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.

and I was getting nowhere. My knuckles were white against the steering wheel, regret twisting deeper into my gut with every passing

Then, my phone rang.

ignored it, but then

picked up, my voice raw. "Is she at

is. But

freight train,

and unforgiving. "It's freezing outside, Jacob! What the hell did you do to make a pregnant woman walk out of her house, barely dressed, in tears?

She was safe.

was crying. She was freezing.

a shaky breath, my foot pressing harder on the gas. "You know the reason, Bee," I muttered. "I don't know what 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

A harsh silence.

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

my teeth.

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.

didn't need her to say his name. I already knew who

He taught you how to be a man. If you're going to

my jaw,

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

call before she could

I sped up

where I

I needed answers.

this—before I lost her for

***

Evelyn

my tears with a tissue as I sobbed like a

don't know what to do, Bee,"

broken. "He doesn't want our baby, and it looks like

baby

will not

side it hurts to

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

top of my head. "Jacob can be an asshole-the biggest asshole in the world—but

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

know," she murmured, her voice laced with understanding. "It's just... Jacob 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 rote

I know," I whispered, shaking my head. "But that doesn't mean he can't be a father. He is not like him, Bianca. He's different. If anything, he's like Enzo—not that man." My voice