Inside the car, Eve Vaughn sat with her head lowered in silence. The lights from outside the window illuminated her profile, casting a soft yet melancholic glow.

Mason Lawson didn’t speak either. One hand on the steering wheel, he turned to look at her.

Eve Vaughn knew he was watching her, so she tried to change the subject. "Mia asked me to thank Mr. Lawson on her behalf. The dance studio refunded her tuition today."

Mason Lawson’s brow tightened slightly. He asked in a low voice, "Is that all you wanted to say to me? Nothing else?"

Eve Vaughn sighed softly. "I also saw Miss Sullivan. She said you’re only keeping me around because I look like her. She said she’s the only girlfriend you’ve ever officially acknowledged. And... I don’t think she was wrong."

In reality, to a man like Mason Lawson, Eve Vaughn was practically an open book.

None of her thoughts could escape his notice.

He knew what was truly upsetting Eve Vaughn wasn’t her run-in with Joanna Sullivan, but his own unwillingness to make their relationship public.

Initially, he hadn’t wanted to explain himself.

But he was now realizing that what he had with Eve Vaughn wasn’t just a game for adults—the kind where you enjoy each other’s company while you’re together and casually let go when you’re not.

What Eve Vaughn wanted was something he couldn’t give her right now.

Yet, he wasn’t ready to let go. He was still very much invested in this relationship.

However, if he didn’t clear the air, he figured this awkwardness between him and this girl would just continue.

Therefore, after a moment of silence, Mason Lawson began, "Evie, you have to understand, I’m not just your Mr. Lawson; I’m the president of the Lawson Group. Every decision I make affects the reputation and future of the Lawson Family and the Lawson Group. I can’t be as willful as you, do you understand? Now is not the right time to go public with our relationship. I won’t do it, and I can’t do it."

Despair washed over Eve Vaughn. A bitter smile touched her lips as she said, "I just want to be like other girls—to hold hands with the person I like without a care in the world, to walk through every street and alley in Meridia. But it turns out, in Mr. Lawson’s eyes, a wish like that is just being willful. I, however, don’t think it is."

Mason Lawson felt a surge of irritation. What Eric Kendall and Jonah Spencer had said at the bar last night was harsh, but it was realistic. Yet lately, Eve Vaughn had become almost possessed, hell-bent on making their relationship public.

His tone grew colder. "Was there something wrong with how we were before? Even without making it public, I can still protect you. I can contribute money and effort—none of that is an issue! I don’t understand why you insist on disrupting this balance. Who are you trying to make miserable?"

Eve Vaughn’s voice was small and trembling as she asked, "So, Mr. Lawson, you’ve never thought about a future with me, have you? Everything between us... it’s all just temporary." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Mason Lawson rolled down the window. The cold wind that rushed in sobered him, making him clear-headed and rational.

It was true. He had never considered giving everything up for any woman.

At least, not right now. He couldn’t do it.

So, he answered frankly, "That’s right. I haven’t thought that far ahead."

"Then..." Eve Vaughn’s throat felt tight. After a long moment, she managed to force out the words, "Are you just playing around with me?"

It was the first time Mason Lawson had ever been so flustered by a young girl.

He said in a low voice, "If I were just playing around, I wouldn’t have invested so much time and energy in you. But Evie, as things stand, I can’t give you what you want."

Eve Vaughn suddenly realized that true cruelty was speaking the most heart-wrenching words in the calmest tone.

She felt so foolish. Every time she fell in love, she wanted nothing more than to tear out her heart and show it to the other person, only to be slapped in the face by reality in the end.

"Okay, I understand."

Holding back the tears that threatened to spill, Eve Vaughn opened the car door and practically fled toward the school.

Mason Lawson watched the girl’s stumbling figure retreat, an inexplicable sense of frustration welling up inside him. He slammed his hand hard against the steering wheel.

...

Back in the dorm, Eve Vaughn had already dried her tears.

Aria was folding clothes while playing a song.

The music coming from her phone was June Lane’s "Ask." Coincidentally, two lines of the song drifted into Eve Vaughn’s ears: *Should a woman never ask too much? Is it best for her to remain forever innocent, for the man she loves?*

’Perhaps that’s the kind of woman Mason Lawson wants,’ Eve Vaughn thought.

A woman who requires no commitment, who doesn’t add any pressure. A woman who can provide emotional support while they’re together, but won’t cling to him when he gets bored and can be dismissed at any time.

...

After that day, Mason Lawson never contacted her again. He didn’t even say they were breaking up.

A full week had passed. Before, Mason Lawson had never gone this long without seeing her or sending a single message.

Eve Vaughn suddenly realized she had probably... been dumped.

The realization felt like a crack opening in her heart. Wisps of pain spread from that opening until it felt like even taking a shallow breath hurt.

She was all alone in the dorm room, utterly solitary.

Nina Steele was working her part-time job almost every day, and Aria was living in a honeymoon bubble, her relationship with Todd Hayes as passionate as ever.

Not wanting to torture herself alone any longer, Eve Vaughn asked Mia Kendall to go shopping with her.

Mia Kendall arrived quickly and didn’t forget to tease, "What’s up? It’s the weekend, no need to accompany your President Lawson? You actually asked me out yourself."

Eve Vaughn feigned a casual air. "We broke up!"

With that, she started walking toward the university town. She hadn’t eaten properly in days and just wanted to go to their old favorite wonton shop for a steaming hot bowl of wontons.

Mia Kendall froze for a few seconds, then hurried to catch up. "What happened? Why did you suddenly break up? Was it because of that green tea bitch, Joanna Sullivan?"

Eve Vaughn sniffled and said objectively, "It has nothing to do with her. It was about him and me—our own problem. He said... he won’t make the relationship public, and he’s never thought about a future with me. That’s when I realized I was just his current pastime."

Mia Kendall exclaimed in disbelief, "Holy shit, he never thought about a future with you? That’s such scummy behavior! So let me get this straight: you’re 19, he’s 29. You two date for six or seven years, you lose the best years of your youth, and by then he’s in his prime, career soaring, and he can just dump you for someone younger, or a woman who can help his career? What kind of person is that? So irresponsible! And to think I was starting to change my mind about him, thinking he was a reliable guy."

Eve Vaughn grew even more dejected and said bitterly, "It won’t even be six or seven years. He’s already stopped contacting me. He probably thinks I’m trying to force him into giving me a title now and got scared off."

"What? He’s the one who ghosted you? Even if you’re breaking up, there should be a conversation. What kind of crap is it to just suddenly stop all contact?"

Mia Kendall was furious, indignant on her friend’s behalf. "Only a man who puts his own interests first would think you’re demanding a title! You just want equality and respect. What woman wants to be hidden away when she’s dating someone, like she’s a mistress?"

The moment she finished speaking, Eve Vaughn’s face turned pale, a look of profound embarrassment on her face.

Mia Kendall was startled and quickly added, "Evie, you... don’t overthink it. I was just rambling. I didn’t mean it like that."

Eve Vaughn gave a strained smile. "You’re not wrong, though. He spends money on me, gets me out of trouble, is so generous to me... but he won’t acknowledge our relationship. Isn’t that exactly how a man treats his mistress?"

Mia Kendall could only offer this advice: "That’s why, when we get into relationships in the future, we have to keep our eyes wide open! It’s best to make things clear from the start, so we don’t end up following some guy around in a daze, without even the right to be acknowledged by him."

Talking, the two of them made their way to the wonton shop.

Eve Vaughn ordered a large bowl of shrimp wontons and pretended to eat with great relish.

Only Mia Kendall could see that she was forcing herself to eat.

"Eat slower. No one’s going to steal it from you. You’ll get an upset stomach."

Mia Kendall asked the owner for a bowl of broth for her and reminded her.

Just then, the news was playing on the shop’s television.

"At approximately ten o’clock this morning, Lawson Group Chairman Victor Lawson was targeted in a shooting. Lawson Group President Mason Lawson was shot while shielding his father and has been rushed to a nearby hospital. We are still tracking the developing situation."

In that instant, Eve Vaughn’s mind went blank. Her eyes widened, her dark pupils seeming to lose their focus.

The spoon slipped from her hand, splashing into the broth.