The Billionaire’s Unexpected Proposal (Evelyn and Derek)

Evelyn stirred awake, a soft brush of lips trailing along her cheek. Her lashes fluttered as she groaned lightly, swatting at the persistent intruder. "Derek," she murmured, her voice thick with sleep, "why are you disturbing my peace?" Derek chuckled, the sound deep and rich. "If it were up to me, I'd let you sleep all day. Maya made breakfast, and she came to fetch us." He placed another kiss on her forehead, his warm breath tickling her skin. Without opening her eyes, Evelyn sighed. "What time is it?"

"It's past ten," Derek replied, his tone teasing. "You've been out like a light. As much as you need sleep, you need food, too."

Evelyn groaned and finally cracked her eyes open, squinting against the sunlight streaming through the curtains. "I didn't realize how exhausted I was," she admitted, her voice soft with lingering sleep.

Derek watched her, his gaze tender. "You deserved the rest. You've been running on fumes for days. Good morning, lover."

Evelyn stretched, her body protesting the movement

after so many hours of stillness. Her hand fumbled on the nightstand for her phone. "I need to check on my mom," she said, already unlocking the screen.

Derek reached out to still her hand. "I already called.

She's fine, and so is Ethan. They're resting."

Evelyn blinked, her lips parting in surprise. "You called my Dad?"

"Of course," Derek said with a small smile. "I knew you'd worry. Now, can we get up and eat before Maya starts complaining that we're ungrateful?"

Evelyn hesitated before nodding. "We need to pick up Samantha. She should visit my Mom."

Derek leaned back, propping himself up on one elbow. "Yeah. Your Mom also asked to see her. But first, you need breakfast. You're eating for two now, remember?"

Rolling her eyes playfully at his comment, Evelyn slid out of bed and padded to the bathroom. As she brushed her teeth, Derek's voice carried from the bedroom, humming some tune she vaguely recognized. It was oddly comforting. When she returned, Derek was waiting, his hand extended toward her. "Shall we?"

They descended the stairs to find Maya sipping from a

mug of coffee at the dining table. The table was laden with food - crispy bacon, golden fried eggs, and fresh toast.

Evelyn's stomach turned the moment the smell of eggs hit her, and she instinctively wrinkled her nose, turning away quickly.

Derek noticed immediately. "Ah, sorry about that," he said, rushing to move the offending dishes. "Maya, Evelyn can't stand eggs or anything fried right now."

Maya looked up, a frown creasing her brow. "Is something wrong? Are you ill?"Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Evelyn smiled faintly. "I'm okay. Just pregnant."

Maya's face lit up, her frown vanishing. "Oh my goodness! Congratulations!" She clapped her hands together, her excitement evident. "Samantha's going to be thrilled-she's always wanted a sibling!" Evelyn laughed softly. "Yeah, she's been asking for one for ages."

Derek returned to the table, setting down a plate of fresh fruit and yogurt for Evelyn. "There you go," he said, squeezing her shoulder lightly.

"I'm sorry your effort for breakfast is going to waste," Evelyn said apologetically.

Maya waved it off, "It's fine. I will pack it up and eat it later."

As they all sat down, Evelyn glanced at Maya, curious.

"Yesterday, I noticed you weren't home when we got back earlier in the day. Did you go to the hospital again?" she asked since Maya wasn't the type to go out much. Maya hesitated, "No... I went to see a friend."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow, surprised. "A friend? You?"

Maya gave a nervous laugh. "Yes, Evelyn. I do have friends, you know."

Evelyn chuckled but decided not to press further.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. And I'm glad you're making time for yourself. You deserve it."

Maya nodded, though guilt flickered in her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to tell Evelyn about Liam.

"Thanks. I noticed you didn't return early. I thought Sam was coming back yesterday," she said, and Evelyn sighed.

"Yeah. We got back late last night. I didn't want to wake you when we got in. My mom gave us a scare. She was declared dead for a moment but came back to life." Maya's eyes widened in shock; her mug paused mid-

air. "What happened? Was she ill?"

"She wasn't, not exactly," Evelyn explained. "She had an accident and hit her head. It was... a lot," she said, not wanting to get into the whole Sandra drama. Maya shook her head, her voice trembling slightly.

"That sounds terrifying. I'm so glad she's alright now.

Can I come with you to see her?"

"Of course," Evelyn said with a small smile. "But we have to stop at Derek's parents' home first to get Samantha."

Maya tilted her head. "I thought she was at Ella's place."

Evelyn shook her head. "She was, but her grandparents took her yesterday."

Maya sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I feel so out of the loop lately. I guess I've been too caught up in my own worries."

"It's okay to focus on yourself," Evelyn said gently, and then she turned to Derek, who was silent.

"What are you thinking?" She asked, and he shrugged.

"I think we should get you a nutritionist or a dietician," he said, and she rolled her eyes.

"I don't need that," she said, and he nodded.

"You do. As a matter of fact, we all do. What do you think, Maya?" He asked, and she grinned.

Maya looked from Derek to Evelyn and then back again as she tried to make up her mind, "I think it would be nice to have one," she said, flashing Evelyn an apologetic smile, and Derek grinned. "That settles it, babe. The ayes have it," he said, and Evelyn laughed.

"We can just ask the domestic staff company to make sure the chef being sent over is a nutritionist or dietician. I don't want the house overflowing with strangers," Evelyn said, and Derek nodded.

"You have a point. Let's finish up and leave then," he said, and after Evelyn and Derek were done eating, they left to freshen up.

As they walked into the bedroom,

Derek turned to Evelyn. "I'm going to

tell them about it when we get there," he said. At first, Evelyn wanted to ask what he was talking about, but then she realized he was referring to the information about his biological sister.

"Yeah, you should. The sooner you tell them, the earlier you can start searching for her."

After freshening up, all three of them got into the car and left for Derek's family house to pick up Samantha.

Derek drove the car while Evelyn sat in the passenger seat and Maya sat in the backseat.

Evelyn observed Derek silently for a while before reaching out and resting her hand on his arm. "You seem a little tense," she said softly, her voice slicing through the silence in the car. Derek glanced at her before exhaling deeply. "It's just...

I'm not sure how to talk to them about this. They ve always been so supportive, and I don't want them to feel like I'm ungrateful or that they weren't enough for me."

Evelyn gave his arm a reassuring

squeeze. "You don't need to worry about that. Just tell them the truth how Michael told you about your sister and that it's not something. you went looking for yourself. They'll understand, Derek. And they see that finding her doesn't take away from how much you love them."

Derek glanced at Evelyn again, this time his features softening into a grateful smile. "You always know what to say."

"Because I know you," Evelyn replied, smiling back.

Although Maya did not intend to listen in on their conversation, it drifted to her in the backseat, and she couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about.

Was Derek's sister missing? What did finding her have to do with loving his parents? She mused as she looked out of the window.

Once again, her thoughts drifted to the brother her late mother had mentioned, and she sighed inwardly, wondering if he had ever thought of her or was making any efforts to find her.