For the next two New Year's, Evelyn spent them in Algaria.
Every year, Sophie's parents would come over to celebrate together, and Sophie would always pull her along to join the family gatherings.
As they spent more time together, their personalities and values resonated in harmony, forging a deeper bond.

That year, the Reynolds family had officially relocated all their business operations to Satbury, intending to settle there for good. Sophie kept pestering Evelyn, asking if she had any plans to stay as well.
Evelyn had thought about this for a long time.
Back home, the few close friends she had all had their own families now, married and settled. Her parents and relatives had long since passed, leaving her completely alone, with no property or assets tying her down.
From both a social and career standpoint, staying made the most sense.
Her career was thriving, and she had even saved enough money to buy a home of her own. She had once considered returning the money Caroline had given her, but Sophie stopped her.
Sophie huffed and poked her angrily. "Are you stupid? You poured your heart and soul into taking care of a blind man for so long. This is the least you deserve! Why would you give it back?"

After that, Evelyn never brought it up again and started preparing her immigration paperwork.
The Reynold family helped her a lot during this process, allowing her to get through the challenges smoothly.
With financial stability and a strong professional foundation, she turned down the promotion her boss had offered and instead opened her own studio.
Over the next two years, the business grew steadily, eventually becoming a solid success.

By the end of her four-year residency requirement, Evelyn met all the conditions for immigration and successfully obtained her permanent residency.
When she returned home to finalize the paperwork, she took the chance to meet up with her old friends.
Years had passed, and time had left its mark on everyone.
But the moment they were together again, it felt just like old times. They could talk about anything.
Of course, the thing everyone was most curious about was her love life.
Faced with their eager gossiping, Evelyn was open and casual about it.
"I dated someone two years ago, but we broke up because our personalities didn't match. We're still business partners, though. My current boyfriend and I got together earlier this year. He's two years younger than me, a student at the University of Satbury, but he's really mature for his age…"
There was an unmistakable glow of happiness on her face as she talked about their relationship, sharing photos and videos with everyone.
Seeing the couple looking so perfect together on the screen, her friends all smiled, genuinely happy for her.
They continued chatting for a while until someone suddenly brought up Matteo.
"Hey, did you guys hear? Sounds like Matteo doesn't have much time left."
Evelyn's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively looked up.
These past few years, she had been so busy with work and adjusting to her new life that she rarely paid attention to what was happening back home.
Sophie might have known something, but out of concern for her, she had never mentioned it.
Even when she occasionally reminisced with her best friend, Michelle Salle, those memories always felt distant, like they were shrouded in fog, hazy and hard to grasp.
The name "Matteo" felt like an old, faded photograph, yellowed with time.
She had assumed he would eventually move on, let go of the past, and build a new life for himself.
She never imagined he had been living in such misery, to the point where his life was now in danger.
The room fell silent for a moment as everyone carefully observed Evelyn's reaction.
Seeing that she was only surprised and nothing more, they relaxed and continued talking.
"I heard about it too, Eve. But since you once said you didn't want to know anything about him, I never brought it up. After all, it's not exactly a happy topic."
"Happy? Please. He had it coming. After everything he did to Eve for Rebecca, he lost his mind later on, and he ended up blind and ruined after his friend crashed into him. He brought it all on himself.
"And for some reason, Caroline decided to have Rebecca take care of him. He's barely hanging on, but he's been through hell."
It had been so long that Evelyn almost couldn't remember that woman's name. Hearing "Rebecca" out of nowhere left her momentarily stunned.
Hearing about the fate of the two people who had completely altered the course of her life left her feeling complicated.
But the moment of distraction passed in an instant.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket.
She snapped back to reality and pulled it out. It was a call from Sophie.
"Evelyn, when are you coming back? My mom made your favorite jam! I'll bring you a couple of jars when you get here."
"I'll be back tomorrow."
The past was slowly fading into the distance.
She gazed out the window, where the sun shone brilliantly like the day she had left.