Nicole tried to sound serious but it made her seem even lovelier. Tim felt warm for her words. He
cherished their friendship especially after his romantic affection for her had turned into kinship.
"Alright, I swear."
Evelyn was surprised by Tim's doting tone and tender gaze. She immediately stood on tiptoe and
grabbed Tim by the collar, trying to make a bluff, "Who are you calling? How dare you do sweet
whispers on my watch?"
Nicole was suddenly stunned, and then let out a chuckle.
"Evelyn, it's me."
Recognizing Nicole's voice, Evelyn felt a little embarrassed.
She laughed and said, "Hi, Nicole. Your brother spoke on the phone behind my back in such a sneaky
manner that I thought he hooked up with someone else. Fine, I'll leave you alone and go shopping."
Evelyn loosened Tim's collar and wiped away some invisible dust on it. Though she left casually, Tim
noticed the loneliness in her eyes.
Evelyn knew him well. She knew how Tim used to feel for Nicole. Tim understood that it was not easy
for her to behave this way as his wife and Nicole's sister-in-law.
Any woman would be jealous.
But Evelyn couldn't show her jealousy because Nicole was his cousin.
Tim felt sorry for Evelyn.
He finally understood what Nicole once said,
"Tim, sooner or later, you'll find your Miss Right. At that time, you'll care about her more than anybody
else."
Tim found out that he was concerned more about Evelyn than Nicole now.
'Nicole has Samuel by her side, while I'm all that Evelyn has since we just lost our baby.'
With this thought, Tim hurriedly said, "I'll call my men, but I'm not sure what the result will be. Sorry,
Nicole, I'm afraid I won't go in person and help you this time. Evelyn's mood has been down recently,
so I want to spend more time with her."
Nicole was stunned at first but soon realized the reason.
Tim finally fell for Evelyn.
People always had to choose between separate ways in their lifetime.
Nicole was glad that Tim realized this at last and she didn't feel sad that he chose to move on. They
had grown up and would have their own life. Both of them had someone to spend the rest of their lives
with. However, their kinship wouldn't diminish. Instead, they would become more mature.
It is more gratifying than upsetting because they would have their own family to attend to. Their beloved
were the only ones that would accompany them till the end of their lives.
Nicole said sincerely, "Tim, I understand."
"Please forgive me, Nicole. I put her through a lot since we were married. Now that we have just lost
our baby, I'm afraid Evelyn will be sad if I spare too much time in your issues."
Tim felt sorry for Nicole.
In the past, he would do anything without a second thought whenever Nicole called him just like what
happened in the Dungeon. He had never regretted it.
But now, he wasn't flying solo anymore. With Evelyn and the entire Mason family in his concern, he
would find a win-win solution to not implicate the Masons because of his own decision and at the same
time help Nicole.
Difficult as it was, he had to do so because he was now Evelyn's husband and a member of the Mason
family.
"It's fine, Tim. You don't have to apologize for this. I never mean to get you involved. If you have the
phone number of your undercover, just give it to me. I'll contact him myself. You and the Mason family
will be clean from this then."
Tim felt a little ashamed at Nicole's words.
He had never thought that one day he would give up Nicole to protect another woman. He felt quite
ashamed when it became reality.
"You can always turn to me for help. We're family after all."
"I know."
Nicole hung up the phone.
Tim's eyes turned red as he listened to the busy signal.
'Am I selfish by doing so?'
Tim suddenly felt helpless.
He quickly went toward Evelyn and hugged her from behind. For a moment, he was so upset that he
wanted to cry.
Evelyn was aghast at Tim's strange behavior.
"What's wrong, Tim? Is there something wrong with Nicole or her baby? Where's Samuel? Come on,
let's go to the Green's."
Evelyn immediately grabbed Tim's hand. But he hugged her tightly when she was about to take him to
the Green's.
"No, she's fine."
Tim choked.
Tim hardly ever lost control of his emotions in public and it confused Evelyn. "Then what's wrong with
you?" she asked, "Oh my god, just tell me please."
"It's fine. I'm feeling lucky to have you. But you could have had someone better than me."
Tim's words brought tears to her eyes as if all the grief and sadness had dissipated.
She wanted nothing more than some kind words.
She looked up and fought back her tears.
"Tim, what's wrong with you? What's this all about? Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"
Tim just smiled and said, "You know what, Evelyn? We should take a trip to make up for our
honeymoon. Which country do you prefer?"
...
He let go of Evelyn and lifted her hair behind her ear, looking at her tenderly.
Evelyn saw her figure in his eyes but her eyes were red like those of rabbits. She thought she looked
ugly.
"Tim, are you making a fool of me? Why are you so mean now?" she said while throwing her fists at
Tim.
...
Tim held her hand tightly and said, "Does that mean yes?"
Evelyn fell silent.
She lowered her head and thought for a long time before she looked up at Tim and whispered, "There
is something wrong with Nicole, right? Otherwise, she wouldn't call you. She would never bother us if it
wasn't urgent."
"It's alright. She's married to Samuel. What could go wrong?" Tim explained, "She just called and
asked me how you've been doing."
...
Evelyn was smart enough though, to find out that Tim behaved unnaturally.
If anyone finds a woman silly, she is merely pretending to be.
Evelyn looked at Tim, trying to persuade herself that he had told her the truth. She wanted to believe
that Nicole was fine and that Tim was sincere about taking her on a trip. She thought it was a good
thing to be left alone.
They could only be a couple without Nicole in between.
She wasn't okay with Tim's feelings for Nicole. But she loved him so much that she chose to tolerate it.
It didn't mean that she wasn't jealous.
Every time Tim risked his life for Nicole, she was very upset.
Evelyn thought she might be a bad woman.
She encouraged Tim to help Nicole, pretending to be magnanimous. However, she held hatred toward
Nicole when Tim went to help her without hesitation.
She suffered even more after she lost her child.
She wanted Tim by her side, while he left to help Nicole and Samuel who were in danger in Country F.
At that moment, she was upset to find herself hypocritical.
She had to show her understanding and support to him. But in fact, she didn't want Tim to leave or be
distracted by other women at all.
Now, Tim finally chose to travel abroad with her regardless of Nicole. This meant that he chose her
over Nicole, right?
But why wasn't she happy at all? Instead, she was so disturbed that she was close to tears.
Evelyn suddenly pushed Tim away and crouched down and curled up like a puppy. Her tears ran down
her cheeks and struck panic into Tim's heart.
He asked in shock,
"Evelyn, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling ill? I'll take you to the hospital. Let's go home first."
Tim wanted to hold Evelyn in his arms, but she pushed him away again.
"Don't touch me!"
Evelyn's magnanimous mask was suddenly taken off because Tim chose her.
She burst into tears like a child.
"Tim, you don't have to be so nice to me. I'm not as good as you think. I'm just pretending all the time!
Every day, I have to fight the devil inside of me and put on a hypocritical mask to face you. Everything
goes well this way. I can look like a generous and considerate person, the best wife and sister-in-law as
you wish for. But why do you break all this down?"
Evelyn felt like a maniac.
This was what she had been expecting. But when it came true, she suddenly realized that she had
been like a clown.
Tim knew everything this whole time.
All her disguise of magnanimity and consideration was pointless.
'Would he think that I'm a hypocritical person?'
'Would he regret marrying me?'
She had been treading on eggs to maintain their relationship.
She behaved casually and befriended Nicole merely out of the fear that Tim would dislike and abandon
her.
But Tim had already seen through the illusion she carefully maintained.
Did that suggest that Nicole had also seen through it?
'How could I ever face them?'
"I'm fine, really. We can take a trip after you help Nicole out first. I can wait. I'm not in a hurry."
Evelyn fought back her tears and forced a smile. But her trembling betrayed her. It was like a dagger in
Tim's heart, making him feel extremely guilty.
It was the first time that he had been fully aware of how deeply he had hurt his wife.
A man should never take a woman's understanding and tolerance for granted. He had no idea how
long she had been enduring the pain, sacrifice, and sorrow for him.
Tim instantly carried Evelyn in his arms and said domineeringly, "Let's go home!"
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