Chapter 4

I didn't go straight home.

Actually, the taxi pulled over at a corner.

Liam opened the door.

Seeing the driver's respectful attitude, I knew he was Liam's man.

Liam didn't say a word. He just knelt in the car, his strong frame squeezed near my feet. He opened a first-aid kit and gently disinfected and bandaged my ankle.

His movements were incredibly tender, almost reverent.

It was completely different from the controlling, possessive touches of the twins.

"Don't worry, I won't judge your choices anymore."

"But I will make them pay for this."

I looked at him in surprise.

Years ago, Liam used to control everything, even what I ate. Over the last three years, he had changed a lot.

He didn't stay long. After bandaging me, he got out of the car.

The driver safely delivered me back to my apartment.

When I pushed the door open, the living room light was on. Evan was sitting on the sofa, a first-aid kit open at his feet. It looked like he had been waiting for a long time.

I stopped at the entryway, my voice cold.

"How did you get in?"

He smirked. "Your passcode is my birthday. It wasn't hard to guess."

I didn't reply. I changed my shoes and walked straight to the bathroom.

"It's late. You should leave."

Evan seemed displeased by my lifeless attitude. He stood up and approached me.

"Elena, I came all this way with medicine to bandage your wound."

"Why are you so cold to me?"

He leaned in close, almost kissing me.

I frowned and dodged.

Displeasure flashed in his eyes, and he grabbed my wrist. Jealousy and anger mixed in his voice as he demanded, "You kissed me in the car."

"Why are you dodging me now?"

I knew he was talking about me kissing Ethan.

It was hilarious.

He didn't even love me, yet he was acting like this.

Since he was angry, I decided to make him even more miserable. I mocked him playfully, "Because..."

"The cold, stern look you had in the car was much hotter than this desperate face."

Evan was instantly provoked.

He pressed me against the wall, trapping me with his body.

"Hot?"

"Maybe I should stay tonight. Let's see which version of me you find hotter."

I pushed him away, my eyes filled with pure disgust.

"I'm covered in the wine Chloe threw at me. Doesn't that disgust you?"

As expected, the moment Chloe's name was mentioned, any romantic tension evaporated.

I heard his heavy, suppressed breathing. Then came a loud *slam* of the door.

Evan was gone.

As I stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, my phone buzzed with a notification from the competition committee:

[The submission deadline is tonight at 11:59 PM. Please upload your final work on time.]

I opened my laptop and typed on the keyboard.

[Confirm Submission.]

The screen displayed: "Submission Successful."

I leaned back in my chair and let out a long sigh.

My mind relaxed, but as I looked around my study, something felt slightly off. I couldn't find any obvious traces of intrusion, so I assumed I was just paranoid from exhaustion.

I turned off the lights and went to sleep.

At that exact moment, in the Vance mansion.

Two laptop screens lit up simultaneously.

Evan, leaning against his sports car smoking a cigarette, checked his buzzing phone. An email notification popped up:

[Design Competition Submission — Elena].

He stared at the sender's name, hesitating to open it.

In his study, Ethan was looking at his work files, but he hadn't turned a page in hours.

The email notification finally snapped him out of his daze.

He was hesitating too.

He wondered if he should forward it to Chloe as planned.

Both Evan and Ethan knew that if I lost this competition, I would lose everything. Chloe would naturally become the sole heiress.

This was the plan all along. They shouldn't be hesitating now.