My Dad's Bestfriend

Chapter 218

Evelyn

I woke up to the sensation of rough fingers tracing slow, featherlight patterns up and down my stomach. The warmth of small, lingering kisses ghosted over my skin, and for a moment, I just lay there, letting myself sink into the tenderness of it.

Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I looked down to find Jacob sprawled across me, his head resting just above my belly, arms wrapped around me in a possessive grip.

It took me a second to realize he wasn't actually putting any weight on me. He was simply listening.

A soft smile curled my lips as I tangled my fingers into his silky hair, scratching my nails lightly over his scalp. "What are you doing, silly?"

"Isn't it weird that I can't hear anything?" he murmured, his voice low and

thoughtful. Without looking at me, he pressed his ear a little closer to my skin, as if trying to catch even the faintest whisper of sound.

"Holy shit! I heard one!" he suddenly exclaimed.

I bit my lip, struggling not to burst into laughter. "Jacob... that was my stomach grumbling. I'm hungry."

He finally sat up, his brows furrowing in disappointment. "We should go to the doctor. This isn't normal."

A small chuckle escaped me. "You really have no idea how pregnancy works, do you?" I pushed myself up, wrapping my arms around his neck, my fingers caressing the nape of his neck. I couldn't help it—I leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips before whispering against them, "Babies don't make sounds in the womb, Jacob. They don't talk or cry. They just eat, sleep, and sometimes move. And ours is still too tiny for even that. Right now, they're just growing."

"I see," he mumbled, though the skepticism still lingered in his expression.

I hesitated for a moment, my heart warring with my thoughts. Then, finally, I spoke.

"Jacob, can I ask you something?"

His eyes met mine instantly, and for a brief second, something flickered behind them-recognition. He already knew what I was about to ask.

Still, he sighed, shifting as he pulled me onto his lap, straddling him. My hands slid over his chest, fingers splayed against his warmth as I gazed at him, my voice soft.

"Your biggest fear... is that you'll become like your biological father, isn't it?" I felt his body tense beneath my touch-but he didn't freeze. He didn't flinch. He didn't even try to deny it.

he had

murmured, swallowing hard. "I keep wondering what if one day I wake up and see him in me? What if I start to behave like him? I

cupped his face, my thumbs brushing lightly over his cheekbones. "Hey," I whispered, my voice gentle, afraid that if I spoke too loud, I might shatter him. "You will never become him. You are Jacob. My Jacob. You are mine, and no matter what, you will always be the man I know."

into the crook of my neck. I felt his heartbeat, hard and unsteady against my chest. This man

memory haunts you the most?" I

His body stiffened instantly.

was for

he had to

keep storing it inside, letting it

breath of resignation, I cupped his face and

I

finally spoke. "The time he gave me a black eye," he said, his voice rough, as though the memory itself tasted bitter on his tongue. His jaw clenched slightly, tension coiling through him. "Sometimes, it still bleeds into the

"Which eye?" I asked.

"Left."

in and pressed a gentle kiss over his left eye, my lips

thumb soothingly over the spot, as if I could erase the ghosts of his past with a simple touch. "It's just you and me now. Our friends. Our family.

still closed, as though he was letting my words sink into his

else?" I asked, my voice quiet but

in his jaw twitched before he spoke again, "When he hit Bianca... with his

voice trembled. So

without hesitation, wrapping my arms around him as tightly as I could. He buried his face in my chest, his breath uneven, his pain

has grown strong enough to shield her from

a long time, just held onto me as though I was the only thing tethering

Love.

Relief.

the

mom... when he beat her so badly that she bled."

felt a sharp sting deep in my

know how

She was gone.