That dreaded day
"Have you reached inside the University?" James asked, and Evangeline hummed.
"So you got the job too?" He asked, and she hummed again as she climbed the stairs to reach her room.
"And you are feeling lonely," James's words were barely a whisper, but it was enough to freeze her in her place.
She took a shaky breath and continued walking until she reached her floor.
"It's tough indeed," her voice was calm and collected, and James sighed.
"So, I looked into things, and it was indeed Brandon Brown that you saw at the University. I have prepared the list of the students that you have known earlier and you might be encountering because of them studying or working near your area," James said.
"Good job. Have - have you talked to my brother?" Evangeline leaned on the wall near the corridor.
"Don't worry. I won't sell you out if that's what you are worried about,"
"I am not worried about that. I know you won't betray me. It's just that I know you are against my plans and you want to see me happy and forget everything, but I can't. It's not like I hadn't tried James. I tried. I tried and I failed every time," Evangeline closed her eyes to control her emotions as that day started flashing in front of her eyes, and she gulped.
James didn't need to be told twice how hard it must be for this girl. He still dreaded that day. The hatred for that day was limitless and if he had the powers and god gave him just one wish, he would ask him to reverse the timeline for that one day or just know about it beforehand to save her in time.
That day when he got the phone call that she was found on an island because her body was carried away in waves, only he knows what kind of terror he had felt.
Evangeline had barely been lucky. Not only did those guys beat her but they threw her in the ocean and - James sighed.
If it hadn't been for Evangeline who wanted to avenge her pain and tears herself, he would've shot those bast*RDS himself.
The way her lips were busted, her eyes were swollen black and blue, the various teeth marks on her skin and along with knife wounds -
A tear slipped down James's eyes when the memory of how he found her flashed through his eyes, and he sighed before wiping it.
"I don't know what I want anymore, Evangeline. I just know that I am here with you. You might think that I am against you, but it's all because I want happiness for you. You are not weak, you never were," James said, and Evangeline hummed before ending the call, taking a deep breath.
"Were you talking to Miss Evangeline?" James' secretary asked, and James nodded.
"Who else can make me this emotional? I just, I am quite worried about her. She thinks that she is all tough and ready to take her revenge, but she is not. No matter how tough she becomes on the outer shell, she still has the heart of a soft innocent person," James sighed.
Anyone can fool her with some good words and tears. That's one thing that makes James worried about her. Everyone might think she is unapproachable, but if they decode her with patience, she is still a kid. James sighed and looked at the file in front of him.
Evangeline, on the other hand, sighed and stretched her lips into a fake smile to calm her emotions as she prepared herself to enter the room.
"Hey, you are back. What took you so long? Have you eaten? Did you get the job?" Sarah asked one after the other, and Evangeline smiled.
"Yeah, I got it. The shift will start tomorrow. It's for two hours. I couldn't afford to give up more time since I need to start looking into acting gigs too," Evangeline sighed and looked at the clean bed on the upper side.
So this was her bed now.
"I will just shower and then go to bed," Evangeline walked to the bathroom, looking at her reflection in the mirror with a haggard sigh.
The thoughts of that day still give her tremors. Evangeline looked T her trembling hands, clenching her fists by her side.
"Hey, have you heard about the campus belle competition that is going to start soon?" Evangeline heard Wendy's words.
"Yeah, I heard about it. But why are you so excited about it? Don't we all know who the winner is?" Sarah sighed.
"I don't think it's good to give judgment without even trying. I think Belle can try and compete. It's not like people would always be biased for that girl's beauty and -"
"Oh please, leave Belle out of it. Doesn't she already get enough hate because she is a scholarship student? Now you want to put her into a tight spot by fighting the boy's goddess here?" Sarah cut off Wendy, and Evangeline who was least bothered by what the girls were gossiping about, sighed and turned off the tap.
"Right. How can I forget about it? If someone has to go against that superstar Bellatrix -" Evangeline froze in her place as soon as she heard the name that became half the reason behind her destruction all those years ago.
"-she has to be afraid of nothing and be bold enough to rebuke nicely with a beautiful face and model-like figure -" Sarah cut off Wendy's sentence and paused before looking towards the door of the bathroom.
"Don't even think about it," Belle mouthed to Sarah, who shrugged.
"We never know. What if she indeed gets a good competition? I just don't like Bellatrix. She is too pretentious," Wendy whispered.
"Are you sure that's exactly what you don't like about her? That's it's nothing related to how her name has been in the headlines with the name of your favorite actor in a relationship and netizens are shipping them like anything?" Sarah asked, and Wendy rolled her eyes.
"That is part of that reason, but it's not entirely because of that, okay? Besides, what's wrong with asking? It's not like I am committing some kind of crime, am I?" Wendy asked, and as soon as Evangeline walked out of the bathroom, everyone immediately looked at the girl hopefully.
"What's wrong?" Evangeline looked at them, confused.
"Participate in the campus Belle competition," Wendy said, looking at her hopefully.
"I can't," Evangeline said.
"You can't?" Wendy asked, and Evangeline hummed.
There is no way she is letting her arch-enemies know about her presence without a big event. Her entrance into their life should be a big thing, big enough to steal the night's sleep from their eyes. Evangeline gritted her teeth.
"It's just that I am going to get busy with part-time jobs and gigs, so I don't want to distract myself with anything. Apart from some toxic titles and people coming to me to hurt and threaten me, it won't do anything good," Evangeline said, and Wendy smirked.
"Who said that? Don't you know? Unlike other universities, this competition actually holds meaning here. If you win the main title, the chances of you getting recognized by a film producer are even more than ever.
The chief guests are always film producers who are always looking for Cameo for their movies. Didn't you say you wanted to sign up for some acting gigs?" Wendy asked, and Evangeline looked at Sarah.
"That's true, and that's also the reason why everyone is wary of this competition and anticipating it. This time the director of the blockbuster film Worlds Apart would be the chief guest. Even Bellatrix would be returning to the University just for this competition," Sarah said.
"So Bellatrix doesn't stay at University?" Evangeline asked while tying her hair in a loose bun.
"No. She is like a star. She only comes for practicals and stuff. You look quite disappointed to me. Don't tell me- Are you her fan too?" Sarah asked, and Wendy narrowed her eyes.
"Quite opposite. She is someone I want to see crawling and begging on the ground," Evangeline said with a cold gleam, and Belle looked up before looking at her friends who were equally shocked.
"I mean, I am not a toxic fan, but I just don't like how her name is with almost all our favorite celebrities. I hate it when she acts all innocent when she is not," Evangeline quickly recovered, and Wendy rushed to her.
"I know, right? I had the same thought. Finally, I got someone like me. I don't particularly hate her, but is there anything worth liking either?" Wendy moaned, and Evangeline chuckled at her.