Billionaire’s

Evelyn’s breath caught in her throat when she heard that. Outside her house or her office? Perhaps she didn’t hear him properly. She told herself as she glanced toward the window, her mind racing,

“You can’t see me. I’ve left the office,” she replied, her voice trembling slightly as she prayed she had heard wrongly.

Tim aware of that. I’m right outside your house, not your office, Derek repeated a hint of urgency in his tone. “I need to talk to you. Please come out or I’ll come to your door. The only reason I haven’t done that is because I promised not to barge in on you. So, consider this a courtesy call

Hearing this. Evelyn’s heart rate increased. How did he know where she was staying? Why was he there? What about Samantha? What if he saw her? What should she do now!

She couldn’t allow him into her home or even remain outside her house. She couldn’t risk him seeing Samantha. The last thing she wanted was for Derek to see Samantha

“I will be right outside. Give me a moment,” she said quickly before ending the call.

Immediately she ended the call, she hurried out of her room, finding Maya and Samantha in the living room. “Maya, please make sure Samantha doesn’t step outside until 1 return. I have to go out for a bit.

“Is there a problem?” Maya asked when she saw how pale Evelyn looked and heard the urgency in her tone.

Evelyn shook her head. “No. Just make sure you both don’t step out. I’ll be back soon, she said and Maya nodded, concern flickering in her eyes as she watched Evelyn kiss Samantha’s forehead before hurting out the door,

As Evelyn stepped outside, her breath hitched when she saw Derek’s car parked at the curbs

What would she have said or done had she been outside with Samantha‘ She mused as she took a deep breath to calm herself before hurrying over to meet him.

On getting to the car, Derek opened the door and gestured for her to get in. As Evelyn slid into the seat, she forced herself to stay calm, since she didn’t want to give herself away by acting suspiciously.

“Thank you for coming out-

“How did you find out where I liver she asked, cutting him off irritably.

Derek’s gaze met hers, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. “Did you really think after losing you six years ago that I wouldn’t make sure to know where you lived this whole time in case you disappear again?”

His words hung in the air between them, filled with unspoken emotions. Evelyn swallowed hard, her fingers gripping the edge of her seat.

“You knew where I’ve been staying all this time?” she asked a tinge of fear in her voice which Derek mistook for surprise.

“Yes, I did. I wasn’t going to take any chances,” he said with a shrug and Evelyn swallowed as different thoughts ran through her mind.

Did that mean he had followed her or how did he find out! Had he by chance seen Samantha? He certainly haven’t if he had not asked her about it. She told herself, deciding to tackle why he was there so that he could leave and not ran into Samantha

“What do you want, Mr. Stone?” she asked, looking at him.

Derek sighed, “I see we are back to being formal,” he said and she nodded.

“Yes, we are. Only friends who understand and trust each other should address each other informally. So, I ask again, what do you want!”

“I want us to talk,” he replied simply, his tone earnest. “Can we go in! We can’t talk here…”

“No, we can’t!” Evelyn said, sounding harsher than she had intended, but she didn’t care

He deserved it. He deserved it for showing up uninvited and he deserved it for not believing her.

Derek nodded, understanding the unspoken reason behind her refusal to let him into her house. “Is there somewhere we can go then?” he asked ——and Evelyn sighed.

“There’s a park around the block. We can go there, she offered, and Derek started the car, driving in silence until they reached the small, sechaded park

They found a bench under a tree, away from prying eyes and ears. Evelyn sat down first, her arms crossed defensively as she looked at Derek

“I know you’re still very angry at me, and I deserve it. I doubted you and said things I shouldn’t have and so, I want to properly apologize to you. I’m very sorry. I feel ashamed of myself for saying I trusted you when I couldn’t show my trust in you when you needed it. I regret it,” he said truthfully and Evelyn blinked back the tears that gathered in her eyes when the memories of that morning and everything that had happened after came to

mind

“Your apology doesn’t change anything, Mr. Stone. What’s done is done. But I appreciate you stepping in and helping me keep my job. I’m grateful for that even though I would never have been at risk of losing it in the first place if you and your family didn’t jump to the conclusion that I was behind the news,” she said and Derek sighed deeply.

He knew she was right. If Michael hadn’t made his parents believe that she was responsible for it, they never would have asked her boss to fire her.

“I want to make things right, Evelyn. I don’t want any more misunderstandings between us. I’m truly sorry. Can you forgive me?” he asked and she sighed, her gaze dropping to the ground as she wrestled with her emotions.

Although she had been quite angry at him and had thought she wouldn’t be able to forgive him, hearing him apologize now made her realize she had forgiven him but was just disappointed in him.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why do you suddenly believe me! It’s not like the culprit was caught. So, why do you think I didn’t do it?” Evelyn asked curiously as she looked at him.

“Well, I was too upset to think straight, and when I was calm, I thought about what you said. It didn’t make sense that you would release news like that after signing an agreement with me,” Derek said and Evelyn nodded.

As much as his reaction had hurt her, what he said made sense. Anyone would have been upset i

in his shoes.

“I’m sorry it got out. I don’t know how anyone else got to know about it. It wouldn’t have been exposed had I not asked you to tell me.

“About that, I know how it got out, and I think I know who’s behind it, Derek admitted, watching her reaction carefully.

Evelyn looked at him, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I thought you said I was the only one you told. Did you tell anyone else about it?”

“No,” Derek shook his head. “Only you,” he said and Evelyn raised a brow.

“Then how do you know who released it if you didn’t tell anyone else? Who are you suspecting?” she asked, her curiosity evident in her tone. She wanted to know if he was also suspecting Michael and why.