Chapter 96

The silence in the room stretched on, thick and heavy.

Finally, Evelyn broke it with a soft, humorless laugh. "You came here to ask me to apologize to Lila, didn't you?"

Diana met her gaze steadily, her voice calm but firm. "I came for the truth."

"The truth?" Evelyn's tone turned sharp, laced with bitterness. "Good luck finding that. No cameras in the dining room, just our word against hers. How do you prove anything?"

Diana didn’t respond immediately. After a beat, she exhaled slowly. "Evelyn, you’ve changed."

The Evelyn she once knew would never have retaliated against Lila like this.

Evelyn nodded, unflinching. "Yes, I have. And honestly? I don’t regret it. I’m done letting people walk all over me."

She leaned forward, eyes locked onto Diana’s. "Do you really think I’d deliberately scald Lila’s hand? Remember three years ago—when she accused me of pushing her on purpose? Victor beat me so badly I couldn’t sit for days. If I had actually hurt her this time, what would I gain? More of his disgust? And Nathan—you know how much I used to care about him. If I’d acted like a monster in front of him, what would he think of me?"

She had never voiced these thoughts aloud before. With Victor and Grace, it would have been pointless—they never listened. But Diana was different.

So far, Diana hadn’t once accused her of hurting Lila intentionally or demanded an apology.

Diana considered her words, then chuckled dryly. "And yet, the second time, you did pour that soup on her hand on purpose."

A faint, icy smile touched Evelyn’s lips. "If they were going to believe I did it anyway, why not give them what they wanted?"

Diana studied her for a long moment before shaking her head slightly. "You remind me of myself when I was younger."

Evelyn pressed her lips together, then spoke bluntly. "Diana, I’m not apologizing to Lila."

She paused, her voice hardening. "I won’t apologize for things I didn’t do. And for the things I did do? I stand by them."

Diana’s expression softened with resignation. After a brief silence, she sighed. "Let’s just eat."

The subject was dropped, and the meal continued in uneasy quiet.

Midway through, Evelyn excused herself to the restroom. As she finished and reached for the stall door, snippets of conversation drifted in from outside.

"Lila, I can’t believe your sister would do that to you—twice! You can’t let her get away with this!"

"Seriously, you should tell your father. He needs to teach her a lesson!"

Evelyn’s fingers stilled on the door handle.