My Dad's Bestfriend

Chapter 215

Jacob

As the elevator doors slid shut, a jolt of panic shot through me.

Fuck.

I wasn't thinking—I never was when it came to Evelyn.

Before I could process it, my legs were moving, rushing toward the stairwell. The cold air burned my lungs as

I sprinted down the steps, two at a time, the echoes of my own footsteps pounding in my ears.

God! What the hell was I thinking? Why didn't I stop her?

Fuck. I knew the answer-I was too busy self loathing in my own mind.

By the time I reached the ground floor, my breathing was ragged, sharp exhales cutting through the silence. I bolted toward the parking lot, scanning frantically.

Nothing.

She was gone.

God, how the fuck did she disappear so fast?

It was nearly night. The streets were emptying, the sky turning a shade too dark, too ominous. And Evelyn? She wasn't even wearing anything warm enough.

This wasn't safe. Not for her.

Not for the-fuck-not for the baby.

I raked a hand through my hair, frustration clawing at my skin. "Why am I even thinking about the fucking baby?!" I muttered under my breath, shoving the thought away as I slid into my car and gunned the engine.

I didn't know where I was going, but I couldn't sit still. My mind raced through every possibility, every street, every road she might have taken.

Did she take a cab? Was she walking?

If she was on foot...

A sharp tension gripped my spine. I knew these streets too well, the empty pathways, the dark alleys. The wrong kind of men lurked there, waiting for trouble.

A fresh wave of urgency crashed over me. "Fuck!" My palm slammed against the steering wheel, the horn blaring into the night.

traffic, my pulse a live wire beneath my skin. Nearly an hour had passed, and I was getting

Then, my phone rang.

split second, I ignored it, but then I saw the name

picked up, my voice raw. "Is

is. But what

train, knocking the air from my

walk out of her house, barely dressed, in tears? She's

She was safe.

safe... but she was crying. She was freezing. And it

the fuck to do. I—" I cut off, swerving past a car on a sharp turn, my frustration bleeding through every word. "I am fucking hopeless. I have no idea how to handle

A harsh silence.

her fault. Do you hear me?" Her tone was deadly. "If you knew you couldn't get past your traumas, you had no fucking right to drag her into this. What you're doing isn't just selfish, it's cruel. You are constantly hurting her

my

Jacob! The world was hard on us, I get it. But people have had it worse. And they still fucking live! They choose to move forward! They choose to love despite the pain! You can't keep punishing Evelyn because of your demons. Get over them! Man up and tell them to fuck off! You can't

My stomach twisted.

need her to say his name. I already knew who

there the whole time. He raised you. He taught you how to be a

clenched my jaw,

in half an hour," I said, my voice barely above

ended the call before she could

sped

knew exactly where I needed to

I needed answers.

to fix this—before I lost

***

Evelyn

gently brushed my hair back, her touch soft, wiping my tears with a tissue as I sobbed like

what

voice raw, broken. "He doesn't want our baby, and it looks like he never will. I'll

baby

will not

a father by their side it hurts

the way Clara always did when I was hurting. But this—this was different. This time, I wasn't just sad. I

can be an asshole-the biggest asshole in the world—but he'd never

throat aching. "Well, I'm not staying with him if he doesn't accept my baby," I sniffled. "I choose this

doesn't see things the way we do it's hard for him to make decisions like this. You know our biological father wasn't exactly a

doesn't mean he can't be a father. He is not like him, Bianca. He's different. If anything, he's like