Chapter 7. All These Years

Evelyn’s POV

It was him. Nathan.

Standing right there in front of me.

I blinked, fighting the dizziness that tried to cloud my vision, but it wasn’t the alcohol playing tricks on me.

It was him. My Nathan.

For seven years, I mourned him. I buried him in my heart, carrying the grief like a weight that never lifted.

But now, here he was — flesh, blood, and silence.

I wasn’t thinking. I couldn’t think.

The moment our eyes met, I grabbed his collar, yanked him down to me, and crushed my lips to his.

Oh God, his lips.

I hadn’t forgotten a single detail. The softness. The way they used to move against mine each time he kissed me. Like we were always hungry for each other.

I kissed him like a woman drowning, desperate to hold on to something real.

But he didn’t kiss me back.

His lips were still. Stiff.

I opened my eyes, pulling back just enough to search his face, hoping to look him in his eyes as I