The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 34

Watching the ridiculous spectacle, Evelyn suddenly found it all incredibly laughable.

For three years, the dignity she had carefully preserved, the pride she had swallowed to keep the peace, were ripped to shreds in an instant. She stood there like a complete joke, surrounded, gossiped about, and judged by a crowd of strangers.

She took a step forward, her voice terrifyingly calm. "Penelope. Christian. Enjoy your shopping. Maddy and I will be going."

"Evelyn..." Christian tried to stop her, his voice carrying an emotion she had never heard from him before.

But Evelyn had already turned away. She supported Madeline's arm and said softly, "Maddy, let's go."

Watching her retreat, a glint of smug satisfaction flashed in Lyra's eyes, though her face remained a portrait of innocent despair. "Christian, go after Ms. Sullivan. It's all my fault, I never should have come out today... I just wanted to take Leo for a walk, I didn't think this would happen..."

Penelope grabbed her son's arm. "Don't go after her! Let her leave! Lyra, stop blaming yourself, she's the one who should be leaving!"

Madeline glanced back, shooting Lyra a freezing look, and mouthed two words: "Manipulative bitch."

Lyra caught it, her face turning pale as she broke into even louder sobs.

Leaving the toy section, the stares of the onlookers still pricked their backs like needles. Evelyn kept her spine perfectly straight, walking forward step by step, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor.

Madeline walked beside her, apologizing in a low voice. "Evelyn, I'm so sorry. I was too impulsive back there, I shouldn't have said all that..."

"It's fine," Evelyn said. "Everyone was going to find out sooner or later anyway."

"But..."

"Maddy," Evelyn interrupted, her eyes incredibly calm. "If a rabid dog bites you, do you bite it back?"

Madeline was stunned.

"She loves playing the victim, so let her," Evelyn said, looking at her own reflection in the metallic elevator doors—her face fiercely determined. "Anyway... none of this will be my problem soon enough."

They stepped into the elevator, the metal doors sliding shut, completely cutting off the stares and whispers of the crowd.

It was just the two of them inside, so quiet they could hear their own heartbeats.

Madeline looked at her serene profile and suddenly understood.

That calmness wasn't weakness or surrender; it was the total indifference of someone who had completely let go. Like a tree that had endured a violent storm, losing its branches and leaves, but with roots still planted firmly in the earth, quietly waiting for the next spring.

"Evelyn," she asked softly, her voice echoing clearly in the confined space. "Do you really... not love him anymore?"

Evelyn was quiet for a long time.

The elevator descended smoothly from the third floor, the numbers flashing like a countdown.

Then she smiled—a faint, but genuinely real smile. "I used to. But not anymore."

She said it lightly, but with absolute certainty.

"It's fine," he said, though the emotional distance in his tone was undeniable.

Penelope finally calmed Leo down and turned to her son. "Christian, look at how Evelyn's friend behaved! An absolute outsider, daring to dictate terms to the Lancaster family! And the things she said... utterly shameless!"

"Mom," Christian sighed, rubbing his temples. "Madeline was right. Parading around like this today was completely inappropriate."

"What's inappropriate about it!" Penelope scowled. "Lyra is part of our family now, and Leo is a Lancaster grandson. What's wrong with going shopping? Are we supposed to sneak around?"

"Evelyn is still legally my wife," Christian stated. The declaration left both Penelope and Lyra completely stunned. "Putting on a show like this in front of her crossed a line."

Lyra's face went white, fresh tears springing to her eyes.

Penelope stared at her son in disbelief. "Christian, are you... are you still hung up on Evelyn? You two haven't even... She doesn't love you at all! She only joined the Lancaster family for the title of Mrs. Lancaster!"

Christian didn't answer. He simply took the bagged toy car from the clerk and said, "Mom, I'll take you home."

The tension in the car on the drive back was suffocating.

Penelope sat in the back with a sleeping Leo, glaring darkly out the window. Lyra sat in the passenger seat, keeping her head down in complete silence, save for the occasional muffled sniffle.

Christian gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead, but his mind was consumed entirely by the hollow calm in Evelyn's eyes.

That dead calm... it made his chest tight with panic.