The Billionaire’s Unexpected Proposal (Evelyn and Derek)

Derek rubbed the bridge of his nose unable to believe all that was happening. What bothered him most was his parents and how they must be feeling. He couldn't imagine how he was going to face them.

All his adult life he had done his best to not give them any reason to be disappointed in him, and now just because of one lapse in judgment he had hurt them so much. He couldn't begin to imagine how they were feeling.

"That's not important right now," Evelyn said with a frown as she tried to think.

There were three main questions begging to be answered and they were the Who, how, and why,

Who could have released the news? How did the person get to know about those details? And most importantly why was it released!

She could still remember that they had talked about it in his office. Could that mean that someone had overheard them! She mused. That had to be

"You don't get to tell me what's important..."

"I think someone might have overheard us while we were talking about it." Evelyn voiced out before Derek could finish

Derek scoffed "That's not possible. It doesn't even make sense, so I suggest you save your excuses. If you were going to reveal such private details in the first place. you shouldn't have claimed you were asking for yourself. I trusted you, and you made me regret it. Derek said in a resigned tone

Evelyn felt her heartbreak. She wanted to explain, to make him understand that she would never betray him like that but she could see that no matter what she said, he wasn't going to listen.

As much as she could understand that his feeling was hurt by the article posted about him and his family, she couldn't excuse his reaction

He was behaving the same way her father had behaved six years ago. Like her father, he was not giving her the benefit of the doubt. She needed to get away from here.

What was the point of studying him and working so closely with him if he didn't trust her: She knew he was likely going to call off the interview after something like this happened anyway.

Im sorry about the news and even though I know you won't believe a word I say. I really didn't release that news or tell anyone to do it. I never would. And maybe if you trusted me as much as you made me believe you did, you would know that," she said, her voice firm.

Seeing as Derek remained silent, she nodded. "I think we should leave now."

Derek nodded. We should. Pack your things. We're leaving." he said and without wasting any more time headed for the bathroom to freshen up.

He had hoped that after last night maybe they could find a way to build what they seemed to have, but now, it was obvious there was nothing there and it had all been a figment of his imagination.

Neither of them said a word as they left the Resort and all through their flight back home, the only thing that was on Evelyn's mind was how Derek's adoption news got out

No matter how hard she thought about it, she just couldn't figure out how the news could have gotten out or how it happened to be released by Empowered, making her the only suspect. Was it a setup!ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Who could be behind it? Michael'

Was that why he had pretended to be friendly with her? But even if it was Michael, how had he managed to guess Derek had told her about the adoption

She tried thinking about the events of that day, what had happened before and after Derek told her about it but there was nothing out of the ordinary apart from Sandra's visit.

But then, Sandra had visited before she had the talk with Derek, so what exactly happened?

Evelyn's mind was occupied with these thoughts throughout the flight and when they arrived Derek offered to drop her off but she politely turned down has offer and took a cab instead since she couldn't stand being in his presence any longer

Evelyn sighed when she remembered how quiet and uhdrawn Derek had been. She rested her head on the headrest and shut ber

2:52 PM d

Somehow in the last couple of days since she started working closely with him, she had begun to think of him as a friend, and as a result, his reaction hurt her deeply.

Why did he bother telling her about his secret if his trust in her was so little! She mused sadly.

She had to find out who had released the news and clear her name. She needed to prove to him that he had misjudged her. Not because she wanted anything to do with him, but because she really hated the injustice of the entire situation.

As she walked into her apartment a short while later, her lips curved in an involuntary smile when Samantha ran to her for an embrace.

"Mommy!" Samantha screamed as she threw herself at her mother.

Evelyn knelt to hug her daughter, feeling a wave of relief wash over her. Even though they had only been apart for two days, it was the first time they had been separated for such a duration.

"Hey, sweetheart." Evelyn said softly, holding Samantha tightly as she pushed every other thought aside.

"I missed you so much. Evelyn said as she buried her face in Samantha's hair.

Samantha pulled back to look at her mother, her blue eyes wide with excitement. "Did you bring me something, Mommy?" she asked and Evelyn chuckled, the tension easing a bit from her shoulders. Her daughter indeed was a source of comfort to her.

"Do

you want something or do you want your Mommy?" Evelyn asked dryly.

"I want

my mommy." Samantha said with a wide smile as she grabbed her mother's hand and led her into the living room while chattering excitedly about her weekend thus far.

Evelyn listened, nodding and smiling, as she kept trying to focus on her daughter's cheerful chatter and stop her mind from drifting back to Derek. She had to figure out what had happened, and fast. Samantha plopped down on the couch, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Are you back from the party?"

"Not yet, darling. I have to get ready first and leave from here," she said and Samantha's face fell slightly, her curiosity quickly turning into a pout.

"You're leaving again?" She asked and Evelyn nodded.

"Can I come with you! Pretty please?" she pleaded with a pout and Evelyn sighed, shaking her head gently.

"No, darling, you can't come this time," she said and Samantha frowned.

"Why not?" Samantha asked, her pout deepening and Evelyn took her hand.

"Because I have to go alone for now," Evelyn explained, brushing a a strand of hair away from Samantha's face. "But soon, I promise I'll start taking you everywhere with me. Okay?" Samantha's expression softened a bit, though she still looked disappointed. "Okay, Mommy," she said and Evelyn hugged her daughter tightly.

"I promise. Now, why don't you continue telling me what you've been up to while I was gone while I get ready for the party!" Evelyn said, an attempt to distract herself and Samantha's eyes lit up again.

Evelyn wished she had not made promises to her stepmom regarding the anniversary party. She would have preferred to stay indoors now after the whole Derek episode, but unfortunately she couldn't.