Once Upon a Broken Heart, #2
The Ballad of Never After
by Stephanie Garber
Contents
Chapter 37
Overview
Jacks staggers back to the Hollow gravely wounded, and Evangeline tends him as his injury mysteriously heals. Exhausted and vulnerable, Jacks asks her to stay the night and to let them both pretend. Evangeline finally yields to her feelings, openly claiming him, shifting their relationship from guarded alliance to intimate commitment.
Summary
Jacks staggers into the Hollow bleeding from a knife wound, collapsing onto a bench. Alarmed, Evangeline brings him upstairs, gathers liquor and cloths, and begins to clean and bandage the gash despite his evasive answers about what happened. As she works, the torn skin knits together on its own, easing her fear but leaving Jacks exhausted.
With the fire lit and his cloak drying, Evangeline finishes tending him and debates staying. Jacks, half-delirious yet lucid, tugs her close, claiming being near her makes him feel better. He asks for just one night together that they will both forget, urging her to let him pretend she is his.
Evangeline wrestles with her growing feelings and the danger Jacks represents, recalling how their bond has deepened since their leap from the cliff. The Hollow’s protections make the moment feel suspended, and Jacks presses for her to say what she wants aloud.
Choosing desire over caution, Evangeline commits to the moment and to him, answering, "I’m yours." Their alliance turns intimate, redefining their connection and setting new emotional stakes for what follows.
Who Appears
- EvangelineCares for wounded Jacks, struggles with desire versus caution, and finally admits her feelings, claiming him as hers.
- JacksReturns injured, wound self-heals; vulnerable, he asks Evangeline to stay the night and to let him pretend she’s his.