Half an hour later, Mason finally returned to the restaurant, with Anna following behind him.

As if nothing had happened, he wrapped an arm around Evelyn in a coaxing manner and said gently, “Evelyn, I’ve already given her a harsh scolding. Now I’ve brought her here to apologize to you in person.”

Anna admitted her fault readily.

“I’m sorry, Miss Ward. This was entirely my negligence. I hope you can forgive me, considering that Colonel Hart has already ‘taught me a lesson.’”

She deliberately emphasized the words “taught me a lesson.”

Mason’s expression stiffened slightly before his face darkened, and he barked sharply, “Why are you still standing here after apologizing? Get out!”

The provocative look in Anna’s eyes froze instantly. She glanced at him with a wounded expression.

“Of course. Someone who made a mistake like me wouldn’t dare stay here and disturb your anniversary.”

With that, she turned and left, her eyes red.

Mason’s gaze unconsciously followed the direction she had gone. Only when he noticed Evelyn calmly watching him from the side did he force himself to pull his eyes back.

Putting on an indifferent expression, he said, “Let her go reflect on her mistakes. Now no one will disturb our anniversary. I’ll spend the whole day with you.”

Evelyn looked at him for a long time.

The man before her looked almost no different from the boy who had once confessed to her here ten years ago, his face flushed with nervousness.

Only the youthful innocence had faded, replaced by a hint of maturity and composure.

Yet in the same place, at the same moment, she could no longer overlap the two figures in her mind.

Ten years ago, his eyes held only her.

Now, another woman took a place in his heart.

Evelyn closed her eyes briefly and steadied herself, about to tell him that she had decided to marry into the Caldwell family in Southport.

Suddenly, a woman’s cry rang out from outside the door, her voice choked with tears.

It was Anna.

Mason shot to his feet at once, the anxiety and panic on his face impossible to hide.

He only threw out a hurried, “Evelyn, I’ll go see what happened. I’ll be right back,” before rushing out.

He left in such a hurry that he never heard the words Evelyn had spoken softly behind him.

“I’m getting married. But the groom isn’t you.”

Just then, the sound of a car engine starting came from outside.

Anna leaned against Mason’s arms, her gaze turning toward Evelyn as she gave her a triumphant smile, silently mouthing the words.

“Look. In Mason’s heart, I matter more than you.”

Through the window, Evelyn watched the familiar car outside gradually disappear into the distance and let out a self-mocking smile.

How could she not know? She had once experienced Mason’s wholehearted love herself.

It was only that she had already decided to give up on this relationship.

And she no longer cared who mattered more in his heart.

Evelyn returned home and began packing the luggage she would take to Southport.

Meanwhile, Mason—who had said he would “be right back”—didn’t contact her for the entire afternoon.

It wasn’t until late at night that the landline in the living room finally rang.

Evelyn guessed it was Mason calling.

She glanced at the phone but didn’t feel like dealing with his excuses, so she let it ring unanswered.

Early the next morning, she was woken by a rapid knock on the door.

When she opened it, Mason was standing there, looking anxious.

“Evelyn, why didn’t you answer my call yesterday?”

There was a hint of grievance in his voice.

“I was too tired from packing and fell asleep.”

Mason’s gaze instinctively shifted past her shoulder, and only then did he notice the piles of packed luggage stacked in the middle of the living room.

A sudden unease rose in his chest.

He grabbed Evelyn’s arm and asked urgently, “You’re packing? Where are you going?”

Evelyn freed herself from his grip and replied calmly, “I’m going to Southport.”

Mason let out a breath of relief.

“So you’re going to visit your parents. When are you leaving? I’ll prepare some gifts for you to bring along. Give them my regards.”

“Tonight’s train.”

“Alright, I’ll drive you to the station. But come back soon, okay? I’ll miss you.”

The last sentence carried a faintly playful tone.

Evelyn smiled silently.

Once she left this time, she would never return to Westbridge again.

Mason didn’t think much of it and helped her close the door behind her.

“Perfect timing. There’s a high school reunion at noon today. Let’s go together.”

Evelyn didn’t refuse.

After she left for Southport, the chances of ever seeing her old classmates again would be slim. She decided to treat this reunion as a farewell.

Just as she was about to get into the car, she realized Anna was already sitting inside.

“We’re all old classmates, after all. Evelyn, you wouldn’t stop me from hitching a ride to the reunion, would you?”

Anna deliberately exposed the cut at the corner of her lip and glanced at her with a provocative smile.

Mason’s expression changed.

He quickly stepped in front of Evelyn, blocking her view as he explained, “Evelyn, don’t overthink it. Her foot hasn’t fully recovered yet. As her commanding officer, I…”

“I know,” Evelyn interrupted lightly. “You’re just giving her a ride as her commanding officer.”

She opened the passenger door and sat down. “Let’s go.”

Mason froze for a moment.

For some reason, even though that was exactly the explanation he had been about to give, hearing her say it so calmly stirred an uneasy feeling in his chest.

After the car started, Evelyn closed her eyes and pretended to rest.

Anna glanced at the woman in the passenger seat, a flash of jealousy crossing her eyes.

She cleared her throat and said with a smile, “I left an earring in the glove compartment last time. Could you take it out and pass it to me?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Mason’s grip tightened unconsciously on the steering wheel.

He glanced nervously at Evelyn beside him.

Evelyn opened the drawer.

Inside were three earrings.

Two pearl studs were hers.

And one tassel earring was identical to the one Anna was wearing.

When Mason first got his driver’s license, he had once looked at her with complete sincerity and promised, “Evelyn, from now on, the passenger seat will belong only to you.”

Now, clearly, there was a second person in that seat.

Evelyn’s face remained expressionless as she took out all three earrings.

She handed one to Anna, then slipped the other two into her bag. After she got out of the car, she would find a trash can and throw them away.

The unease in Mason’s chest grew stronger.

He wanted to say something, but when he saw Evelyn close her eyes again, looking unwilling to talk, he could only give up awkwardly.

When they arrived at the private room for the reunion, Evelyn and Mason immediately became the center of attention.

“Wow, after all these years, the two of you are still inseparable. The golden couple from our class really hasn’t changed at all.”

“Exactly! You two must already be married by now, right? Do you have kids yet?”

Before either of them could answer, Anna—who had been ignored by everyone—quickly spoke up.

“Don’t say things like that. Mason and Evelyn aren’t married. Right now, they’re not even together.”

The lively room fell silent in an instant.

The two people who had spoken first stood there awkwardly.

“W-what? I can’t believe it…”

Evelyn answered calmly, “No. We’re not married.”

And she never would marry him.

Mason’s expression darkened as he shot Anna a glance, then he wrapped an arm around Evelyn’s shoulders and smiled at the group.

“Don’t worry, everyone. We just haven’t gotten married yet because of military regulations. Evelyn and I have been together for so many years.

“We’ll definitely get married. When the time comes, make sure you all come to the wedding.”

The crowd let out a collective breath of relief, and the atmosphere quickly grew lively again.

“I knew it! If the two of you ever broke up, I’d never believe in love again.”

“Come on, you two, hurry up and get married so we can finally attend your wedding.”

At that moment, the class representative, Michael, mysteriously took out a glass jar.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s see if the wishes we wrote in our time capsule when we graduated have come true.”

As soon as he said it, everyone became excited.

“Come on, let’s take them out one by one and have Michael read them aloud in front of everyone. That’ll be fun!”

The first letter was Mason’s.

“To marry Evelyn as soon as I’m old enough and make her my wife.”

The second letter was Evelyn’s.

“To marry Mason, have a baby soon, and become a happy family of three.”

When the last word was read aloud, their classmates began cheering with obvious envy.

“Even their plans for the future were all about marrying each other. What a beautiful love story.”

Mason’s lips curved into a smile as he looked at Evelyn with deep affection.

“Of course. Evelyn has always been the woman I wanted to marry since we were kids.”

But Evelyn showed no trace of a smile. A long-forgotten pain pricked at her heart.

Not because of the man in front of her who spoke such effortless lies, but because of the pure love she had once felt at eighteen.

In the end, it had changed somewhere along the long passage of time.

The third letter belonged to Anna.

“To stay by Mason’s side forever.”

“Well, it looks like I’m the only one whose wish came true. I’m already Mason’s aide, so I get to stay by his side all the time.”

Anna’s gaze swept across the room with open pride.

The others immediately looked at her with contempt.

“Seriously? She’s completely delusional. After all these years, she still hasn’t given up.”

“She’s just an aide. To Mason, she’s nothing more than a subordinate. Talking about staying by his side forever—Evelyn is the one who’ll be with him for life as his future wife.”

…

Only Evelyn noticed that when Anna said those words, the curve of Mason’s smile deepened slightly.

The mocking voices in the room grew louder and louder.

At that moment, a drunken man who had dropped out of high school years ago staggered toward Anna.

“Why would Colonel Hart ever want someone like you hanging around him? You should’ve given up long ago.

“Tell you what, why don’t you come with me instead? I’ll make sure you live the good life!”

As he spoke, he leaned forward, his alcohol-soaked breath reeking as he tried to move closer.

Mason, who had been watching Anna from the corner of his eye the whole time, suddenly stood up.

He kicked the man to the ground, then pulled the frightened Anna, whose eyes had already turned red, firmly into his arms.

Looking down at the man on the floor, his voice was cold as ice.

“Who said I don’t want her? She’s my woman now. No one touches her.”