Chapter 27
Evan reclined against the headboard of his bed, the heavy silence of the Sterling estate pressing in on him as he paced through the wreckage of his thoughts. He knew better than anyone that Eleanor Sterling was not a woman of idle threats. She wasn't bluffing. If he failed to secure Serenity’s forgiveness, his grandmother would "one hundred percent" sever his ties to the family fortune, stripping away the inheritance, the board seats, and the gilded lifestyle that defined his very existence.
Yet, despite the looming threat of financial ruin, a stubborn, defensive wall of ego and pride remained firmly in place. To Evan, an apology felt like a second humiliation, a white flag of surrender he didn’t want to wave. Even with their family name dragged through the mud and the public
