Evelyn’s heart shattered the instant she saw Alexander’s face.

Her fingers curled into her palms, nails digging deep.

Betrayal washed over her, cold and brutal.

He was standing.

Her husband, the man she believed was bound to a wheelchair, was on his feet.

They had exchanged vows. Shared a home. A life.

Why had he hidden this from her?

Her voice was laced with a bitterness she didn’t recognize.

“Did I ever tell you that you needed my permission to explain yourself, Alexander?”

He heard the frost in her tone. Panic flared in his eyes.

His hands shot out, gripping hers with a desperate strength.

“Evelyn, please. I never wanted to deceive you.” His words tumbled out, frantic. “There were reasons. Powerful reasons.”

Under her unyielding stare, his confidence crumbled.

“After the accident, the doctors said I’d never walk again. I refused to accept it. I endured the pain. I went to rehab in secret. All while I investigated who was truly responsible.”

Evelyn’s expression remained a stone mask. She absorbed his confession in silence.

Alexander took a shaky breath, plunging deeper.

“It was Margaret. She planned everything. I had to maintain the act. I let her and Harrison believe I was still broken. It was the only way.”

He searched her face, his voice tight with fear.

“Everything I did was to protect us from them. I never meant to lie to you.”

He watched her, his pulse hammering, waiting for any sign.

Evelyn met his intense gaze. She said nothing.

The silence stretched, twisting into agony for Alexander.

He would have preferred her anger. Her shouts.

Instead, she looked away. Her head bowed.

A single, hot tear fell onto his hand.

The drop felt like acid on his skin.

“Evelyn…” His voice broke. This was the one reaction he hadn’t prepared for.

He cupped her face, lifting it gently until her eyes met his.

They were glistening, pools of fresh pain.

“Why are you crying?” he whispered, his own chest constricting. “You were so strong a moment ago.”

His voice grew rough with emotion.

“Are you crying because I wasn’t honest with you?”

Even as he asked, he sensed that wasn’t it.

Evelyn’s tears fell freely now.

She hiccupped, trying to compose herself. “I-I don’t know. Hearing what you went through… it just overwhelmed me.”

Understanding dawned on him, sharp and poignant. These weren’t tears of anger. She was crying for his pain.

His heart ached with a bittersweet tenderness. He brushed her tears away with his thumbs.

“Don’t cry. It kills me to see you hurt. That pain is in the past.”

He softened his tone, trying to soothe her.

“I truly thought you would be furious with me.”

Evelyn looked at him, her eyes full of a different kind of hurt.

“I am upset. I’m upset you didn’t trust me. I studied massage therapy for you. I wanted to help you heal. And your legs were fine all along.”