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.

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