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.

pressed the accelerator, weaving through traffic, my pulse a live wire beneath my skin. Nearly an hour had passed, and I was getting nowhere. My knuckles were white against

Then, my phone rang.

a split second, I ignored it, but then I saw

voice raw. "Is she

But what the fuck did you do

train, knocking the

of her house, barely dressed, in tears? She's been crying for the past hour!" She snapped, "You

She was safe.

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

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

A harsh silence.

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

gritted my

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 push her away just because you're scared

My stomach twisted.

name. I already knew who she

time. He raised you. He taught you how to be a man. If you're going to take after anyone, it's him. So stop acting like you have no choice." Her words cut deeper than I

clenched my jaw, swallowing

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

before she could

I sped

where I needed

I needed answers.

this—before I lost

***

Evelyn

my tears with a tissue as I sobbed like

don't know what to do, Bee,"

doesn't want our baby, and it looks like he never will. I'll

my baby alone.

will not

their side it hurts to think

I was hurting. But this—this was different. This time, I

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

him if he doesn't accept my baby," I sniffled. "I choose

voice laced with understanding. "It's just... Jacob doesn't see things the way we do it's hard for him

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 faltered.