Chapter 14
Beverly was finally free! She’d escaped that suffocating whirlpool of despair!
She was drowning in her joy over leaving when her abdomen suddenly clenched painfully, making her double over. Then, it hit her-she wasn’t alone. She still had the baby… not that she wanted it.
A hand suddenly reached over and rested on top of hers over her abdomen. She slapped it away in horror, thinking she’d run into a pervert. However, the only person she saw was Evan.
What was he doing on the plane?
Beverly was at a loss for what to do as she stared at him in shock. He could always find her, no matter where she went. The joy from her departure instantly disappeared, leaving behind nothing but resentment and fear.
It was alright. She only had 28 days to go. James would come for her.
Evan looked like he always did and pulled her into his arms. He buried his face in the curve of her neck and breathed in her unique scent, exhaling deeply before saying, “I’ve finally found you, honey.”
Something wet trickled down her neck and into her collar. Her lashes fluttered as she returned to her senses and met Evan’s eyes, seeing the tears brimming in them.
This was Beverly’s second time seeing him cry. The first was on their wedding day.
Though according to Christina Gray, Evan’s sister, he’d also burst into hysterical tears while she was in labor. Christina had been terrified.
At the time, Beverly thought Christina was just pulling her leg. Now, as she looked at Evan, she couldn’t help thinking that he looked broken with tears in his brooding eyes. He seemed genuinely afraid of her leaving.
More tears flowed past her collarbones and down her chest, over where her heart was. She placed a hand over it, stopping it from being affected by Evan’s tears.
She remembered what James had told her. “Evan loves you so much that he’ll probably lose his mind if you disappear.”
So what if he loved her? He’d still betrayed her! And that wasn’t all-he’d betrayed their dead daughter. How could he give the name meant for their daughter to a girl that another woman had given birth to?
Beverly felt Evan tighten his hold on her. She could no longer suppress her anguish and burst into tears. She realized that she couldn’t escape him at all.
He’d found her fleeing from an abyss of despair, yet the pain and suffering were still enveloping her. Being with him put her in such agony that she almost couldn’t breathe.
Evan comforted Beverly before directing the pilot to turn the plane around. They landed in Alterra again.
He carried her into the backseat of a Rolls-Royce, and the partition was raised, giving them privacy in the silent space.
He placed her on his lap and dried her tears while asking gently, “Honey, why did you suddenly leave Alterra?”
Beverly didn’t answer him.
ཡཾ ཇ ཇ ཟ ཡོ༤ཋ་རྒྱུ
Evan released her face and played with her hands as he said, “You fainted at the kindergarten earlier, and a man with a child took you to the police station. When you woke up, you asked a police officer to help you buy a plane ticket. Then, you threw your phone into a man-made lake nearby.”
Her heart flew to her throat. He’d gotten every detail right. Did that mean he knew why she’d left?
“Does your sudden departure have to do with something that happened at the kindergarten, honey?”
Beverly stared at Evan, biting her lip so hard that she drew blood. The metallic tang spread through her mouth, and pain shot through her. She used that to force herself to calm down.
Then, she looked out the window, trying to seem indifferent. She watched as the sky gradually darkened, and the city lights came on. She still didn’t say a word.
At least she knew James could help her get away from Evan. No matter how powerful Evan was, he stood no chance against James and the organization. She only had 28 days to go-she would patiently wait for things to come to an end. She wouldn’t let her heart ache over Evan anymore.
He pulled her closer and sighed into her ear. “No matter what happened, just know that I’ll help you deal with it, as long as I’m around. You can tell me when you’re ready.”
Once again, he placed a warm hand on her abdomen and rubbed it gently, gradually alleviating the pain she felt.
Evan thought about what his bodyguards had found out. A man with a child had taken Beverly to the hospital at noon, and another man, also with a child by his side, had taken her to the police station earlier.
Evan believed all coincidences could be orchestrated-whoever this man was, he had to have ulterior motives toward Beverly.
He also believed that her odd behavior over the past few days wasn’t purely due to her period. For all he knew, it could also have to do with this strange man.
Evan frowned. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed that the man was the reason for Beverly’s abrupt departure from Alterra. Was he someone she knew?
The mere thought of an unknown man, beyond his control, being in Beverly’s life made Evan’s heart twist into a knot.
Just then, his phone pinged thrice. The sound reminded Beverly of the three messages she’d sent him when she was on the plane earlier. If he found out that she knew the truth, she feared he would lock her up and cut her off from everyone outside of
him.
If that happened, even James’ people wouldn’t be able to find her when it was time to go.
She snapped to her senses to see that Evan had already unlocked his phone and tapped on the notification. She immediately snatched it, lowered the window, and flung the phone out.
They happened to be driving over a bridge just then, so the phone disappeared into the water. There was no hope of ever finding
When they arrived at Gray Manor, a bodyguard strode forward to greet them. He held out a folder and said, “I found the person that you asked me to look for, Mr. Gray. This is the man who saved Mrs. Gray.”
Beverly looked at Evan when she heard that. She vaguely recalled the man addressing her as his junior-that alone was enough to tell her that he was part of the organization.
However, none of them dared to come into contact with each other outside of the organization. It was one of the organization’s rules-each one of them became strangers the moment they were outside.
“Why were you looking for him?” she asked. If her savior truly were a member of the organization, she couldn’t put him in any danger, seeing as he’d risked his life to save her.
“To repay him, of course.” Evan stroked her hair, unfazed by how she’d acted earlier and thrown his phone away. Both their phones were gone, so they could switch to new ones together.
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The way he saw it, Beverly could do whatever she wanted, as long as she didn’t leave him.
“Don’t bother. If he wanted to be repaid, he would’ve waited until I woke up before he left. He obviously did a good deed without leaving his name because he didn’t want us to disturb him,” she said.
The bodyguard backed away upon hearing that. He knew Evan went along with everything Beverly said, even when it came to making decisions at work. No matter how profitable a project was, he wouldn’t do it if she showed even the slightest hint of objection.
Evan felt much better now that Beverly was finally willing to talk to him again. He slid his hand down her arm, loving how smooth her skin felt. Then, he slipped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet, carrying her into the manor.
She didn’t move away from him. Instead, she curled up in his arms, secretly relieved.
Unexpectedly, he leaned in and pressed his lips to her earlobe. His voice was alluring and dangerous as he said, “It’s fine if we don’t repay your savior, honey, but we do still need to know to whom we owe such gratitude. My bodyguards have already checked the surveillance footage for him, and they should have a result now.”
He turned to look at the bodyguard from earlier. The latter hurried forward and opened the folder in his hands. Images captured from the surveillance footage were printed on sheets of A4 paper, and a face that was all too familiar appeared before Beverly’s
eyes.
Her head shot up, and she glared daggers at Evan before slapping him hard across the face. That startled everyone in the manor.
Heather ran out of the manor when she heard the noise. Behind her were Christina, her husband, and her daughter. Even the maids came with them.
All of them were equally stunned by what had happened. Throughout the ten years Beverly and Evan had been together, she’d never once gotten mad at him, let alone slapped him.
Now, however, she’d done slapped him-and that too, with everyone watching.
Her eyes were bloodshot as tears streamed down her face. She looked like she’d suffered a huge grievance. Meanwhile, Evan stood there without saying a word.
Heather glanced at Evan, wondering why he hadn’t bothered to explain anything. She strode forward and took the folder from Beverly. After skimming through a few pages, she threw it at the bodyguard and snapped at him to leave.
Then, she snarled, “Why was Cindy Beech at Harry’s kindergarten? How could you have done such disgusting things with her? How could you treat Bev like this?”
