The Billionaire’s Unexpected Proposal (Evelyn and Derek)

Chapter 198

The darkness was thick, pressing in from all sides, as Derek tossed and turned restlessly in his sleep, trapped in a nightmare he longed to escape. Something about the dream was familiar- perhaps it was the fuzzy and disorienting feeling that made him feel like he was looking through a broken lens.

He was small again, no more than seven years old. His legs dangled from the back seat of a car that felt both familiar and distant. His hands moved across the screen of a small device, busy with a building block game.

A man, presumably his biological father, was in the driver's seat, humming softly. His deep voice calmed the tense air and lulled Derek into a sense of security.

A woman, most likely his biological mother, sat in the passenger seat, holding a quiet conversation with the man. At the same time, a baby no older than ten months slept in an infant safety seat next to him, a silver neck chain clutched tightly in her hand. Despite the peaceful setting, little Derek could tell that something was wrong.

He shifted untold him he had been here before, had lived through this, but couldn't quite remember why.

in his seat, his fingers hesitating over the game console in his hand. A strange sense of foreboding crept in

-the kind that

His eyes darted up from the screen, peeking at the man's reflection in the rearview mirror. There was a slight frown on his face now, his eyes flicking nervously to the sides of the road.

"Honey, are you okay back there? Is your sister still sleeping?" the woman asked. Before Derek could respond, a blinding light pierced through the dream, and a deafening roar filled the air as a truck suddenly appeared from the left side of the road. It came barreling out of nowhere, its headlights glaring like the eyes of a predator. Derek opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came.

"Oh, my God, Tyler! Tanya"" he heard the woman cry as she turned in her seat.

The world slowed down, every second dragging out painfully as the truck collided with the side of their car. The impact was brutal.

Metal crunched, glass shattered, and the car spun wildly out of control. Derek's small body was jerked around in his seatbelt as the car somersaulted off the road. His mother's scream was cut off by the horrifying screech of metal scraping against the pavement. The sleeping baby was awake now, crying out loudly as though it could tell what was happening. The game console slipped from Derek's hands, bouncing off the car seat and disappearing into the chaos as he tried to reach for his baby sister. The car flipped again. And again.

Derek's heart pounded in his chest, the sound deafening in his ears. Blood trickled down his face, warm and sticky. Everything hurt. He was crying now, though he couldn't hear himself. The world was a blur of blood, broken glass, and twisted metal. And then, there was silence. Even the baby was no longer crying.

The car had stopped moving. It rested on its side, crumpled like a discarded toy. Derek's tiny body was trapped in the wreckage, his chest heaving with panicked breaths. The pain was overwhelming, but it was the silence that terrified him the most. Mommy?" "He cried when neither of them moved nor responded.

He thed to get out of his seat, wanting to check on his sister and parents, until he heard the sound of a door opening.

Through his bloodied vision, he saw him. A figure, shadowed by the darkness, stepped out from the wreckage of the truck. As he approached the broken car, he moved with eerie calm, unhurried.

The footsteps were wrong- too slow, too deliberate.

They were distant at first, barely audible over the ringing in his ears. But they grew louder, closer, with each agonizing second.

Derek's breath hitched, fear coursing through his veins.

Derek's eyes widened in terror as the figure knelt beside the car, peering into the shattered window.

He was checking, checking to see if they were still alive.

Derek's heart raced as his gaze flickered to his father, slumped in the driver's seat, blood pooling beneath him.

His mother was unmoving, her face pale in the moonlight. Derek's tiny body trembled, helpless, as the figure leaned in closer. His hand reached into his jacket, and he pulled out a gun.

Derek's breath

Bang. He shot at Derek's father, at as the figure straightened up. In the stillness of the night, he raised the weapon.

Derek's blood

tat father, and Derek watched as his father's body jolted with the force of the shot. Derek

ood ran cold, and he shut his eyes tightly as he heard the second gunshot. He knew it was his mother.

Each shot reverberated through the dream like a thunderclap, shaking him to his very core. Derek's sobs were silent, his voice trapped somewhere deep within his chest. He tried to move, tried to scream, but his body refused to

The figure stepped back, surveying the scene as though it was just another job.

to obey.

him. tighter and I tighter, suffocating him.

He was drowning in the blood, the glass, the endless silence.

The nightmare closed in on his chest heaving as though he had been running for miles. Sweat drenched his face, mingling with tears that streamed down uncontrollably. Derek j jolted awake with a gasp, his chest

His eyes darted around the dimly lit room, struggling to make

Babe, hey... hey, it's okay," Evelyn's voice broke through the bense of where he was. His breath came in ragged, uneven gulps, and his trembling hands clutched the blanket as though it were the only thing tethering him to reality.

haze, soft and urgent.

She was sitting up beside him, her hands gripping his shoulders firmly, grounding him. "It's me. You're safe. It was just a dream."

Derek's head snapped toward helttural, as the memories came rushing back in vivid, unbearable detail. He buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking violently under the force of his grief. "My mom... my dad... my sister... they-" He couldn't finish.

his wide, haunted eyes locking onto hers. "They... they re gone, he choked out, his voice cracking under the weight of his emotions. "It wasn't an accident. They killed them... I saw it. I saw everything." His words broke into sobs, raw and The words lodged in his throat like shards of glass, too painful to speak. heart shattered at the sight of him. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tightly against her. her voice steady despite the lump forming in her throat. "'ve got you, Derek. Let it out. I'm here."

E.

Evelyn's she

d him spiraling back into the nightmare. His face pressed into her shoulder, his tears

whitting go

He clung to her as if go would I send

soaking through her flimsy nightgown.

Each sob that wracked his body felt like a wave crashing over him, threatening to pull him under. His fists clenched the fabric of her nightgown as though it were the only thing keeping him from falling apart entirely. "I remember," he croaked between sobs. "I remember everything. crash,

The Evelyn's

, the truck, the man... he... he shot them. He killed them, Evelyn. He killed my parents right in front of me."

arms tightened around him, her hand moving to the back of his head, gently stroking his hair. "I'm so sorry, Derek," she murmured, her voice trembling with emotion. "I can't imagine how much that hurts, but you're not alone. I'm here now. You don't have to face this alone." Derek's breathing hitched as her words sank in. He leaned into her embrace, his tears wet against her skin. "I couldn't save them" he whispered, his voice breaking. "I couldn't do anything. I only watched, and I... I couldn't stop him." Evelyn pulled back slightly, just enough to cup his face in her hands. Her thumbs brushed away his tears as she met his anguished gaze with tear-filled eyes. "You were just a child, Derek. None of this was your fault. None of it. Do you hear

me?"

He nodded faintly, though the guilt still weighed heavily in his eyes.

She pressed her forehead gently to his, her voice soft but firm.

"You're not that scared little boy anymore. You survived something unimaginable, and you're here now. And I'm here with you. We are going to find your sister. I promise you, we will."

His sobs began to quiet, his breathing still shaky but slowing as

her words calmed the storm raging inside him. He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch, his tears finally beginning to subside.

"Thank you," 'he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.

Evelyn p

pulled him back into her arms, holding him tightly as though she could shield him from the pain of his memories.

"Always" she said softly. "I'll always be here for you."

They stayed like that for a long time, the silence filled only by the sound of his breathing gradually evening out. Derek didn't let go, and neither did Evelyn pull back as Derek clung to her, finding solace in her warmth. Evelyn wasn't sure what had triggered the memory, but now she could understand how traumatic the incident must have been for him to have forgotten about it all this while.