The Billionaire’s Unexpected Proposal (Evelyn and Derek)

Derek leaned back in his chair as he sipped his whiskey. Ethan sat across from him, nursing a beer, his gaze distant as he stared at the wall behind Derek's shoulder. The lounge was their usual hangout spot, cozy and familiar, but tonight was different. Ethan was not his usual funny and chatty self, and it was glaring.

Derek studied Ethan for a moment, watching his friend's face for any sign of emotion. "So, what's going on with you, man? How are you really feeling about the whole situation with Rayna?" Derek asked, breaking the silence that had settled between them after their pleasantries and small talk about work. Ethan took a slow sip of his beer, his expression unreadable. "I'm fine," he said flatly. "I've moved on."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "Really? Just like that?"

Ethan shrugged. "Yeah. Just like that."

Derek set his glass down on the table with a soft thud, leaning forward. You don't just move on from someone you claimed to love, Ethan. You don't just flip a switch and pretend everything's fine." Ethan's jaw tightened, but he said nothing, his eyes still fixed on the wall.

"Come on, man," Derek pressed, his voice quieter now. "You're holding on to this grudge like it's going to fix things. She's apologized, Ethan. More than once, to the best of my knowledge.

Is losing your golden sun over that misunderstanding really worth it?"

Ethan's grip on his beer bottle tightened, and for a moment, Derek thought he was going to answer. But instead, Ethan sighed and shook his head. "Can you stop calling her that? Or better still, can we just talk about something else?" Before Derek could respond, his phone buzzed on the table, the screen lighting up with a message notification. He glanced down, his brow furrowing when he saw the message was from his source, and it read 'Urgent.'

He quickly clicked on it to see it had an attachment: a voice recording.

"Hold on a second," Derek muttered, grabbing his earbud from his pocket and connecting it to his phone. He played the recording, his face paling as he listened.

It was Sandra.

"It's time for you to get the job done, Sandra's voice said coldly through the recording. "Make sure it doesn't look like a kidnapping.

When she leaves the reunion tomorrow, grab her before she gets to her car. She seems to have a bodyguard, so find a way to distract him. But don't make it obvious. We need to make sure no one suspects foul play. I want it to be clean."

Derek's heart pounded in his chest, and his blood ran cold as he listened to Sandra give more instructions. She wanted Michael kidnapped and then Evelyn. The plan was to make it appear as though they had eloped and something tragic had happened. Or better yet, they should make it look like Michael had kidnapped Evelyn out of anger and jealousy because he was still obsessed with her and then killed her and then committed suicide. It was a twisted, calculated plot, and the more Derek listened, the more his blood boiled. "What the hell..." Derek whispered under his breath, still listening to the details of how Sandra planned to lure Michael out with a phone call so they could easily get him.

His mind raced, trying to process everything he was hearing. This wasn't just about her wanting Evelyn out of the picture- this was a murder plot- a carefully crafted scheme to destroy both Evelyn and Michael.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

"What's wrong?" Ethan asked, noticing Derek's shock.

Derek shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, but the gravity of the situation made it impossible. He yanked out his earbud and handed it to Ethan. "Listen to this," he said, his voice tight.

Ethan took the earbud, frowning as he played the recording. The further into the recording he got, the more his face mirrored Derek's shock.

When the recording ended, Ethan pulled out the earbud slowly, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Are you kidding me?" he asked, his voice low. "She is really doing this? She's planning to murder Evelyn...and Michael? I thought Michael was supposed to be her partner?" Derek ran a hand through his hair, still reeling from what he had heard. "I can't believe this. She's gone completely off the rails. This isn't just about some petty jealousy or ambition- this is a full-blown criminal plan."

Ethan nodded, clearly shaken. "What are you going to do?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Derek stared at the table, his mind racing. What was he going to do? He couldn't just sit on this information. Evelyn was in danger, and so was Michael.

It didn't matter that Michael had betrayed him and the family.

Michael was still family, and he would rather Michael face the punishment for his crimes than he was killed.

He didn't want to report to the authorities yet since this might be his opportunity to catch Sandra red-handed. But how was he going to do this without putting Evelyn's life in danger? Could he afford to do it when Evelyn was already so scared?

"I don't know yet. I need to think about this," Derek admitted after a long pause, his voice low. "I need to figure this out carefully. But one thing's for sure- I won't let any harm come to Evelyn or Michael."

Ethan leaned back in his chair, looking as if the weight of the situation was pressing on him, too. "You have to stop her, Derek.

There's no question about that. But you also have to be careful since intercepting with this plan doesn't mean she won't come up with another."

Derek nodded, his hands tightening into fists. He wasn't sure how he was going to handle this yet, but one thing was sure: he wasn't going to let Sandra get away with this.

He would protect Evelyn, no matter what it took. But first, he needed a plan. A solid, airtight plan that wouldn't just stop Sandra

- but expose her.

He drained the last of his whiskey and leaned forward, his mind already racing through his options.

The dinner with their parents couldn't wait until Sunday anymore.

They had to push it forward. Maybe they could all come up with a plan together.