The Day Our Promise Breaks

Chapter 507

That night felt like it would never end. Charles spent the entire evening on his knees outside Evelyn's door. Every second dragged on, each one a fresh wound to his heart.

The following morning, Evelyn woke up to find a recent message from Brooks on her phone. "Are you awake, Evelyn?" it read. A tiny, almost invisible smile touched Evelyn's lips as she replied, "Morning."

Brooks quickly followed up, "I've got a little video for you." "Sure," Evelyn texted back.

While the video was downloading, Evelyn noticed a slew of notifications from her smart doorbell that had piled up overnight. She'd been living in this place for a while, but she'd never seen anything like this before. She was about to delve into them when Brooks's video finished downloading.

She opted to watch the video first. As soon as it started, she recognized the location-Greenrose. A familiar car was parked outside the Dahlia residence. It was Charles's car. Seeing it made Evelyn's expression harden instinctively. The previous day had been Charlie's anniversary, a day that coincided with Sandy's birthday. Knowing how much Charles doted on Sandy, it wasn't surprising that he'd visited Charlie's grave and then hurried to celebrate Sandy's birthday. Yet, seeing it unfold still made Evelyn's heart ache for Charlie, feeling the injustice of it all.

Brooks hadn't explained why he sent the video, but she trusted his judgment and kept watching. Charles appeared on screen, striding to his car, opening the door, and getting in. As he drove off, another familiar figure emerged-Sandy. In her flimsy pajamas, barefoot, she chased the car, crying and calling out for her father. Charles didn't stop; he just kept driving. Sandy ran after him, tears streaming down her face as she apologized. The car never halted until Sandy fell, causing the car to slow. Covered in dirt and tears, Sandy crawled toward the car, but Charles didn't exit. Instead, he drove off, leaving Sandy behind, never once looking back.

leave, sobbing uncontrollably. Her cries of "Daddy, come back, I know I was wrong, please forgive me," were heart- wrenching.

a strange sense of satisfaction, not sympathy. It wasn't out of cruelty. Sandy was facing the consequences of

as Evelyn was about

Brooks back, another notification

lingering at her door.

earlier, shoal

screen, was Charles, kneeling motionlessly at her doorstep. The notifications all pointed to him, with the earliest timestamped just before 3

uplifted, and chatted with Brooks for a bit. He mentioned he hadn't had breakfast yet. Picking up on his hint, Evelyn

See you soon." Ending

the kitchen to make breakfast. She took out the oats she'd prepared the night before and set them to cook. Only

if Charles wanted to kneel, he could kneel. For all the harm he'd inflicted on her and Charlie, even if he knelt until he