"Axel, can we just talk here?"
Evelyn’s voice broke the silence as Axel’s long strides carried him toward the door. His intent was clear; he wanted her to follow him into his VIP ward room, away from Oliver.
Yes, there were nurses and Axel’s people stationed outside the VIP ward room. Still, the idea of leaving Oliver alone, even for a short while, made her uneasy.
Axel stopped. Slowly, he turned. His cold gaze locked onto hers.
"Do you want Oliver to overhear our conversation?" His tone was casual, but the words landed like a blow.
Evelyn froze. It was such an obvious truth, yet hearing it out loud felt like a warning. She pressed her lips together, saying nothing more, and followed him.
He briefly glanced back, a soft chuckle escaping him as if amused by her hesitation. He held the door open for her.
Moments later, they were seated across from each other.
The setup felt familiar, just as it had this morning, but now it was different. Even though Evelyn’s nerves were still there, this time she wasn’t so easily intimidated.
Taking a breath, Evelyn begins to express her worry, "I know what you want to talk about, Axel."
His brows furrowed, and his intense stare seemed to silently urge her to keep going.
Evelyn’s heart tightened. Her fingers curled tightly in her lap, nails digging into her palms. Nervous. Still, she forced herself to speak.
"You know, I’m still reluctant to move to the capital with you, right, Axel...?"
She asked, her voice steady at first, then trembling as she pushed through.
"And you can’t... must not... take Oliver away from me. If you ever try, I’ll do whatever it takes to stop you. Even if I have to sell my soul to the devil himself."
She paused to take a deep, silent breath.
"Don’t think for a second that you can separate me from my son. He’s all I have left. The only family I have now..."
Her words cracked near the end, her breath shallow. She bit her lip, fighting the burn in her eyes, but the glimmer of tears betrayed her.
She expected anger from him. Or perhaps cold indifference. Maybe even a threat.
Evelyn didn’t expect the low sound that followed. Axel chuckled.
The sound was soft, deep, and utterly out of place.
Evelyn blinked at him in disbelief. Her mind raced.
’Did he even hear me? Did he understand how serious I am? Or is he so heartless that he can laugh at this?’ Her chest tightened, her hands curling into fists.
She wanted to lash out, to demand an answer. But something about the way he leaned back on his couch, watching her with that infuriating calm, kept her rooted in place.
His eyes sparkled; not teasing, not scornful. Something else flickered there, but it was gone before she could name it.
"You think I want to take Oliver from you?" he finally spoke. His voice sounds calm, which surprised her.
"Don’t you?" she asked, puzzled by his reaction.
For a beat, Axel said nothing.
The silence lingered, heavy enough that Evelyn’s pulse thundered in her ears. Then, at last, he started to speak again.
"If I wanted to," he said slowly, "...you wouldn’t be sitting here arguing with me. Oliver would already be with me. You know that, Evelyn."
She could feel her stomach flip.
The calmness and certainty in his voice were terrifying because it was true. He had the power, the resources, and the influence. If Axel Knight decided to take her son, she had no doubt he could.
"Then why are you here, Axel? Why stay? Why..." She paused, swallowing hard. She saw his gaze soften, just a little. Or, she only imagined it.
"Because Oliver isn’t just your family, Evelyn... He’s mine too."
She looked away, unable to hold his eyes. That one sentence carried more weight than anything else he could have said.
But she refused to show weakness. "That doesn’t change anything. He stays with me."
Axel’s lips flickered a bit. Not a smirk or anything teasing, but more like he’s just resigned. "You really think I’d separate a child from his mother?"
Evelyn blinked at him. ’Did he tell the truth?’
The Axel Knight she knew was the ruthless, cold man her father despised. Yet the man sitting in front of her now, the one who had sat by Oliver’s bedside and held his hand until he woke, didn’t seem like that monster.
She was confused. She wanted to believe him, but every instinct warned her not to trust.
For a moment, she had no words to answer him. She simply stared at him in silence.
"And, Evelyn, you don’t have to sell your soul to keep him. You just have to trust me," Axel continued. His voice sounded calm.
Her lips parted, but no words came. Her heartbeat rushed in her chest. ’Trust him?’
Before she could even find her voice, he continued, "You and Oliver will come with me to the capital. And we will register our marriage, and he’ll take my name..."
Evelyn blinked, stunned.
She had imagined this moment countless times, but hearing the words spill from Axel’s mouth sounded firm, enough to make her chest tighten.
The idea of becoming his wife felt impossible. Unthinkable.
And yet...
When she remembered the way Oliver’s small hand fit so easily into Axel’s, and the way her son’s laughter lit up when he was around, she couldn’t deny the creeping thought that maybe the impossible was already starting.
Axel stared at her in silence.
Even waiting a single heartbeat for her answer seemed too long for him.
He continued, "You’re overthinking, Evelyn..." his tone was sharp with impatience. "Stop wasting time on things that don’t matter."
Evelyn’s eyes flashed. She shot him a glare, but her throat betrayed her, tightening around the words she wanted to throw back at him.
"If you’re thinking about yourself, stop it," Axel pressed, "Think about Oliver. Think about his future."
His words hit Evelyn unexpectedly.
She froze, caught off guard. He was right. Painfully, brutally right. She’d been clinging so tightly to her fear, her pride, her pain, that she had forgotten what mattered most. Oliver. Her son’s future!