The Billionaire's Unexpected Proposal by Samantha

The room was bathed in the soft glow of the bedside lamp as Derek lay beside Evelyn, his arms wrapped around her. His fingers absentmindedly stroked her hair as he watched her sleep peacefully.

He could tell she was pretty exhausted, seeing how she had slept off in the middle of their conversation about getting more help around the house to reduce Maya's workload. That way, Maya could focus solely on Samantha. Suddenly, a sharp ping broke through the stillness of the room.

Derek's phone lit up on the nightstand. Frowning at the noise and worried it might disturb Evelyn's sleep, he carefully extracted his arm from beneath Evelyn and reached for the device.

More pings followed, causing his curiosity to be piqued as the screen flashed with a string of notifications.

Derek unlocked the phone to see a series of voice recordings and videos from his source, who was monitoring the bugs and camera in Michael's apartment.

His stomach tightened when he saw the subject line of one of the audio read: Urgent.

Before he could delve deeper, Evelyn stirred beside him. Her eyes fluttered open, dizzy and confused by the sudden noise. "What's that?" she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Who's messaging you at this hour?" Derek sighed, giving her a sheepish smile. "Sorry for waking you, babe. It's... it's about Sandra and Michael. I think it's important."

At the mention of those names, Evelyn immediately sat up straighter, concern, etching lines on her face. "What did they do this time?"

Derek's eyes narrowed as he stared at his phone. "I haven't listened yet. It's a bunch of recordings and videos. The fact that they're sending it this late means it must be important."

He played the urgent recording, and both of them listened intently as Sandra's voice crackled through the speakers. Her tone was calculating and full of malice as she suggested they get rid of Evelyn.

Evelyn's breath hitched, her skin paling as the blood drained from her face. She clutched the blanket tightly, her heart pounding in her chest. Derek's hand froze around the phone as he felt a rush of fury surging through him. "She's planning to... kill me," Evelyn whispered, her voice trembling and full of disbelief.

She had known that Sandra didn't like her, but it shocked her to hear Sandra hated her to the point of talking about getting rid of her so casually. What did she ever do to deserve such a level of hatred?

Derek slammed his phone down on the bed after the recording ended, his expression dark and unforgiving. His jaw clenched, barely able to contain the rage simmering beneath the surface.

"What kind of a person is she?" He asked, and then when he turned to Evelyn and saw how pale she was, he shook his head.

"I won't let that happen. I swear to you, Evelyn, Sandra's going to pay for this. I will submit this to the police and get her arrested.

She won't get anywhere near you," he promised fervently.

Evelyn shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "We can't use this evidence, Derek. It was obtained illegally. If we go to the police, how will you explain planting bugs in Michael's house?"

Derek's face hardened, his mind racing as he tried to find a solution. When he planted the bug and cameras, all he had wanted was evidence to show their family that those two were having an affair. He hadn't expected Sandra to go this far or to capture something like this. "I didn't think she would actually plan something this extreme..."

shaken. "Neither did I. I don't

hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm going to have her phone bugged. It's obvious that Sandra is more dangerous than Vichael at this point. I'll make sure she slips up somewhere that can

in the face

Derek said firmly, pulling her back

try and

"How do you expect me to

holding her tighter as he brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I know that was hard to hear, but staying awake won't solve this. You're going to work tomorrow, so you should try to get some rest. I promise I won't let her touch even a

do you think she would do to Samantha if she finds out she is yours?" Evelyn asked, her thoughts drifting to

Derek asked, lifting her chin with his forefinger so we would

giving him a nod, "Then believe me

to keep you both safe. Now go to sleep," Derek said as he turned off

tears soaking into his shirt. His heart broke for her, but beneath his sadness, anger

closer, his mind

protect her, even if it meant

and he would make sure she paid for it whether or not she was Evelyn's sister. No matter what

the next morning. The silver exterior gleamed under the morning sunlight as

a moment, she allowed herself a flicker of pride as she got out of the car, but that flicker of pride vanished the moment she saw Sandra's

her.

The voice recording of Sandra's cold clipped words echoed in her mind - telling Michael they should kill her. She had tossed and turned all night, barely sleeping. And when sleep did come, it

to do or what to say. Could she act like everything was normal and pretend to know nothing? Telling herself that she

you've got a new car.

with a smile plastered across her face, even though her stomach churned with jealousy and annoyance at the sight of Evelyn

to afford it or if it was her daughter's father who had gotten

mouth

tamper with the car while she worked, cutting the brakes and

so quiet this morning?" she asked, her voice taking

Sandra turned to head toward

inside Evelyn snapped. She

couldn't live in

constantly wondering what sheet

Sandra hate her

the point