Dangerous Secrets: My Mafia Stepbrother

In this moment, Evelyn suddenly remembered the things William had done to her-tying her up, using her phone to message Isabella, making Isabella believe it was Evelyn she was chatting with. Evelyn despised everything William had done to her, these actions had left a psychological imprint on her. Now, seeing James approach to take her phone, in an instant, Evelyn recalled everything she had gone through before. Fiercely, like a wolf, she knocked James’ hand away and snatched her phone back.

Now, lying in bed, clutching her phone tightly, Evelyn drew herself into the covers, seeming intensely afraid that James would take her phone from her. Fear made her body tremble. She was so frightened, truly frightened. She couldn’t let anyone take her phone again, couldn’t let anyone use it for nefarious deeds.

James hadn’t anticipated that taking her phone would make Evelyn so afraid. Before, she had shown no fear towards him, but now, the look in her eyes was the same as when she looked at other unfamiliar men. This feeling made James deeply uneasy. He had been wrong; he shouldn’t have acted that way. He shouldn’t have tried to take Evelyn’s phone; he should have spoken to her instead.

At this moment, Evelyn also became distrustful of him. James understood why Evelyn was so afraid-because William had done similar things to her before. He always used her phone to message Isabella, attempting to frame her. Although he hadn’t succeeded in the end, it had still left a psychological mark on Evelyn.

Approaching Evelyn, James wanted to comfort her, but Evelyn had wrapped herself tightly in the covers, isolating herself. Through the covers, he could feel her trembling, shaking like a frightened kitten.

“Evelyn, Evelyn, calm down, okay? I won’t take your phone, don’t be afraid,” James could only soothe Evelyn through the covers.

He couldn’t abruptly lift the covers; it would only make Evelyn more anxious. Seeing that Evelyn still didn’t respond, James continued patiently, “Evelyn, I’m sorry for what I did just now. I really didn’t mean to. I did it because Isabella hasn’t been able to reach you for days, she’s really worried about you. I know you don’t want her to see you like this, so I wanted to use your phone to message her, to let her know you’re okay, and then you can meet her when you’re truly feeling better.”This is property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

James had never been this patient with anyone. His temper had always been very volatile. If he didn’t like someone, he would just shoot them, even if they were his own family, he showed great indifference. Everyone saw him as a killing machine, devoid of emotion, only capable of murder, only executing the tasks Emanuel assigned to him. But now, he was tenderly coaxing Evelyn, like he was appeasing a child. No, in fact, he wasn’t even this patient with children. But Evelyn was different, she was special, and James was acutely aware of that. So, he used all his patience to comfort her.

Seeing Evelyn finally stop trembling under the covers, after a while, she peered out, still wearing a frightened expression, but at least, it was much better than the near-breaking point she had been at earlier.

Seeing Evelyn like this, at that moment, James suddenly felt a pang in his heart, a sense of pity that spread through his heart. James truly felt sorry for Evelyn. When he himself was covered in wounds, he didn’t pity himself. When he watched his teammates fall one by one, he didn’t feel sorry for them because he knew it was their mission. However, today, when he saw Evelyn looking so pitiful, James suddenly began to feel sorry for her. Waves of slight pain emanated from his heart, enough to warrant attention. He felt very uncomfortable, but he couldn’t control it. Whenever he saw Evelyn looking so distressed, his heart would ache.

“Here’s your phone. Tell Isabella I’m okay, don’t let her know that I’m unstable right now,” Evelyn still couldn’t bring herself to look in the mirror, fearing she would look like a madwoman. She could message Isabella, but whenever she spoke, her messages would carry a certain tone. She was very worried that Isabella would notice her current state.

“Damn it,” James couldn’t help but curse vehemently.

Seeing Evelyn like this, James wished he could hold her in his arms, providing her with a sense of security with his broad chest, so she wouldn’t be afraid anymore. But he dared not. He was afraid of scaring Evelyn. She was too tightly wound at the moment; any sudden movement might startle her. He didn’t know how to comfort her; he had never done such a thing before. All he could do now was to stay by her side, waiting for Evelyn to calm downgradually on her own.

“I’ll send the message now, Evelyn. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything out of place,” James crafted a text message but didn’t send it immediately. Instead, he showed it to Evelyn first. After reading the message, Evelyn nodded, “Okay, you can send it.”

“Alright,” James sent the message to Isabella, completing his task. Then he handed the phone back to Evelyn, saying, “Evelyn, you don’t need to be afraid. I won’t do anything to hurt you.”

This man looked as sturdy as a bear, with muscles all over his body. Even though he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt today, hiding his muscular physique, Evelyn could still see the biceps on his arms, stretching the fabric. His chest muscles were also faintly visible. This man was the most robust man she had ever seen, looking like he could crush her with a single punch. Yet, he was so gentle with her, like sunlight slowly illuminating her heart. It was hard to imagine that this man, who should have been rough, was so tender and attentive when facing her.

Previously, Evelyn had dated a thug because she was fond of him, but he had treated her poorly, even hitting her after drinking once. Evelyn had finally broken up with him when she couldn’t bear it any longer. And now, James was much more robust than her previous abusive boyfriend and appeared to be a valuable assistant to Emanuele. Emanuele seemed to value him greatly. Yet, here was a man who was so gentle, so cautiously watching her, as if he didn’t know how to make a woman happy.

Evelyn’s emotions had stabilized a bit by now, and she said to James, “I believe you.”

She emerged from the covers and sat on the bed. She felt a little better emotionally. “I just thought of what happened before, and I felt emotionally unwell.”