Billionaire’s

Derek by on his bed, his eyes glued to his phone, as thoughts of Evelyn clouded his mind.

After sending her a good morning text earlier, he had been hoping to get a call from her to at least scold him for sending her a text or maybe to say she liked it even though he knew that was unlikely to happen.

Seeing as the day was far gone and he hadn’t heard from her, he contemplated calling her to ask if she liked it so he could hear her voice even if was for a second,

After contemplating for a while, he smiled when an idea hit him. He could call under the pretense of wanting to find out what had happened between her friend, Rayan, and Ethan.

Without wasting any more time he dialed Evelyn’s line.

Evelyn, who was alone in the house after her stepmother left, since Maya and Samantha were not back from the park yet, was lying on her bed thinking about Derek when his call came in.

Her lips curved in a smile when she saw the call, but she rolled her eyes as she received it, “Hello, Mr. Stone,” she said, not because she felt like addressing him formally, but because she wanted to get a rise out of him.

“Ah! I see we are back to the formalities, Derek said, and she stuck her tongue in her check.

“What do you want?” She asked in a cool tone

“Are you going to give me what I want if I tell you? I want you naked on my bed and writhing under me with your…”

“Stop” she said, shutting her eyes to block out the picture that his words had painted.

Derek chuckled, “You asked what I wanted,” he said, rising from his bed to walk around his room.

“Did you get my text

my text this morning! I’m sure you did. Why didn’t I get a response?” He asked, and Evelyn sighed.

“You know why you didn’t get a response. I’ve told you before. If it isn’t a work related conversation, I don’t want..

“Why are you so damn stubborn, Eve?” Derek asked with mock frustration

“I should be asking you that,” she retorted.

“Well, that’s not why I called,” Derek said, changing the subject, and she raised a brow.

“So, why did you call? Is it about the interview!” She asked with undisguised curiosity.

“Ethan told me what transpired between him and your friend at the club last night. It was a misunderstanding..”

“Ethan‘ The jerk she talked about was your best friend?” Evelyn asked in disbelief

“Ethan isn’t a jerk. I can assure you that Ethan would never touch anyone inappropriately. He was pretty upset…”

“And so was Rayna. He could have just been a gentleman instead of saying mean words to her.” Evelyn said, and Derek shook his head.

“You weren’t even there and you’ve picked sides already. If your friend had listened to him instead of calling him a pervert he wouldn’t have said anything harsh to her. Ethan doesn’t take kindly to some words, and pervert is one of them, Derek explained.

“Well, I guess they were both wrong” Evelyn concluded.

“Yeah. So, what are you up to today?” Derek asked, and she pursed her lips, wondering how best to answer his question

“Tim” she trailed off when she received an incoming call and she pulled the phone away from her ear to check who was calling.

it

She smiled when she saw it was Rayna, “I have to go now. I have another call. Bye” she said, and quickly ended their call since she wasn’t sure how the conversation with him would go from there.

“Hey, Ray?” Evelyn greeted cheerfully the moment she received the call pleased with Rayna’s perfect timing

“You sound excited to hear from me today.” Rayna observed with a smile and Evelyn giggled.

“Of course, Lam. I was fast talking about you before you called,” Evelyn said, and Rayna raised a brow Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

“Really? Me too.” Haynu said, and Evelyn giggled.

“Krally? What were

were you talking about and with who?“ Evelyn asked curiously.

“Well, you go first,” Rayna suggested.

“Remember Derek? From the club last night?” Evelyn asked, and Rayna raised a brow.

“Yeah. The guy you want and who wants you but you can’t date him because it’s complicated,” she said dryly and Evelyn giggled.

“What a way to say it. Well, apparently, the guy you accused of being a pervert happens to be his best friend and he

“Damn!” Raynı

cussed, and Evelyn laughed.

“Can you imagine how awkward it would be if I were to cross path with him again? This is one of those times you hope you never see someone again. Now I’m just going to hope things remain complicated between you and Derek, so I never have to run into him again.” Rayna said, causing Evelyn to holler with laughter now,

“Relax. It’s not that deep Evelyn said amidst her laughter.

“Let’s hope so. Anyway, can you guess what happened today?” Rayna asked, changing the subject.

Evelyn chuckled. “You caught the person that touched you at the club?” She asked, and Rayna groaned.

“Don’t remind me, please.”

“Okay. You know I’m terrible at guessing. So, shoot.”

“Alright, alright. Sandra came to visit me at the bakery today,” Rayna revealed,

Hearing this, Evelyn couldn’t help the prickle of unesse she felt at the mention of Sandra. “Sandra visited you?”

“Yeah,” Rayna confirmed and Evelyn swal

allowed.

“Well, that shouldn’t be strange, right? I mean, you’re both friends too, and I’m sure you both have been in touch all these years,” Evelyn said easily

“Well, it is strange. I think she’s trying to poison my mind against you,” Rayna said, her voice growing serious.

“Why would you think that?” Evelyn asked, her brow furrowing in confusion as she wondered what Sandra had been up to

“She said a lot of things about you that made me believe she visited me specifically to badmouth you” Rayna said, and then went on to tell Evelyn what Sandra had said about her behaviour at the anniversary party.

Evelyn rolled her eyes as she listened. Typical of Sandra. She thought with a shake of her head. “Well some part of that is true,” she said and Rayna raised a brow.

“Really? What part?” Rayna asked curiously

“The part where she said I poured wine on her,” Evelyn said and Rayna laughed.

“Wait, what? You actually poured wine on her?” Rayna asked, surprised.

“Yes, I did. And that was only because she was trying to put up a show that I pushed her down. So, I figured if she’s going to paint me as a bitch. 1 should as well for the picture,” Evelyn explained and Rayna hesitated before speaking again.

“Does that mean it’s true that you chested on Michael?”

“Cheated on Michael Sandra told you that!” Evelyn asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. Although she didn’t outrightly say it. She hinted at it,” Rayna explained,

I she told you, why are you asking

ig met” Evelyn asked and Rayna smiled even th

though Evelyn couldn’t see it.

“Because you’re my friend. I told her that doesn’t sound like you. So, I want to hear directly from you, Evie. I’m not going to believe just anything I hear about you without hearing it from you. I will only believe whatever you tell me,” Rayna said, her voice calm but insistent

Evelyn’s heart raced as she processed Rayna’s words. Despite everything Sandra had told her, Rayna was still giving her the benefit of the doubt even though she hadn’t exactly told her anything.

She wasn’t blindly believing Sandra’s accusations, she was asking her for the truth. At that moment, Evelyn realized how much Rayna valued their friendship, and it touched her deeply. Rayna was a true friend and she deserved to know the truth.

Rayna having been waiting for Evelyn to say something spoke up again when the silence had stretched for too long. “I won’t judge you, Evie. I will never judge you, okay? So, you don’t have to worry. And if you still want me to wait until you’re ready to tall, I will she promised.

Evelyn swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry. “Thank you, Ray. But you don’t have to wait anymore. I promise to tell you everything when neXT we see each other, Evelyn said and Bayna smiled.

12:15 PM

“Really? Are you sure?” She asked, sensing how difficult this was for Evelyn.

“Yes. I am,” Evelyn said her voice firm. “Why don’t you visit me tomorrow?” she asked and Rayna smiled, glad that Evelyn was finally ready to open

up to her

“Tomorrow it is then,” Rayna agreed. “But I hope you know that you really don’t have to tell me anything unless you’re ready?” she asked and Evelyn smiled.

“I know and I also know that there’s no one else I would rather confide in but you,” she said and Rayna nodded.

“Alright them. Text me your address and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

After they hung up, Evelyn sat back on her bed, feeling a strange sense of relief. For the first time since she returned to Ludus, she felt like she wasn’t carrying the burden alone anymore.

cared for her as a

as a friend.

She had someone she could trust in Ludus now. Someone who wasn’t tangled up in the web of her past like Derek, but someone who genuinely

The thought made the weight on her shoulder feel a little lighter, and for that, Evelyn felt grateful.