The Day Our Promise Breaks

After that night, both Evelyn and Brooks were swamped with work.

The jewelry company under the Robinson Group was in crisis. Due to her cousin's mismanagement, the entire design team had jumped ship overnight. Existing contracts were about to fall through. If they couldn't pull together a stronger design team to stabilize things, not only would Robinson Group face huge penalties for breach of contract, but their reputation would also take a major hit.

Wyatt tasked Brooks with solving the problem.

Brooks' first thought was Evelyn.

He trusted her abilities completely. But he also knew Evelyn would say no. It wasn't that she didn't want to help-after five years with Charles, she'd been suppressed for far too long. She'd battled depression and illness. Even now, with her growing reputation, her confidence still hadn't fully recovered.

Asking her to carry Robinson Group's jewelry division through this crisis would be too much pressure.

So, Brooks reached out to Christy, a good friend of his.

Christy was the lead designer at Carlisle, the first jewelry company Evelyn had worked for in the States. She was also a protégé of the internationally renowned designer Taylor. Two years ago, Taylor had encouraged Christy to branch out on her own.

When the meeting was set, Brooks didn't bring an assistant or anyone from PR. Instead, he brought Evelyn.

Christy was delighted to see Evelyn. Years ago, she'd personally presented Evelyn with an award, making an exception to bring her into Carlisle. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, Christy hadn't stayed at Carlisle herself. When she heard about Evelyn's accident, she'd been truly regretful.

Taylor, her mentor, was a genius designer with an infamously high bar. It had been years since anyone had caught his eye. But Evelyn had impressed him. Taylor cherished young talent and had told Christy to look after her. The plan had been to guide Evelyn's career, and when the time was right, introduce her to Taylor.

But then, tragedy struck. They thought it was the end. Yet, miraculously, Evelyn came back-stronger than before. Christy had quietly followed her progress ever since.noveldrama

"Christy," Evelyn greeted her respectfully.

Though Evelyn's health had forced her to leave Carlisle, she never forgot the jewelry competition and Christy's encouragement.

"Just call me Chris," Christy said warmly, instantly closing the distance between them.

Brooks, ever the gentleman, invited Christy to take a seat. Watching Evelyn sit beside Christy, practically starstruck, his gaze softened.

During dinner-over Caesar salads, roast chicken, and glasses of Chardonnay- Evelyn and Christy hit it off, talking shop enthusiastically.

When they'd nearly finished, Brooks got straight to the point. He invited Christy to help Robinson Group weather this storm.

It wasn't difficult to hire designers. The challenge was that most designers, especially in a newly formed team, were prideful. They'd only be convinced by someone whose reputation and skills were undeniably above theirs.

Christy didn't refuse outright. Instead, she looked at Brooks and said, "But you already have the best candidate right beside you."

Brooks glanced at Evelyn. Realizing Christy meant her, Evelyn instinctively shook her head. "Chris, I..."

Christy cut her off before she could doubt herself. "You can do this. I believe in you."

Brooks echoed her, resolute. "So do I."

Christy wasn't just being polite. From the moment Evelyn had reappeared, from the special birthday gift she'd designed for Zayden, Christy had followed all her work Evelyn didn't lack ability-she just needed an opportunity.

"Don't worry," Christy reassured her. "If you run into trouble, I'll have your back no matter what."

It was a promise, a safety net. Christy knew Evelyn could do it—she just needed confidence.

"Evelyn, I wouldn't gamble with Robinson Group or our future," Brooks added seriously.

This was about more than just the company. It was about how Evelyn would be seen by his mother,

grandfather, and the entire familmet

Evelynwasn't truly capable, forcing her into this role would only backfire. He'd never do that to her.

Evelyn looked at Brooks and Christy. Their faith and encouragement lit a spark

inside her. Her eyes grew more confident.

"I'll give it everything I have," she promised.

That was her answer.

When Mrs. Robinson heard, she vehemently objected. She found Evelyn and urged her to know her limits. She appreciated Evelyn's talent, but didn't believe her experience was enough to handle a crisis of this scale.

But Evelyn stood her ground. Brooks also weathered a storm of dissent at the company. Evelyn's qualifications were lower than anyone else on the new design team. As expected at first, no one respected her authority, and cooperation was non-existent.

But Evelyn refused to quit. She poured her heart and soul into the work, and in the end, proved that even if her resume was thin, her talent was second to none.

Christy and Brooks were her greatest source of support.

After over a month of grueling work, Robinson Group's crisis was resolved, and

the design department was finally on track.

...

Evelyn lost a visible amount of weight.

Brooks made a dinner reservation, planning to take her out for a celebratory meal that night.

But that afternoon, Evelyn suddenly fainted during a meeting.

She was rushed to the hospital.

Brooks got the call and raced over. As soon as he arrived, he ran into the doctor coming out of her room.

He grabbed the doctor's arm, his voice hoarse with worry. "Doctor, how's my girlfriend?"

"Now you're worried? Where were you before?" The doctor shot back. "She's pregnant, yet you let her work herself to exhaustion? What could possibly be more important than the baby she's carrying?"