The Billionaire’s Unexpected Proposal (Evelyn and Derek)

Derek held on to Evelyn's hand as he drove, his heart racing with different thoughts on how to put an end to Sandra's shenanigans so that he could focus on his relationship with Evelyn.

The joy of her pregnancy announcement was still warm in his heart, but the urgency of keeping her safe pushed any celebration to the back of his mind.

As they drove in a tense, determined silence, Derek's phone buzzed once again. This time, the caller ID showed Eric. Derek glanced at Evelyn, silently asking if she was comfortable with him answering. She gave him a reassuring nod. Placing the call on speaker, Derek greeted, "Hello, Eric."

"Derek," her father's voice came through, a mix of concern and weariness. "Just checking in. Is everything alright? How's Evelyn?" Derek let out a sigh as he fought to keep his tone calm. "She's with me," he said, glancing over at Evelyn, who managed a small smile.

"Hello, Dad. I'm alright, Evelyn greeted.

There was a pause on the line before Eric spoke again. "Did something happen? I thought you were supposed to be with the detectives?" He asked, wondering if he was mistaken about the details of the plan and had it mixed up. Evelyn glanced at Derek, who hesitated, unwilling to reveal Evelyn's pregnancy just yet. Not when he had yet to digest it himself fully.

"There has been a change in plans. But we're on our way to join the others now. I don't want to wait anymore. Sandra's been too unpredictable, and I want her arrested tonight. I don't think I have the patience for weeks of this," he said, thinking of Sandra's earlier request to make Evelyn suffer.

There was a heavy sigh from Eric. "I understand, and honestly, that's why I called. I'm not certain, but it looked like Sandra might have gone somewhere tonight. She left the house after you dropped her off earlier, and her car was missing when she returned a while ago."

Derek's brows knit in confusion. "She left the house after I dropped her off? What is she up to?"

Evelyn looked at Derek, worry creeping into her expression. "Where could she have gone after you left her?"

Eric continued, his voice lowering. "She seemed... jittery when I talked to her, and she even denied leaving. She was wearing black outfits, looking like she'd been somewhere she didn't want anyone to know about. I just wanted to make sure Evelyn was safe."

Derek's heart hammered, his thoughts racing. "Thank you, Eric.

We'll keep a close watch."

"Try to rest now," Evelyn said, and with that, they ended the call.

Turning to Evelyn, Derek's gaze was intense. "Did you notice the car that sped past earlier? The car Brad thought was chasing after you?"

Evelyn shook her head. "No. I didn't see anything."

Derek nodded, "Could you give Brad a call? I have a feeling I might have been Sandra," Derek said, and then Evelyn picked up her phone and dialed her bodyguard's number.

He quickly answered. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Quick question, Brad. Did you get a good look at the car that zoomed past you guys earlier?" Derek asked, his tone edged with urgency.

The bodyguard confirmed the make and model, and Evelyn's eyes widened as the description rang through the car. "That's Sandra's car.

Derek's expression hardened, his jaw clenched. "Thanks, Brad," Derek said, and Evelyn hung up the call.

"It seems like she went back to Rayna's bakery. Why would she go back there? Do you think that maybe she was suspecting us?" Evelyn asked with a confused frown.

"I don't think that is the case. It's possible she wanted to keep an eye on things and see you being kidnapped herself," Derek said thoughtfully.

"If that's the case, don't you think she must have seen us?" Evelyn asked, but Derek shook his head.

"She zoomed past you, remember? The question is, why did she do that?"

The question hung in the air as they both tried to figure out what Sandra was up to. Derek couldn't shake the feeling that Sandra was up to something dangerous. Before he could voice his thoughts, Evelyn turned to him. "I should probably call Rayna. Let's find out if she heard from Sandra or saw her," she suggested, and when Derek nodded, she quickly dialed Raynas number.

It rang a few times before Rayna answered, her voice faint and choked with emotion. "Evie?"

"Ray, it's me. Are you alright?" Evelyn asked, her concern deepening at the sound of Rayna's voice and sniffling.

There was a pause, and Rayna's voice broke. "Evelyn... Ethan - he was in an accident."

Evelyn's face went pale, her hand flying to her mouth as she processed the news. "What? What happened? How?" She asked as she quickly placed the phone on speaker and turned to look at Derek with wide eyes.

From the driver's seat, Derek's gaze flicked between Evelyn and the road, worry knitting his brows.

Rayna took a shaky breath, her voice trembling. "Someone tried to run me down. Ethan... he jumped in and saved me, but he was hit instead."

"Oh, my God! How is he doing? I hope he's not so badly hurt. How are you doing?" Evelyn asked, deeply worried now.

"He's still in the theater being operated on. I really hope he is fine, Evie. I'm so scared, Rayna cried, and Evelyn, being a sympathetic crier, joined in the tears.

Derek's grip on the wheel tightened, his mind racing. "Hello, Rayna!

Don't worry. I believe Ethan will be fine. We'll be there as soon as we finish over here. Did you see the car that hit him?" Derek asked since that was more important at the moment than asking her what Ethan had been doing there instead of on the ship he was meant to board as he had told him. Rayna sniffled, struggling to speak through her tears. "I saw it in the parking lot when I was seeing Evelyn off. Right after she left, it came out of nowhere and tried to hit me."

"Can you describe it?" Derek asked, and Evelyn looked at Derek, wondering if he was thinking Sandra was behind it.

She knew that Sandra was bad, but she also didn't believe that Sandra was capable of such cold-blooded murder. It was one thing for Sandra to want her and Michael dead, but why would Sandra want to run down Rayna? "Sure," Rayna said and then went on to describe the car.

Evelyn's hand covered her mouth as she exchanged a glance with Derek, horror dawning in her eyes. "Sandra's car," she whispered, the weight of realization sinking in. "Are you sure?" Rayna asked, her voice rising, a mix of shock and anger brewing in her tone.

"Yes, I'm sure," Evelyn replied, feeling a shiver run down her spine at the thought that Sandra had intended to harm Rayna.

"I guess that explains why she didn't take her car home," Derek said thoughtfully.

Before Evelyn or Derek could say anything else, Rayna's voice sharpened with a hint of cold fury. "Thank you for letting me know." And with that, the call abruptly ended. Derek frowned, sensing the storm brewing. "We should have warned her to stay calm... She's likely going to do something rash now."Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Evelyn nodded, still shaken. "I just can't believe Sandra would go this far. What do we do now?"

Derek's gaze softened as he spared her a glance, "First, we stick to the plan. But after tonight, I'm keeping you away from all of this.

I'm going to put an end to this once and for all," He said as he reached for her hand again, squeezing it for comfort, his expression fierce with a mixture of love and protectiveness.