The Day Our Promise Breaks

Chapter 548

Time ticked by, second by second, and soon the hour they'd agreed upon had arrived yet there was still no sign of Evelyn.

Charles picked up his phone from the side table, wanting to call Evelyn and ask where she was. But he hesitated, worried she'd think he was being impatient, that he was rushing her, and that it would only upset her.

He set the phone back down.

Charles continued to wait, patiently.

His patience was a rare thing-he'd only ever given it, long ago, to Debbie, when she was five and he was ten.

After that, not once.

Now, twenty-two years later, he found himself offering it again-for her.

Cup after cup of coffee grew cold on the table. Aiden, ever attentive, replaced each one, but Evelyn never appeared.

"Mr. Jenkins, it's already eleven," Aiden finally reminded him gently.

He'd wanted to say something an hour ago, when Charles had already been left waiting.

It was clear-Ms. Evelyn wasn't coming.

If Ms. Evelyn truly intended to show up, with her sense of punctuality, she would have arrived on time. Even if something had come up, she would have called or at least sent a message to let Mr. Jenkins know.

But hours had passed since the agreed time-no word, no sign.

The message couldn't be more obvious.

Evelyn was standing Mr. Jenkins up-on purpose.

Charles said nothing, his gaze fixed on the phone lying on the table.

The screen was still open to his conversation with Evelyn. The last message was his: *Alright, 7 p.m. tonight, I'll be waiting for you at the restaurant. I won't leave until you come-promise!*

His eyes lingered on those last four words: *I won't leave until you come.*

always been Evelyn waiting for

to love her, to love

for him to trust her, to trust

him to come home, even just to

eighteen hundred days

so many times, yet she'd always

ever

rare times he'd actually shown up were only because Evelyn had given everything to please him, bargaining for a promise that he'd come home

business dinner, or because of Dahlia and her daughter-that kept

hadn't cared, back

sharp as a boomerang,

Drawing blood.

even though he'd known all along that this so-called "promise" to wait was only ever

Evelyn wasn't coming.

him

Charles had no intention of

He waited until midnight.

up

Aiden drove.

sat in the back

phone screen was still open to the

over the keyboard, typing a message, deleting,

to say. But there was too much-he didn't even know where

Charles typed out just one solemn promise: *Eve, I'm willing

and give me the chance to make it up to

He hit send.

saw, immediately, that he'd

appeared in the chat window. The

at the

was a long time before

tapped into his social media