Lunch ended not with tension, but with laughter — the kind of quiet, uncertain laughter that comes when people are rediscovering what it means to be a family.
Evelyn leaned back on the couch, cradling Grace, who was unusually animated today. Her tiny face lit up with energy, soft babbles spilling from her lips as if she were trying to join the conversation.
Alexander sat on the carpeted floor beside the low coffee table, his sleeves rolled up, surrounded by napkins, pencils, and two very enthusiastic girls.
"Fold like this," he said, demonstrating with surprising patience, his large hands delicately creasing the paper. "Then bend the edge—yes, like that. There you go, Lily."
Emma giggled, waving her own misshapen paper swan. "Mine looks like a dog!"
Alexander chuckled — a sound Evelyn hadn't heard in years, smooth and genuine. "Then it's the most creative swan in the room."
Evelyn watched the scene quietly, her heart swelling.
This — this moment — was what she'd always wanted.
Not the glamour, not the fame, not the red carpets.
Just this: her daughters laughing, Alexander smiling, and the air filled with something that felt almost like peace.
Grace, meanwhile, was bubbling with sounds of her own, her little hands waving as if to demand attention.
"She's jealous," Evelyn teased softly. "She wants to join the conversation."
Alexander looked up, his expression soft. "She sounds just like you — never lets anyone else talk."
Evelyn smirked. "And you sound exactly like the man who fell in love with that."
He went silent, a flicker of something unreadable in his gaze — and for a heartbeat, the air between them changed.
Then the sound shattered it.
Buzz. Buzz.
Evelyn's phone vibrated across the desk.
She frowned, reaching for it — and when she saw the name flashing across the screen, her heart stilled.
Grandmother Carter.
Alexander's eyes lifted at the same moment. His expression darkened instantly.
Evelyn hesitated, then answered. "Hello, Grandmother—"
The voice on the other end was sharp, cold, and angry.
"Evelyn! Where are you? Do you think you can ignore us forever? You're to come to the old palace tonight. Immediately!"
Evelyn blinked, caught off guard. "What happened? Is everything all right—?"
"Don't you dare question me," the old woman snapped. "You've embarrassed this family enough. If Alexander won't discipline you, I will. Be here by eight."
And the line went dead.
The room fell silent.
Lily looked up nervously. "Mommy? Why was great-grandma shouting?"
Evelyn forced a smile. "Nothing to worry about, sweetheart."
But her hands trembled as she set the phone down.
In her last life, she had ignored the signs — the cold glances, the whispered gossip, the way the Carter matriarch's affection had slowly shifted to Hannah. At first, she had thought it was harmless favoritism. Only later had she realized it was part of the manipulation — the same poison Oliver and Hannah had been spreading through every corner of the family.
Back then, she hadn't cared. She'd been angry, selfish, blind.
But now, she understood the game.
---
Alexander's voice broke through her thoughts.
"You're not going."
Evelyn looked up. "What?"
He stood, his tone calm but firm. "If Grandmother has an issue, I'll handle it. You're not walking into that house alone."
"Alexander—"
"No." His voice was quiet steel. "You and the children are going home. I'll go to the palace tonight and speak to her myself."
Evelyn's chest tightened.
Part of her wanted to agree — to let him shield her, to stay safe in the home she was finally beginning to reclaim.
But another part of her, the part that remembered how her downfall began, refused to be silent again.
She smiled softly. "You don't have to fight all my battles, Alexander."
He frowned, his eyes narrowing. "This isn't your battle. It's my family."
"It was my family too," she said quietly. "And I won't let them twist the truth again."
For a moment, they simply stared at each other — a silent standoff of pride and protection.
Then Grace squirmed in her arms, her small babble breaking the tension.
Evelyn looked down at her baby, then back at her husband. "I'll go," she said. "After I take the girls home."
Alexander exhaled slowly, clearly displeased, but he didn't argue further. "At least take the guards with you."
"I will," she promised.
---
The car ride home was peaceful at first.
The girls sat quietly, exhausted from the long day. Within minutes, both Lily and Emma had fallen asleep, their heads leaning against each other. Grace dozed in her carrier, tiny fists still clutching the edge of her blanket.
Evelyn watched them through the rearview mirror, her heart aching with love and resolve.
The city lights flickered past the windows, golden and distant.
In her past life, she had hated the Carters' "old palace" — a grand, sprawling estate steeped in tradition and power. She had seen it as a prison, not realizing it was where her fate had first been written in lies.
Not this time.
This time, she would walk in as someone different.
She would not beg for respect.
She would claim it.
When the car stopped at their mansion, Evelyn gently carried her daughters inside, kissed their foreheads, and handed Grace to the nanny with a quiet instruction to let her sleep undisturbed.
Then she straightened her coat, picked up her bag, and walked back to the waiting car.
Her reflection in the window as the car pulled away was steady — elegant, composed, unflinching.
The same woman who once crumbled under manipulation was gone.
Now, Evelyn Carter was ready to face the family that had helped destroy her — and this time, she wasn't walking in blind.