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"Evelyn... you understand, right?"
"David is gone. Dead. He can't return."
"The living must move forward, cherish what's left, right?"
"Besides... didn't you talk about divorcing David?"
Evelyn slowly lifted her head, meeting his hopeful gaze.
"Who said divorce?"
"That was a lie."
"We promised forever. How could I abandon him?"
Ethan gaped. “Then what about me?”
“What am I to you?”
“You both said you’d take care of me… that you’d stay with me.”
"Who said care means marriage? You're like brothers. Isn't that enough?"
Evelyn's gaze sharpened.
"And didn't you say?"
"You only wanted to be near us, to atone for your parents' sins against the Shaws."
"Since when are you so greedy?"
Ethan was stunned. "What?"
"You... never intended to be with me?"
Evelyn ignored him, resting her head against the coffin.
"My heart was always David's."
"Dead or alive doesn't matter. I'll stay by his side."
Horrified by her devotion to a corpse, Ethan scrambled back.
"Madwomen!"
"You're both insane!"
"Evelyn! Scarlett! What good is this act now?"
"You sent Liam and David to Misty Peaks!"
"Stop pretending!"
Silence fell.
Evelyn and Scarlett stood, moving towards Ethan as one.
He turned to flee. They seized his arms.
"You're right, Ethan. The dead are gone. We must move forward," Evelyn murmured, her slender fingers tracing his wrist bone.
Scarlett stepped closer, arms encircling his waist, rising on tiptoes to whisper in his ear.
"Ethan's right. With them gone... no one disturbs us now."
...
Ethan didn't grasp their sudden shift, but seeing their intense gaze, he shot a triumphant look at our coffins.
Had Liam been here, he'd have seen the sisters' eyes – cold, dangerous. Like before we met them.
For weeks, life seemed normal.
They worked, managed their empires.
Outsiders thought they'd moved past grief.
Ethan thrived.
Scarlett, always volatile, took extended medical leave. She toured the world with Ethan.
Evelyn, busy, showered him with cards, watches, luxury cars, properties.
