Chapter 340

Evelyn's face drained of color instantly. Her eyes widened involuntarily as she fixed a frigid stare on Isabella. "How do you know about this? Did you have something to do with it?"

Isabella remained silent, her lips curling into a victorious smirk.

Seeing Evelyn unravel gave her immense satisfaction.

Her eyes crinkled with amusement, her voice laced with barely contained laughter. "Actually, Nathaniel has known about this connection for a long time. But he won’t act on it—because my place in his heart goes far beyond what you can imagine. Do you believe me?"

Evelyn pressed her lips together. Her chest tightened painfully, as if an invisible hand had seized her heart, squeezing until she could barely breathe.

She regarded Isabella with icy detachment, her gaze so devoid of emotion it was chilling. "Is that so? If he cares about you that much, why come to me? Shouldn’t you be running straight to him instead? Or are you telling me all this because Nathaniel won’t give you the time of day?"

Isabella’s smile faltered.

Evelyn tilted her head, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. "Did I hit a nerve?"

Isabella scoffed. "Don’t flatter yourself, Evelyn. You were almost... ruined, weren’t you? Yet here you are, still enduring it. You’ll never measure up to me. In Nathaniel’s heart, I will always matter more."

Evelyn narrowed her eyes but didn’t respond. She studied Isabella carefully, her mind racing.

She hadn’t figured this out yet. She wouldn’t take Isabella’s word for it—she needed to hear the truth from Nathaniel himself.

After having lunch with Beatrice at the hospital, Evelyn didn’t linger. She headed straight to the Martin Group.

Her mood was visibly off, and Beatrice noticed. Assuming it was due to the heart compatibility results, Beatrice tried to reassure her. "What’s troubling you? Even I, the one directly involved, am not stressing over it. Why are you?"

Evelyn forced a smile and shook her head. "You’ve misunderstood. It’s just work—the competition is coming up, and it’s giving me a headache."

"Just do your best. The result isn’t what matters."

"You’re right." Evelyn’s smile deepened, though it didn’t reach her eyes.

The entire ride to the Martin Group was spent in silence, her expression frosty, devoid of warmth.

When she arrived on Nathaniel’s floor, it was Samuel who greeted her. Her tone was clipped. "Where’s Nathaniel?"

Samuel immediately sensed her dark mood. "Mr. Martin is in his office—"

Before he could finish, Evelyn was already striding toward the office.

Samuel watched her retreating figure, silently deciding it might be best to steer clear of the office for the rest of the day.

Inside, Evelyn pushed the door open without knocking.

Nathaniel was reviewing documents, assuming it was Samuel. Without looking up, he said, "Any dinner plans or meetings tonight?"

Silence.

He frowned. "I asked you a question. Are you ignoring me?"

Then he glanced up—and froze.

Evelyn stood there, her cold gaze locked onto him.

He rose immediately, his expression softening. "What are you doing here? Miss me?"

His deep eyes studied her intently as he approached, taking her hand and guiding her to the sofa. His voice was gentle. "Why so quiet? Are you upset? Didn’t you have lunch with Grandmother?"

Evelyn didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she met his gaze squarely.

"Nathaniel, was Sebastian’s kidnapping really just his doing?"

Nathaniel’s brow furrowed slightly. He remained silent for two beats before responding, "What exactly are you asking?"