Page 234 of The Bittersweet Bond

He stood relaxed, one hand in his jacket pocket. The way he tilted his head slightly, as if amused by a private joke. The resemblance to Bas in that moment was unnerving.

His voice was calm, his tone so matter-of-fact it hurt.

“You should be glad they’re not together anymore.”

The sentence hit her like a punch to the chest.

Her body went cold.

Bas leaned in.

She could feel his presence beside her, a sudden, rigid tension filling the air between them.

His father kept talking, but the words were too quiet. Only fragments reached them.

“...It had to happen sooner or later.”

“...You saw for yourself what she did to him.”

“...He needs to learn where he belongs.”

Evin’s mother let out a quiet, bitter laugh. Dry. Hollow.

“Where he belongs?” Her voice was sharp as glass. “Tell me, Richard, is that the only thing you Montgomery men know how to do? Draw lines? Sacrifice people to make them fit into your perfect little image?”

Richard scoffed softly. “I’m just correcting mistakes before they become disgraceful.”

A step. A soft scrape of heels against the floor.

“Is that what your father once told you?” Her voice was calm, but there was something underneath it. Something Evin had never heard before.

Richard didn’t answer.

Not right away.

Then—a smile. Barely there. “Be careful not to look for answers you already know.”

Evin’s mother stepped closer, crossing her arms. “And you should be careful who you lie to their face. If you really think you convinced him to make the right decision, then you don’t know your son at all.”

Bas froze.

Evin froze.

Something in the air shifted, subtle but undeniable.

Richard didn’t stay silent for long. “And if you really think you know him so well—” He paused, as if savoring his next words. “—then ask yourself why he had to be forced in the first place.”

Blood rushed in Evin’s ears.

What were they talking about?

Bas’s breathing was barely audible, but she could hear it. Shallow, controlled, full of something he didn’t want to show.

Her mother didn’t back down. Her voice was quiet but firm.

“Because you made him.”

“Or because deep down, he knew I was right?”

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