He Introduced Me to a Lover, and My First Love Walked In Chapter 07

He Introduced Me to a Lover, and My First Love Walked In Chapter 07

“You’re too smart not to know why I did it, sweetheart.”

I pressed my lips together.

Ever since I’d seen Evan again, one possibility had refused to leave me alone.

Had he gone to Julian’s house because of me?

Then I’d tell myself I was flattering myself.

Evan and I hadn’t spoken in six years. Even though we’d grown up together, we had still only ever been

friends.

I was the only one who had quietly loved him all those years, with no hope that anything would ever come of

But I couldn’t think of any other reason he would have gone there.

While I was still wavering, Evan answered the question for me.

“I went to Julian’s house for you.”

“You spent all those years in love with me and never said a word. Sweetheart, I’ve waited for you for so long,

and it hasn’t been easy.”

“So I’m done waiting. This time, I’m making the first move.”

His words hit me so hard that my mind went completely blank.

“W-What do you mean?”

Evan sighed and looked straight into my eyes.

“Sweetheart, I know this isn’t exactly a proper confession, but I need you to know that I love you. I have for a very long time. Maybe even longer than you’ve loved me.”

I should have been happy.

Instead, tears spilled down my face.

“If you loved me, why are you only telling me now? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

I knew I shouldn’t blame Evan. Back then, I hadn’t been brave enough to confess either.

We’d missed our chance because neither of us had been brave enough to take that first step.

But the hurt kept growing inside me.

I couldn’t stop wondering what would have happened if he’d said something back then.

Would we still have missed our chance?

Would I still have married Julian and gone through everything I’d suffered since?

There was no answer.

Evan crouched in front of me and gently wiped away my tears.

“I’m sorry, Audrey. I came back too late.”

That was when I finally learned why Evan had vanished from my life without warning when we were

twenty-two.

He’d been sent overseas against his will.

And Evan wasn’t simply the boy I’d grown up with.

He was the Ashford heir.

His mother had died giving birth to him.

Before her funeral had even been held, his father moved his pregnant mistress into the family home.

Evan, his own son, was sent away to live elsewhere under a nanny’s care.

That was how he had ended up living next door to me.

Evan had always assumed he’d never return to the Ashford family.

Instead, almost as soon as he turned twenty-two, they hauled him onto a plane against his will and sent him overseas to be groomed as the family heir.

Confused, I asked, “Why did the Ashfords choose you?”

“My stepmother had three sons of her own, so under normal circumstances, I never would’ve been the heir,”

Evan said.

A faint smile touched his mouth, as though the memory amused him.

“Unfortunately for them, they had terrible luck. On my twenty-second birthday, the five of them went on a trip together and died in a car accident.”

“Now I’m the only Ashford heir left.”

Then his voice took on a coaxing, almost playful note.

“Sweetheart, don’t you think I’m incredibly lucky?”

That was a question I had absolutely no idea how to answer.

His biological father had died in that crash.

Saying yes felt wrong.

Saying no somehow felt wrong, too.

Fortunately, Evan didn’t really expect an answer.

He reached out and touched my face, his expression turning serious.

“Audrey, I can protect you now.”

The very next day, I found out exactly what he meant.