[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-260322E1C3D0-263":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},263,49,"Chapter 49: Watching the Bastard Self-Destruct","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Evangeline Montgomery finished sending the final drafts to Sadie Larson and was settling into her workflow when Jemma Riley came clattering up the stairs, knocking urgently on the door.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Ms. Montgomery? There’s a guest downstairs to see you.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Evangeline frowned. Had she really become that much of a local sensation?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Descending the stairs, she was met by a sight that stopped her in her tracks. Angela Harrison was standing there, her eyes swollen and bloodshot, her face a map of despair. The moment she saw Evangeline, she rushed forward, gripping her hands with trembling, frantic fingers.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Evangeline, please, you have to save Jonah. I’m begging you.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Evangeline steadied the older woman, who looked like she might collapse at any second. \"Angela, what’s going on?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Angela let out a ragged sob. \"Ever since he found out you got married, he’s been a ghost. He won't eat, he won't sleep, he just drowns himself in whiskey from sunrise to sunset. I’m terrified he’s going to—\" She choked on the words, unable to finish.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Don't cry. Please, don't cry.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Evangeline felt a pang of sympathy as she wiped the tears from Angela’s cheeks, patting her back gently. The rot in her relationship with Jonah was personal, but she couldn't hold the elder Harrisons accountable; they had always treated her with a genuine, maternal warmth she rarely found elsewhere.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Just talk to him, please,\" Angela pleaded, her voice cracking. \"Just tell him... something. Anything.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"But...\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I’m begging you, Evangeline. I know he failed you, I know you owe him nothing, but do this for me. I’m out of options. I’m drowning.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Seeing the woman who had once been like a second mother to her reduced to this broken state, Evangeline felt a sharp tug of guilt. She sighed, her resolve wavering. \"Alright. Don't worry, Angela. I’ll go see him.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The atmosphere at the Harrison mansion was suffocating, thick with a heavy, unspoken dread. The domestic staff moved like shadows, terrified of making a sound. By the time they reached Jonah’s bedroom door, the sharp, cloying scent of cheap scotch was already seeping through the frame.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Evangeline knocked. A roar from inside shattered the silence. \"Get out!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The sound of a glass bottle smashing against the floor followed. Evangeline didn't hesitate; she pushed the door open.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Jonah was slumped against the wall, his eyes rimmed with angry, bloodshot red, his hair a tangled, greasy mess. He looked like a man who had long since surrendered to the abyss.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Jonah.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He didn't react. He just stared blankly into the middle distance. Evangeline stepped closer, crouching down, and gripped his shoulders to shake him. \"Jonah, look at me!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He blinked, his gaze finally snapping toward her. A sickly, desperate smile spread across his face. \"Evangeline...\" He reached out, clawing at the air, trying to pull her into an embrace.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Evangeline recoiled instantly, her expression turning into a mask of ice.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Jonah let out a hollow, broken laugh. \"You don't want me anymore...\" He reached for the bottle beside him and tilted his head back, taking a deep, shuddering gulp.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Is this it, Jonah? Are you just putting on a performance now? Trying to act like the tragic lead in some pathetic romance?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Before he could swallow, the alcohol surged back up, mixed with a dark, metallic spray of blood that splattered across the carpet.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Angela screamed from the doorway, rushing in to cradle her son as he convulsed. \"My baby! Oh god, don't scare me like this! Jonah, please!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Evangeline didn't wait; she was already on the phone, calling for an ambulance.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">At the hospital, the diagnosis came quickly: acute gastric hemorrhage. Angela was catatonic, slumped in a plastic chair in the waiting room, her voice lost to the hours of sobbing. Anthony Harrison sat beside her, his once-imposing frame seemingly shrunk, his posture hunched and fragile. He looked a decade older than he had just that morning.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Please, Evangeline,\" Anthony said, his voice raspy and defeated. \"When he wakes up... just talk to him. He’ll listen to you. He’s always listened to you.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Watching the patriarch of the Harrison family crumble before her, Evangeline felt a bitter irony. She couldn't bring herself to forgive Jonah, but she could perform a mercy for his parents. She nodded slowly.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Three hours later, Jonah was awake, his face paper-white, a nasogastric tube snaking into his nose. He looked so diminished, so utterly wretched, that it stirred a strange, hollow sensation in her chest.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Jonah,\" she said quietly. \"Stop self-destructing. You need to pull yourself together. If not for you, do it for your parents.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Jonah didn't speak. He just squeezed his eyes shut, a single tear tracing a path into his hairline.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Live,\" she repeated firmly.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He didn't argue. After a long, agonizing silence, he simply let out a faint, breathless whisper.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Okay.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Stepping out into the cool evening air after saying her goodbyes, Evangeline felt untethered. Her life—past and present—felt like a reel of film flickering through her mind. Cassidy’s descent into obsession, Jonah’s cowardice and regret, and Marcellus... Marcellus, who had defied the very heavens to pull her back from the grave.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Everyone was just chasing their own ghosts. Who was she to judge?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"You went to see him.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The voice was low, dangerous, and distinctly familiar. Evangeline turned to find Marcellus standing just a few paces away, his silhouette sharp against the streetlights.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Marcellus? What are you doing here?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"You went to see him,\" he repeated, his eyes dark with a simmering, possessive fury.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Evangeline stepped up, poking his cheek until he was forced to look at her. \"Are you jealous?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Is it not allowed?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She beamed, a genuine, playful light returning to her eyes. \"It’s allowed. Jealousy is just another word for love, isn't it? I’ll forgive you for this one.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The irritation on his face faltered, caught off guard by her pivot. Before he could retort, she moved in closer, tucking her arm through his.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"His parents were like family to me. They were hurting, and I went out of common decency. That’s all.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"And you were upset,\" he pressed, though his grip on her hand loosened. \"Were you hurting for him?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I was just thinking,\" she murmured, leaning into his side as they began to walk. \"Thinking about how much better life is now.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He didn't push it further. She let out a quiet sigh of relief, then narrowed her eyes, feigning indignation. \"And by the way, did you have Waylen trailing me again?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Marcellus cleared his throat, looking everywhere but at her. \"I—\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Caught you,\" she laughed, cutting him off. \"I know. You’re just terrified something might happen to me. I get it.\" She looked up at him, her smile softening. \"You’re a good man, Marcellus. You handle everything, you protect me... you’re a pretty decent husband, you know that?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"What did you call me?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The shift in his eyes—the way they filled with that intoxicating, raw hunger—made her heart skip. She didn't hesitate this time.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Hubby,\" she said, her voice a sweet, deliberate honey.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The tension in him evaporated, replaced by a look of pure, unadulterated adoration. As they walked down the street, their shadows merging into one under the amber streetlights, the bitterness of the hospital faded into the background, replaced by the quiet, creeping warmth of a future she had built with her own two hands.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272913013]