Eleven Years All to the Wrong Man novel Chapter 74

When she heard a noise at the door, followed by the door opening to reveal a tall, imposing figure, she thought she was hallucinating.

“Mr. Cooper, what are you…?”

Melissa stood before Evan in the hallway, a jacket draped over her shoulders.

Evan stared at the woman he hadn’t seen in a month but said nothing.

Melissa didn’t know what was wrong. When he remained silent, she started speaking on her own. “I paid back a portion of the money into your account today. As for the rest, I will…”

“Can we not talk about money?” Evan cut her off coldly before she could finish.

“I told you, you don’t have to pay it back. Consider it a gift.”

Melissa looked up at him, the corners of her eyes turning red. “Thank you. I know that money might not mean much to you, but I don’t want to be indebted to you for too much. You’ve already helped me so much.”

Why? Evan couldn’t understand why Melissa had to be as stubborn as Emma. A big reason he’d been drawn to Melissa in the first place was her resemblance to a younger Emma.

He had assumed their personalities were completely different, but he never expected Melissa to be just like Emma—far more headstrong than he’d imagined.

Talking about repayment brought the conversation to a dead end.

Frustrated with everything, Evan decided he didn’t want to be there anymore.

He gave Melissa one last look, then turned and walked toward the stairwell without another word.

“Don’t go…”

Just as Evan took a step, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

Melissa held him tightly, pressing her face against his back as silent tears streamed down her cheeks. “Please, don’t go…”

He had brought some chicken broth and a steak sandwich.

Seeing Emma ready to leave, he paused for a moment, then said, “I got you something to help with your blood.”

Emma didn’t give him the cold shoulder or ignore him. Instead, she thanked him and calmly took the food from his hands.

The atmosphere was subtly awkward. Evan was the first to break the silence. “I went back to the office last night. Something came up with the Graymont City branch, and I had to hold an emergency meeting, so I didn’t come back.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Emma didn’t ask any more questions. She didn’t want to. To her, the truth didn’t matter at this point.

Neither of them mentioned the unpleasant way things had ended the night before. They both subconsciously decided to let the matter drop, leaving it unspoken.