The black Cullinan drove down the road.
Evelyn Grant felt stuffy, so she lowered the window.
It had rained in Kyro last night. As soon as the air began to circulate, a damp wind rushed in.
It was chilling to the bone.
The next second, Ryan Sterling reached over from the driver's seat and closed the window.
"Are you trying to starve my son, or freeze him to death?"
"..."
Evelyn Grant's gaze swept over his sharp, refined profile, and she had a startling realization—
Ryan Sterling cared a great deal about the child in her womb.
And he always called it "my son."
'He really does want an heir!'
After a moment of silence, she spoke, her tone purely transactional. "Ryan Sterling, what if I'm not pregnant with a boy?"
'Will he still want it?'
"If it's a girl, then I'll have to keep a close eye on her from the day she's born! Don't want her growing up to be a lovesick fool like her mother, getting bullied all the way to prison and still dreaming that people will believe she's innocent."
See? Communicating with Ryan Sterling was truly difficult.
Evelyn Grant took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Having been shot down, she didn't have the energy to argue for the moment.
"Actually... you didn't have to make such a big scene. If your parents or your brother find out you were the one who gave the evidence to the media, it'll really hurt your relationship with them."
"Tsk. If I hadn't made a big move, would you be sitting here right now?"
The complicated procedures and red tape alone could have dragged on for months.
Ryan Sterling only wanted Evelyn Grant to see people for who they were and learn her lesson; he never wanted her to truly suffer in there.
"Aren't you afraid...?"
"I am."
He didn't say the rest.
How could he not be afraid?
Only he knew how panicked he was when he learned that Evelyn Grant was in trouble.
There were no direct flights from Northport to Kyro, so Ryan Sterling immediately dropped all his work, rushed to Crestfall, and flew back to the country without a wink of sleep all night.
After Evelyn Grant's father passed away, the Grant Family had gradually fallen into decline, leaving only a widow and her children.
He knew there was no one left to protect that little fool.
...
Ryan Sterling didn't take Evelyn Grant to the Sterling Estate; instead, he drove her back to the studio apartment she had bought before her marriage.
"Take a shower, get some sleep. Call me when you wake up."
"Okay."
Evelyn Grant watched his car drive out of the complex, turn a corner, and disappear before she suddenly let out a heavy breath.
She unlocked the door to her home and sank onto the sofa. As she reached out and touched the once-familiar surroundings, a sense of reality finally washed over her.
'I'm really out of prison.'
'Suspicions cleared, death sentence revoked, the label of murderer removed.'
While in the detention center, Evelyn Grant had thought that when this day finally came, she would definitely have a good, long cry.
The heart-wrenching kind.
But now, aside from an unprecedented exhaustion, her eyes were dry. She didn't feel the slightest urge to cry.
After sitting there zoned out for who knows how long, she stiffly stood up and called her unsuspecting mother and brother to let them know she was safe, lying that she had been on a business trip for the past two months.
Then she went to the bathroom to shower and to the bedroom to sleep.
Evelyn Grant was woken up by a series of urgent knocks on the door.
"Eve! Eve, are you in there?"
The voice sounded like Florence Morgan.
She was Julian Sterling's and Ryan Sterling's mother, which made her Evelyn Grant's mother-in-law.
As soon as the door opened, the worry on Florence Morgan's face was obvious.
She let out a sudden sigh of relief only after seeing Evelyn Grant with her own eyes.
"Eve, I'm so glad you're all right! I called you, but you didn't answer. I was afraid you might not be thinking straight and would do something foolish!"
Before Evelyn Grant could say a word, Florence Morgan pulled her into a tight hug.
"You've been wronged! I never thought Julian could be so foolish! To cast aside his wonderful wife, his childhood sweetheart, and go doting on that other woman!"
Because she was so physically weak, Evelyn Grant's thoughts and movements were a beat behind.
When she slowly raised her eyes, she realized Florence Morgan hadn't come alone. Standing behind her was Julian Sterling, a clear handprint marking his left cheek.