Chapter 14

"I don't know who sent them," Evelyn repeated.

She couldn't bear to meet Nathan's wounded stare. She didn't need any more complications in her life.

But fury burned in Nathan's eyes as he snapped, "You don't know? Are you joking? Do you think I'm an idiot, Evelyn Sinclair? It's barely been a week since we got back, and already there's another man in the picture. If it's just tonic, what kind of man would spend a fortune shipping fresh flowers to you?"

The accusation in his glare made her skin prickle.

She knew she'd done nothing wrong. Her conscience was clear.

She truly had no idea who had sent the flowers.

"I'm going to work." That was all she said, her voice steady. Without a second glance, she tossed the bouquet into the nearest trash bin.

Nathan watched her walk away, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

She crossed the street calmly, disappearing into the subway station.

He remained rooted in place, anger coiling tight in his chest.

Then he turned and slammed his fist into the lamppost. Pain shot through his knuckles, sharp and searing, but it did nothing to quell the storm inside him.

Maybe only marrying her would finally ease this gnawing fear.

At the office, Evelyn couldn't focus.

The subway ride had given her too much time to think.

Now, she had a suspect.

But the idea was absurd.

In H City, Dominic Blackwood had called her. That meant, as her boss, he had access to her contact details—her number, her address.

For someone in his position, getting an employee's personal information was laughably easy.

Her phone buzzed, snapping her out of her thoughts.

A WeChat notification.

"I overreacted."

"I'm terrified of losing you."

"Don't be mad. Let's talk."

Nathan had sent a string of messages.

Evelyn didn't reply.

No one liked being accused of cheating for no reason.

At lunch, Olivia slid into the seat across from her in the cafeteria.

"My brother sent me to smooth things over," she said, pushing a tray toward Evelyn. "He says he got jealous and pissed you off."

Evelyn kept eating in silence.

"Come on, Evelyn, cut him some slack." Olivia laughed. "He's crazy about you. His jealousy just proves how much he cares. Honestly, I think you mean more to him than our parents or even me. You're his whole world."

Evelyn exhaled, the tension in her shoulders easing slightly.

If she imagined another woman secretly sending Nathan gifts... yeah, she'd probably lose it too.

That afternoon, the design department head left his door wide open.

Evelyn passed by frequently on her way to refill her water bottle.

"Who's free to run an errand?" the department head called without looking up.

"I'll do it." Evelyn seized the opportunity, her eyes bright.

Her coworkers shot her grateful looks.

Everyone was swamped—having her handle minor tasks was a relief.

This time, the errand involved delivering blueprints to the president's office.

Exactly what she'd been waiting for.

She took the elevator to the top floor.

Entered the executive suite.

Placed the blueprints on the desk.

But she didn't leave.

"Something else?" Dominic didn't glance up, his long fingers tracing the lines of the blueprint spread before him.

He looked intense, wholly absorbed in his work.

"Thank you, Mr. Blackwood," she ventured.

Her pulse kicked up as she tested the waters.

Stupid, Evelyn. If you're wrong, this is going to be so awkward.

To her shock, Dominic's hands stilled.

He lifted his head, his gaze piercing. "Not bad. At least you recognize your benefactor. You're not as clueless as I thought."

Evelyn blinked.

Clueless?

And benefactor?

Was she some kind of pet he'd taken in?

But semantics didn't matter.

"I don't understand why you did that, Mr. Blackwood," she said carefully.

"You took care of Alexander and Isabella. That wasn't easy." His tone was matter-of-fact. "And I passed out in your bed drunk. I owe you for that. If not for me, you wouldn't have gotten sick."

Evelyn stiffened.

They'd barely interacted in H City after she fell ill. How did he even know?

"Thank you," she said, shifting uncomfortably. To prevent further misunderstandings, she added, "The compensation was more than enough. Please don't send anything else, Mr. Blackwood. As your employee, helping you is part of my job."

Her words were deliberately distant, putting a firm boundary between them.

Dominic chuckled, a single dark sound. His expression was unreadable as he arched a brow. "Confident, aren't you? Assuming I'd give you more."

Evelyn's face burned.

She'd only been worried about explaining more gifts to Nathan.

"If there's nothing else, I'll head back downstairs." She nodded politely and turned to leave.

Retreating with her dignity in tatters.

"Stop." His voice cut through the air.

She froze.

"You said helping me is part of your job, right?" His tone gave nothing away.

Evelyn's stomach dropped.

She nodded warily.

Dominic gestured to a stack of books and cartoon-printed wrapping paper on the coffee table. "Stay and wrap these for my kids."

"Wrap them?" She eyed the books.

"And be quiet about it. Don't disturb my work." With that, he returned to his blueprint, frowning in concentration.

Evelyn had no choice but to comply.

It had been years since she'd last wrapped textbooks.

Four books in total—two labeled Isabella Blackwood, two Alexander Blackwood.

She cut the wrapping paper carefully, but her movements were clumsy from disuse.

She was definitely going to ruin a sheet.

"I—"

She remembered his order not to interrupt, but she had no choice.

Dominic looked up.

Evelyn met his gaze briefly before dropping her eyes. "I messed up one of the sheets. There isn't enough left..."

Her voice was soft, hesitant.

The way she bit her lip sent an odd heat curling through him.

"More in the drawer," he said, his voice rougher than usual.

Relieved, she hurried to retrieve them.

Beneath the desk, she spotted the stack of cartoon paper Sebastian had bought for the twins.

As she crouched to select new sheets, her fingers brushed against a Spongebob wrapper.