CHAPTER 14: WHAT DO YOU WANT?

Evelyn’s eyes never left the glowing red light above the operating room door.

She couldn’t move. Not while Oliver was still in there. Not while her baby was fighting for his life.

Did Axel seriously expect her to just stroll down a hallway for a private chat while her son was bleeding out on an operating table?

She wanted to laugh, but it came out bitter in her mind.

’Sure, Axel. Let’s have a nice little heart-to-heart while my child is fighting for his life. Perfect timing. People may always do what you ask them to, but not me! I can’t do that... Sorry.’

Her fingers clench, knuckles white. Her gaze stayed locked on the door, her heart whispering one silent prayer on repeat: ’Please, Oliver. Please hang on.’

Axel paused his step when he sensed she wasn’t following him.

He turned to look at her, then raised an eyebrow as his gaze followed her eyes toward the door of the operating room.

That maddening calmness of his wrapped around every word when he finally spoke.

"Evelyn, you are worried too much. You must believe... Oliver will be alright. He’s in the hands of the best doctors. And Dylan will be here watching and waiting. He’ll tell us when the surgery is over."

Evelyn looked at him, her face pretty calm, but inside, she was a mess of nerves.

Her eyes narrowed just a little. "Alright. But I just want to be near my baby. So, can we talk here, please?"

Her voice is calm and steady, but inwardly she is screaming, ’Don’t you dare drag me away from that door, mister Knight! I want to wait for my baby and be as close as possible, and you can’t tell me otherwise!!’

"Sure," Axel replied smoothly, his tone filled with that familiar sarcasm that made her want to throw a shoe at him.

He added, "But don’t be surprised if someone takes a photo of me talking to you here. I’m fairly certain our picture would be headline news within the hour..."

Before he could finish speaking, Evelyn quickly stood up in a rush. "Let’s go!"

Panic overwhelmed her. Of course, she believed him. If he said the paparazzi would sniff them out, then sure enough, she’d be on every gossip column cover by an hour.

And that was the last thing she needed.

She’d worked hard to disappear. To blend. To become nobody.

The peaceful anonymity she’d clawed for years could shatter in an instant if anyone connected her back to Evelyn Walters.

She strode past him toward the elevator with as much dignity as she could scrape together.

But, behind her, his voice came cold. "Evelyn, you’re going the wrong way."

Her steps suddenly halted.

She turned her head slowly and stiffly, her glare sharp. He stood a few paces behind, barely smirking as if enjoying her embarrassed, flushed face.

"...right here." Axel casually gestured in the opposite direction and started walking, not even waiting for her to catch up.

Evelyn exhaled a curse under her breath, ’Perfect. Absolutely perfect. First, I’m terrified about my son; now I’m getting public navigation lessons from Mr. Untouchable himself. Maybe next he’ll remind me how to breathe?’

And yet, despite all the frustration boiling inside her, she followed.

...

The VIP ward room was quiet, too quiet, the kind of silence that made Evelyn feel like every step she took echoed her secrets across the sterile walls.

She followed him in, hesitant, her pulse racing as a man in a black suit closed the door behind them.

Axel didn’t say anything. Just sat on the leather sofa like it belonged to him and gestured for her to sit opposite.

So she did. Slowly. Carefully. Like the sofa might bite her.

And then... silence lingered.

Axel leaned back, long legs stretched out, arms resting lazily on the armrest.

But his eyes, those cold, sharp eyes, never left her. He just stared.

’Oh, great. Here we go. The stare. The "I know everything and I’m waiting for you to confess" stare. I hate that stare. It’s worse than being yelled at.’

Evelyn clasped her hands in her lap, her knuckles white. She looked at him for a few seconds, but got scared and looked away.

Her heart was beating so fast she thought he could hear it.

Finally, she can’t hold it anymore.

"You said you wanted to talk to me, but why are you only staring at me now? What do you want?" Her voice was steady enough, but inside, she was screaming.

Axel’s lips curved, but not into anything warm. A faint, knowing smile.

"Why didn’t you tell me about Oliver? Why did you run away from me?" He asked.

Evelyn froze. There it was. The question she’d been running from for years, and not once had she tried to imagine how to answer it.

Her throat tightened, and she laughed weakly, more to stall for time than because anything was funny.

"Straight to the point, huh? No warm-up questions like, ’How have you been, Evelyn?’ or... ’Nice weather today’? Guess small talk was never your thing." She bitterly smiles.

But, he didn’t smile. He didn’t even blink.

She swallowed hard.

’Right. No more pretending. He knows. Of course, he knows. And what am I doing? Bantering like this is some sitcom? Get it together, Eve! Even if you deny it, he’ll do the DNA test!’

Her fingers twisted in her lap.

"You already figured it out, didn’t you?" A faint smile emerged on her lips.

Still, he didn’t answer, but his silence said enough.

She let out a shaky breath.

"Fine. You win. Oliver... Oliver is your son." The words felt like bricks tumbling out of her chest. Heavy. Terrifying.

Her gaze fixed on Axel’s eyes, but he didn’t flinch. He simply watched her.

So she kept talking, because silence was worse. Silence was torture.

"I wasn’t trying to keep him from you," she whispered, the words tumbling out faster now. "I left because I didn’t have a choice. My father... he would’ve destroyed me if I’d told him the truth. He would’ve destroyed you, too. Axel, you were his enemy."

After taking another long, deep breath, she continued, "Do you have any idea what would’ve happened if I’d said your name? If I’d admitted Oliver was yours?"

Her voice wavered, but she continued.

"I had to leave and do whatever I could to protect my son. And yes, I didn’t tell you because I was scared... If I had, you might have done the same thing my father did..."