, the core of his soul, his kindness, brightness, and integrity, would never fade.


    "I came here to prevent you from being with Avery."


    Hans looked down at her, his gaze as deep as the ocean, "That was, Sir''smand to me."


    "So... even if tonight was calm, you''d still stop me?"


    "Yes." His response was immediate.


    Evadne felt her heart plummet, a pain indescribable.


    "Everything Avery has was given by Sir. Now that he''s of no use, all of it will be taken back," Hans said matter-of-factly, "Sir never engages in a losing deal."


    "Your Sir... who exactly is he?"


    Evadne''s voice was hoarse, posing a crucial question, "Is he... someone Thaddeus and I know?


    He calctes every move so precisely, manipting Avery, manipting me, ying everything into his hands. Could he... have met me, even know me? Hubery... how did you get involved with this Sir?"


    After a long pause, Evadne would recall this as the closest she ever came to the truth.


    "I''m not your Hubery."


    Hans''s voice was heavy, followed by silence. He wasn''t one to lie, but he could choose what to conceal, "I advise you, stay away from the truth.


    Getting closer will only lead to your undoing."


    *


    The next morning, a car from the Office of the President discreetly escorted Cassius into the pce for a meeting with His Majesty, the King. Everyone awaited anxiously.


    It was only in the afternoon that Cassius returned to the Office of the President, handing over a special red-sealed document personally signed by the King to Darcy, the President.


    "We can deploy the troops now."


    The news reignited a beacon of hope in everyone, prompting preparations.


    Only Thaddeus noticed the subtle shade of mncholy in Cassius''s eyes upon his return from the pce.