Chapter 450

Evelyn stretched her hand toward Julian, her voice firm. "Where's my wood?"

Julian pressed his lips together, clearly exasperated by her persistence. "I don’t have it anymore. It’s all gone," he said flatly.

The flicker in his eyes betrayed him. Evelyn wasn’t fooled. "I don’t care! A promise is a promise. If you used it up, then start over and carve me a new one. Even children should keep their word!"

Her stubbornness left Julian no room to argue. Frustrated, he shot a pleading glance at Alexander. "Aren’t you going to say something?"

Alexander merely lifted a shoulder, his expression indifferent.

Realizing he was cornered, Julian exhaled sharply. "Why are you so fixated on that piece of wood? I already made your birthday gift. What more do you want?"

Evelyn could have explained, but his dismissive tone made her bristle. "That’s my concern. You’re the one who made the promise."

Watching Julian’s face flush with irritation, Alexander finally intervened. "If it’s inconvenient, we can retrieve it from your place. If it’s about compensation, name your price." He paused, then added carefully, "And if there’s some other issue you can’t discuss openly, maybe we can help."

Evelyn stayed silent but gave a small nod of agreement.

Julian rubbed his temple. "It’s not a problem. I just don’t carry it around." He met Evelyn’s gaze reluctantly. "If you really want it, wait until next week. I’ll bring it to you myself."

Relief flickered across Evelyn’s face. "You swear?"

"Yes!" Julian snapped, offended by her doubt. "Do you think I’d lie?"

"Fine. I’ll wait." Evelyn lowered her hand, satisfied—but then a thought struck her. "Did you change your number? What if you vanish again and ignore my calls?"

Before Julian could respond, Alexander cut in smoothly. "Don’t worry. Even if he disappears, the Prescott family won’t. We’ll find him." His tone turned pointed. "Besides, I’m sure young Mr. Prescott wouldn’t break his word twice, would he?"

Julian’s jaw tightened. His fists clenched at his sides before he forced out through gritted teeth, "I’ll keep my promise this time." With that, he spun on his heel and strode away, his posture rigid with resolve.

"If you keep staring, I might get jealous," Alexander teased, draping his coat over Evelyn’s shoulders to shield her from the cold.

Evelyn watched Julian’s retreating figure before turning to Alexander. "I never expected this."

"Expected what?"

"That he’s a Prescott." She shook her head. "I knew Mr. Prescott had a son—his heir, raised under strict expectations. I just never imagined it would be Julian."

It made sense, given how long she’d been away from the Hawthorne family. But what puzzled her was that Alexander, who moved in the same elite circles, had never mentioned him before.

"Funny how small the world is," Alexander mused, tilting his head toward the sky. "It’s snowing again. Should we head back?"

Evelyn glanced around as delicate flakes began dusting the ground. With a nod, she fell into step beside him, their footprints marking the fresh snow behind them.