The Billionaire’s Unexpected Proposal (Evelyn and Derek)

Chapter 185

Evelyn sat beside Claire's bed, holding her hand as she stared at her unconscious face, wondering when she was going to wake up.

She had convinced her father to go home to freshen up and change his clothes, while Derek had offered to drop him off on his way to the station to see how things were going with Sandra and Michael. Derek intended to pull every string he had to make sure they were prosecuted as soon as possible so that they wouldn't have to worry about them again.

"When are you going to wake up, Mom? I need you. Sam needs you, too. I couldn't bring her in here to see you this way," Evelyn said softly.

"Please wake up soon. I know you're worried about Sandra. I'm sure you went into her room because you were very worried. I would do the same if it were Samantha. I'm sorry Sandra hurt you. Your heart must be so broken," Evelyn said as she rubbed her mother's hand.

As she sat there, her thoughts drifted to all that had happened.

She thought about how everything had turned out and how unbelievably happy she was, even though she was still hoping for Claire to regain consciousness.

What she had considered a reckless mistake six years ago turned out to be the best decision of her life. Derek.

She smiled as her thoughts drifted to him, and she sighed softly.

She wondered what she could possibly do for a man who already had everything.

Thinking about him, she sat up when she remembered what he had said about being adopted and not remembering anything about his life before he ended up at the orphanage.

She had not thought of it all this while, but now that she knew he was the man with whom she was going to share the rest of her life, she had to give more thought to his life, and all that concerned him.

She remembered that he had said his parents told him that the orphanage home told them his biological parents had died in an accident. Why couldn't he remember anything before then? She mused.

Perhaps she could get him to look into it and find out if he had any relatives. Maybe siblings? Even if his parents were late, she didn't think that was enough reason to forget about them. It wasn't their fault that they died in an accident and left him. She thought about Samantha and how sad it would be if something happened to her and Samantha completely forgot about her.

While she was still lost in her thoughts, a knock sounded on the door, and she turned when Rayna walked in with a grin. "What are you smiling about?" Evelyn asked with a smile as she eyed Rayna, who had returned after freshening up.

"I'll tell you. But first, how's she doing?" Rayna asked as her gaze shifted to Claire.

"Still the same. No change yet," Evelyn said, and Rayna sighed.

"She doesn't deserve this," Rayna said, and Evelyn nodded as she rose for Rayna to sit down.

"You sit down. I sat down for so long last night that I only want to stand or lie on my stomach. I'm scared the size of my butt will reduce if I sit again," she joked, and Evelyn laughed.

"Why did you leave Ethan alone? Is someone there with him?" Evelyn asked, and Rayna nodded.

"Yeah. Melvin and Sarah are still with him. He should miss me a little," she said, and Evelyn raised a brow.

"Miss you? I thought we agreed that Ethan doesn't deserve you, and you moved on and were going to register on dating apps?" Evelyn asked dryly, and Rayna giggled.

"Yeah, right. Like it's that easy to find good men on dating apps, and I haven't this whole time. I have multiple accounts already.

Besides, it's not that easy to walk away from one's soulmate. And Ethan is mine. The idiot jumped in front of a moving car to save me, Evie! How many men on those dating apps would do that?" she asked, and even though Evelyn wanted to agree, she held back, wanting to see how determined Rayna was. "You're a very confused and unstable person. I thought you were mad and feeling guilty that he did that?" Evelyn asked, fighting her amusement.

"That's because I was scared that he wasn't going to wake up.

Now that he's up and can talk, I'm more focused on the romantic aspect of it. He could have died, Evie. He saved me, and I'm going

to marry him," Rayna said with a grin.

"Oh, God!" Evelyn moaned, "I'm tired of you already," she said, and Rayna giggled.

"Don't be. And don't worry, he doesn't know I'm touched. I'm playing hard to get, trust me. He's going to beg me on his knees to marry him. He doesn't just know I'm married to him and pregnant with his kids already," Rayna said with a grin, and this time Evelyn laughed. "But Ethan doesn't deserve you and..." "I don't deserve him too. So, we are two undeserving soulmates," Rayna cut in, and Evelyn laughed softly.

"I know I've said it multiple times before, but I'm going to say it again. Rayna, you're very crazy," Evelyn said, and Rayna laughed.

"Yup. I know," she said with a grin.

"You weren't mad that he was pretending to be unconscious?" Evelyn asked, and Rayna rolled her eyes.

"I was actually too relieved to see he was conscious to be mad that he pretended to be unconscious. Besides, his reason for pretending was sort of cute. He was feeling too embarrassed to face me, Rayna said with a grin.

"Yeah, he should be. After treating you the way he did, he should be ashamed of himself, Evelyn said, and Rayna eyed her with mock disapproval.

"Don't talk about my man like that," Rayna scolded, and Evelyn

paused for a moment before bursting into a loud laugh, and she quickly covered her mouth with her hand, worried that she might disturb Claire. "Laugh that way, and your mom might just wake up with a heart attack," Rayna said, and Evelyn giggled.

"You're such an idiot, Ray. Fighting me over a man that isn't even your man yet when I'm defending you as a best friend should," she said with a shake of her head.

"But he is my man. You're the only one I'm telling this, okay? You can't tell Derek that I'm not mad, okay? I want to see Ethan put in the effort to win my heart. He has won it already, no doubt, but I'd like to see what he would do to win me. So, he insisted that I have to take care of him in his state, and of course, I planned on doing that. He said I should decide which is more convenient, between moving in with him or bringing him to my place. So, I'm going to move in with him," Rayna said, and Evelyn smiled. "Well, I'm happy for you, Ray. As long as you're happy, I'm happy.

I'm glad he is coming around to see that you were right and you are meant for each other," Evelyn said, and Rayna smiled.

"These men can be sometimes slow to catch up on feelings.

Thank goodness for men like Derek, who know what they want and go for it with all their might," Rayna said with a wink.

Evelyn sighed at the mention of Derek and remembered what she had been thinking about before Rayna stepped in.

"I need your opinion on something," Evelyn said, and Rayna raised a brow.

"The name of the baby?" She asked me with a grin, and Evelyn laughed.

"No, not that. And before you ask, I told Derek about it. My dad and his parents are aware, too," Evelyn said, and Rayna nodded with approval.

"Well done. I love it when good news spreads just as fast as bad news. So, what do you need my opinion on? At this rate, I think I should be charging you for my wise counsel," Rayna joked, and Evelyn laughed. "Remember that scandal about Derek?"

"The one Michael and Sandra released and made it seem like it was your doing?" Rayna asked, and Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"Was there another scandal I don't know about?" She asked, and Rayna grinned.

"Just wanted to be sure. Yup. I remember. Why?" Rayna asked, but Evelyn hesitated for a moment.

"Well, I'm thinking about getting him to find his biological family.."

"I don't think his adoptive parents would like that, Evie. That's a shaky ground you're stepping on. I mean, they kept his whole adoption issue hush. What makes you think they would want him to reconnect with his biological family?" Rayna asked, and Evelyn sighed.

"Derek is an adult. He doesn't exactly need their permission to find his biological roots. Also, finding them doesn't mean he's going to stop being Derek Stone. He needs to know his true background and who he really is. He doesn't like being Derek Stone much. I just want

to do something nice for him. Besides, the last thing I want is for Sammy to grow up and end up getting married to a cousin she doesn't know about. These things happen," Evelyn said, and Rayna sighed.

"Well, you do have a point. But if you're going to do something like this, I suggest you don't tell Derek about it. Don't get his hopes up.

Just secretly look into it. If you find something good, tell him. If you don't, bury it and forget you ever looked into it. That way, everyone is happy," Rayna advised, and Evelyn nodded.

"I can do that, Evelyn said thoughtfully.

She had the means and the connections based on her job and she could pull it off easily. All she had to do was get the name of the orphanage home from Derek, and she would take it up from there.