“Alright! I’ll make the arrangements right away.”

After hanging up, Mason, who had just finished receiving the lashes, happened to be helped past the communications room by his aide.

When he saw the tear stains still on Evelyn’s face, a trace of panic flashed in his eyes that he couldn’t quite hide.

“Evelyn, when did you get here?”

Evelyn wiped away her tears and forced down the surge of emotions inside her.

“Just now, when you were being punished.”

Mason let out a quiet breath of relief, almost imperceptible.

Filled with guilt, he took her hand, his voice heavy with frustration.

“I’m sorry. The marriage approval didn’t go through again this year. Evelyn, can you wait for me one more year? Next year, I’ll definitely get the approval and marry you.”

Next year?

“Even if the approval comes through next year, you’ll just change it to rejected again, won’t you?” Evelyn thought.

Her nails nearly dug into her palm hard enough to draw blood before she managed to stop the question that was about to burst from her lips.

In the end, she said nothing.

Ninety-nine lashes was no small punishment.

The wounds on Mason’s back kept bleeding, and he had to go to the base infirmary.

The moment they got into the car, Mason leaned most of his weight against Evelyn, his tone carrying the familiar hint of boyish pleading.

“Evelyn, my back really hurts. Can you help put medicine on it later?”

When they were children, every time he got hurt, he would come to her like this, showing a fragile side that no one else ever saw just to earn her concern.

And every time, she would tear up in worry while carefully tending to his wounds.

But now, as she looked at his blood-soaked back, all she felt was bitter irony.

The aide driving the car caught the scene in the rearview mirror and spoke in a half-joking tone.

“Colonel Hart, you’d better work hard to bring Miss Ward home as your wife. No one waits forever. If one day Miss Ward decides she’s had enough, the rest of us won’t get to attend your wedding.”

Evelyn knew the aide couldn’t bear to see their childhood relationship end like this and was trying to persuade him through humor.

But Mason didn’t take the hint at all. His voice carried absolute confidence.

“How could that happen? Evelyn only loves me. She’ll definitely wait for the day I get the marriage approval and marry me.”

Hearing that, Evelyn curled her lips into a faint smile.

“No, Mason. You’re wrong,” Evelyn thought.

She had her own pride and would never love a man whose heart held another woman.

She would never marry someone who couldn’t remain faithful.

At the base infirmary, the doctor examined Mason and arranged for him to be admitted.

Inside the ward, Evelyn had just finished applying the medicine to his wounds and was about to stand when he suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms.

“Evelyn, my wounds are already taken care of. Let me kiss you, alright? When I was being punished, you were all I could think about. As long as you’re here, I don’t feel any pain at all.”

As he spoke, the man’s warm breath drew closer.

Just as Evelyn was about to find an excuse to avoid him, the ward door suddenly slammed open with a loud bang.

It was Anna.

The moment she saw the bandages covering Mason’s back, her eyes instantly turned red.

She pointed at Evelyn and shouted at him hysterically.

“The marriage request hasn’t been approved for four years straight. That proves you and her aren’t meant to be together. Why can’t you give up marrying her?

“Do you have any idea how much it hurts me every time I see you injured?”

Tears swirled in her eyes as Anna spoke again, her voice almost pleading.

“Can’t you be with someone else instead? Even if that person isn’t me. I just don’t want to see you get hurt anymore.”

Mason’s expression darkened immediately, his voice turning icy.

“Anna Shaw, you’re only my aide now. Who gave you the right to interfere in my private life?

“Besides, I already told you back in high school that the only person I love is Evelyn. She’s the only woman I’ll ever marry.

“Not just four years. Even if it takes six or ten, I’ll keep submitting the marriage request until the day I marry her.”

Anna’s face turned pale. She staggered back a few steps, her voice trembling.

“Fine. So, worrying about your injuries was just me being foolish.”

With that, she ran out of the room, her eyes red.

Mason lowered his head to look at Evelyn in his arms, his expression softening with tenderness.

“Evelyn, don’t take what she said to heart. I only love you. I would never give up marrying you like she claimed.”

Evelyn seized the chance to pull free from his arms.

She lowered her head and looked at her wrist.

A clear red mark circled the skin.

Mason probably hadn’t even realized it himself. While he had been speaking those cold words to Anna, the hand gripping Evelyn’s wrist had unconsciously tightened.

In the past, he had treated her as if she were something precious in the palm of his hand, never allowing her to suffer the slightest harm, not even a faint red mark.

Her eyes stung with rising tears, but she forced her voice to remain steady.

“Anna is your aide? Since when?”

Mason stiffened for a moment but quickly replied in a tone of clear irritation.

“Since last month. I didn’t pay attention to the aide selection process, and the unit happened to choose her. I can’t just transfer her out without a reason. That would make the other soldiers uneasy.”

Hearing such a clumsy lie, Evelyn curled her lips faintly.

Mason had always been strict when it came to choosing people under him, let alone an aide—a position that stayed by his side almost twenty-four hours a day.

Without his approval, the unit would never have finalized the appointment on its own.

Noticing her silence, Mason quickly added, “But don’t worry. If she makes even a small mistake, I’ll transfer her out immediately and make her disappear. I’ve been fed up with her ever since high school.”

Listening to lie after lie, Evelyn felt as if her heart had been plunged into icy water, cold to the bone.

How ridiculous.

He claimed he loved only her and wanted to marry her, yet he altered the marriage approval again and again.

He said he was sick of Anna, yet he did everything he could to keep her by his side.

The air in the hospital room made Evelyn feel suffocated.

“I have something to take care of these next few days. Let the nurses look after you.”

She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she wouldn’t be able to breathe.

With that, Evelyn hurried out of the room, ignoring the obvious disappointment on the man’s face.

After returning home and closing the bedroom door, all the strength left her body, and she slowly slid down to the floor.

With a soft click, a photograph slipped out of her bag.

It was a picture of her and Mason in their high school uniforms, standing beneath a camphor tree and smiling at each other.

The photo had been taken on the day they finished their college entrance exams.

Evelyn still remembered how the eighteen-year-old boy had held her hand, his crescent-shaped eyes filled only with her reflection.

“Evelyn, we’re going to be together forever. We’ll never be apart.”

But now, another woman lived in his heart.

And she would soon marry into a family in faraway Southport, leaving this city behind for good.

Evelyn stood up and began sorting through everything related to Mason.

The doll he gave her when she was three, the clay figurine he made for her with his own hands when she was nine, the first love letter he wrote when he confessed to her at sixteen, the matching rings they exchanged at eighteen…

But Mason had filled every moment of her life since childhood. No matter how much she tried to throw away, the memories between them never seemed to disappear completely.

She spent the entire afternoon packing, yet there was still so much left behind.

Evelyn stopped what she was doing and went out to contact a real estate agent to sell the house.

If she couldn’t throw everything away, then she would abandon it all together.

Over the next few days, she stayed busy handling the paperwork for the sale.

Mason’s presence seemed to be slowly fading from her mind.

She no longer waited by the door every day the way she used to when she was deeply in love, hoping to catch sight of him.

When messages were passed to her through others, she only gave brief replies.

That day, after finishing all the procedures for the house sale, she received a call from Mason.

“Evelyn, where are you? I was discharged from the infirmary today. I prepared a surprise for you.”

Evelyn pressed her lips together before telling him to come to her house.

More than twenty years of shared memories deserved a proper ending.

Soon, Mason arrived.

The moment he saw her, he blindfolded her with a strip of cloth and led her into a jeep, saying it was to keep the surprise intact.

When they arrived, she removed the cloth and realized they were at the same restaurant where he had officially confessed to her when he was sixteen.

A banner hung across the restaurant lobby that read: “Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Mason Hart & Evelyn Ward.”

Evelyn paused, then glanced at the calendar on the wall and remembered—it was their anniversary.

She lowered her eyes, showing no sign of surprise.

Perhaps it was fitting. The place where their relationship had begun would also be where it ended.

Mason didn’t notice anything unusual. With an arm around her shoulders, he led her inside.

“This is our first decade together. We have to celebrate it properly.”

He had reserved the entire restaurant.

In the corner, a record player softly played their song—the same one he had sung to her the day he confessed his feelings.

But…

Evelyn looked around.

The flowers used for decoration were red roses, which she had always disliked.

The photos on the display wall hung unevenly, some even fallen to the floor.

And though the table was meant for two, there was only a single place setting.

Was this careless arrangement really what he called a proper celebration?

Mason clearly noticed it too.

He called the restaurant manager over and demanded coldly, “Why is everything arranged like such a mess?”

Cold sweat broke out across the manager’s forehead as he answered nervously.

“Colonel Hart, everything was arranged according to the instructions from your aide. We also thought it seemed odd and asked several times, but your aide insisted we follow exactly what she said, so we…”

Mason’s expression darkened for a moment, though the anger in his eyes quickly faded.

He leaned closer to Evelyn and coaxed gently, “I’ll deduct three months of Anna’s allowance as punishment. Don’t be upset, alright, Evelyn? Today is our anniversary. Don’t let someone irrelevant ruin the mood.”

Mason had always had an excellent memory. There was no way he had forgotten that just a few days ago he had said he would transfer Anna away immediately if she made a mistake.

Yet he had suggested another form of punishment first, simply to keep her in the position of his aide and allow her to stay by his side.

Evelyn saw through his intentions clearly.

She didn’t expose him and only sat down calmly.

After all, from this day forward, however long Mason wanted Anna to remain by his side had nothing to do with her anymore.

Mason’s tense posture relaxed, and he signaled for the waiter to bring out the cake he had ordered.

The moment the cake was set on the table, Evelyn let out a quiet sigh in her heart.

It was a chestnut cake.

It seemed Anna had been determined not to let them celebrate this anniversary.

“I’m allergic to chestnuts.”

Mason, who had spent more than twenty years by her side, obviously knew that as well.

This time, he could no longer suppress his anger.

“I’m going to find Anna. I want to ask her exactly how she handled this!”

With that, he rose abruptly and stormed toward the door.

Watching his retreating figure, Evelyn hesitated for a moment before following after him.

At the stairwell, Evelyn saw Mason gripping Anna’s wrist, the anger on his face still lingering.

“Anna, did you deliberately sabotage my ten-year anniversary with Evelyn? I gave you countless instructions about the restaurant setup and even specifically reminded you that Evelyn is allergic to chestnuts. And what did you do?

“Not only did you make a complete mess of the decorations, you even ordered a chestnut cake. Do you realize that just for these mistakes alone, I could dismiss you immediately?”

Anna stumbled under the force of his grip, nearly losing her footing.

She shook his hand off and looked up at him, her eyes red.

“Yes! I did it on purpose!

“You expected me to personally plan an anniversary celebration for the man I love and another woman. Even if you fire me, I still couldn’t bring myself to do that!”

Seeing the tears gathering in her eyes, Mason’s anger quickly cooled, though his voice remained stern as he reprimanded her.

“That’s part of your duty as my aide. Besides, you already know that the person I love is Evelyn. You should have expected that you’d eventually have to watch the two of us together. You brought this on yourself.”

Anna’s voice broke.

“Yes, I brought it on myself. I chose to fall in love with you. I chose to give up my own dreams to enroll in the military academy with you. Even after graduation, I still couldn’t let go and insisted on staying by your side.

“I know you don’t love me. But Evelyn gave you up for the sake of her future, while I gave up my own future for you.

“I love you more than she does. Why can’t you give me just a little of the love you give her, even just a little…”

For a moment, Mason’s resolve wavered.

But the next second, he turned his head away, avoiding her gaze.

“Evelyn and I have been together since childhood. We’ve shared more than twenty years together. She’s the only one I love.”

It was unclear whether he was warning Anna or reminding himself.

Anna let out a bitter smile, endless sorrow in her eyes as she looked at him.

“I really envy Evelyn. She gets to have your love.

“And me? On my birthday, I can only stand here and watch you celebrate your ten-year anniversary with her. It feels like a knife twisting in my heart.”

“Today is your birthday?” Mason paused in surprise.

Looking at the pain written across Anna’s face, he spoke stiffly, “Fine. I can grant you one wish. After all, you’re still my subordinate.”

“I want a kiss. May I?”

A sudden spark lit up in Anna’s eyes. She bit her lip and looked at him cautiously.

Mason fell silent, neither agreeing nor refusing.

Seeing that Mason didn’t respond, Anna cautiously rose onto her toes and slowly leaned closer to his face.

Mason’s body stiffened.

Instinctively, he lifted his hand, but a few seconds later, he slowly lowered it again.

Seeing this, Anna broke into a genuine smile and lightly pressed a fleeting kiss to the corner of his lips.

Just as her lips were about to pull away, Mason’s hand clasped the back of her head, and he captured her red lips in a forceful kiss.

Anna quickly responded, wrapping her arms around his neck and returning the kiss.

Even though Evelyn had already decided to let go of the more than twenty years she had shared with Mason, the scene before her still struck her heart like a heavy hammer.

The color drained from her face, and she nearly lost her balance.

So, this was what it felt like to watch the man she loved intimately kissing another woman.

Evelyn forced herself to watch the two of them lost in their kiss, letting the pain in her chest spread through her entire body.

If it hurt enough, eventually it would stop hurting.