Chapter 262

Reading Juicy Gossip in Her Mind

The moment Evelyn Sinclair stepped into the bustling café, she felt the weight of curious gazes upon her. The air was thick with whispers, the kind that slithered between tables like serpents, carrying secrets she wasn’t meant to hear—yet.

Her fingers tightened around her phone, the screen still lit with the scandalous article she’d just devoured. Nathan Blackwood spotted with Victoria Hayes at midnight? The headline burned behind her eyelids.

A barista slid her usual caramel macchiato across the counter, but Evelyn barely registered it. Her mind raced, replaying every interaction she’d ever had with Nathan. Had there been signs? Had she missed the way his gaze lingered a second too long on his secretary?

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Lillian Graves murmured, sliding into the seat opposite her. Evelyn’s assistant had a knack for appearing at the worst possible moments.

“Just reading the news,” Evelyn replied, forcing a smile. She tapped her phone screen off, but not before Lillian’s sharp eyes caught the headline.

“Ah.” Lillian sipped her tea, feigning nonchalance. “That explains the murderous aura.”

Evelyn scoffed. “I’m not murderous.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Lillian leaned in, lowering her voice. “For what it’s worth, the tabloids exaggerate. You know how they twist things.”

Do I? Evelyn’s nails dug into her palm. The article had included photos—grainy, but unmistakable. Nathan and Victoria, standing too close outside a dimly lit restaurant, his hand brushing her elbow.

A notification buzzed on her phone. A message from Serena Whitmore, her agent: Call me. Now.

Evelyn’s stomach twisted. Serena only used that tone when damage control was needed.

Lillian arched a brow. “Trouble?”

“Always.” Evelyn stood abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. She needed air. Space. A moment to think without the weight of the world watching.

But as she pushed through the café doors, her phone buzzed again. This time, it was Nathan.

We need to talk.

Three words. That was all it took to send her carefully constructed composure crumbling.

The gossip columns had gotten one thing right: this wasn’t just a scandal.

It was a war.

Nathan stretched out on the plush king-sized bed in Evelyn’s bedroom, his muscles gradually unwinding. The soft mattress cradled him as he settled against the pillows, pulling Evelyn close.

She nestled against his sculpted abdomen, one arm draped possessively around his waist while the other scrolled lazily through her phone. The familiar, intoxicating scent of him—warm cedar and something uniquely Nathan—wrapped around her like a security blanket, soothing the restless edges of her heart.

Strangely, there was no awkwardness between them. Instead, an effortless harmony settled in, as if their bodies had always been meant to fit together this way. Just being near him was enough to mend the frayed pieces of their souls.

For Nathan, this quiet intimacy was pure bliss.

The past year had stretched like an eternity, yet in moments like this, time seemed to stand still. Evelyn—once distant, now vibrant and irreplaceable—had carved a permanent place in his heart.

"Hey, Nathan..." Evelyn suddenly tilted her head up.

His gaze had been fixed on her the entire time, so when their eyes met, a fleeting memory flashed through his mind—a younger, cherubic version of Evelyn grinning up at him from the same angle, her voice sweet as honey.

"You’re my cuddle pillow now, Nate. No moving until I fall asleep."

Meanwhile, in their own bedroom, Richard and Margaret lay side by side in peaceful silence.

Then, out of nowhere, Margaret burst into laughter.

Richard arched a brow. "That amused, are we? Just because they’re sharing a bed doesn’t mean it’s that kind of situation. Our son’s still figuring things out. I wouldn’t hold my breath."

It wasn’t that Richard doubted Nathan’s capabilities. But given his son’s history—especially that incident where even drugs couldn’t rouse certain... reactions—he wasn’t exactly optimistic.

If anything, they’d have to rely on Evelyn’s boldness to move things along.

Margaret chuckled. "No, no. I was just remembering that time at the estate. Remember? Evelyn couldn’t sleep without her stuffed pillow, but she accidentally spilled juice all over it. Her mother took it to wash, and even though it was just a nap, she refused to close her eyes. So what did she do? She commandeered Nathan as her replacement."

Richard snorted, the memory flooding back. "Oh, right! Poor kid turned into a human pillow. He stayed so still that by the time she woke up, his arm was completely numb!"

Margaret grinned. "And yet, he never complained. Not once."

Richard shook his head, amused. "Some things never change."

Margaret wiped tears of laughter from her eyes as she recounted the story. "Poor Evelyn was crying so hard she nearly hyperventilated. She thought she'd accidentally suffocated Nathan with her weight!"

Richard chuckled, adding, "She kept begging him not to die and swore she'd never use him as a pillow again. Back then, Nathan didn't say a word—just stood there frozen while Evelyn sobbed. He probably panicked internally, but you know how he is. Emotions? Locked away."

Margaret nodded, still grinning. "The funniest part? After that, Evelyn refused to cuddle him at all, no matter how much we coaxed her. Poor Nathan would just hover near her bed every night, like some kind of silent, brooding bodyguard waiting for permission to be her pillow again."

The two burst into laughter, reminiscing. "Who would've thought, after all these years, they'd end up right back where they started?"

Meanwhile, Evelyn studied Nathan's expression with mild concern. He was staring at her with that intense, unreadable gaze again. She waved a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Nathan? You okay?"

He blinked, snapping out of his daze. His mouth opened, then closed, as if struggling to form words.

"Are you tired?" she asked, shifting slightly. "Or is this uncomfortable? You don’t have to keep holding me if—"

"No," he cut in, voice rough. "It's perfect. You can stay like this forever."

Evelyn blinked. Forever? Wasn’t his arm going numb? Did this man even have muscle fatigue?

Before she could question him further, Nathan tightened his grip, pulling her closer against his chest. If this was happening, he wasn’t letting go.

"So," he murmured, changing the subject. "What did you want to show me?"

Evelyn grinned, grabbing her phone. "Oh, you’re going to love this. The internet’s exploding over the Decker scandal—way bigger than the last one."

Nathan glanced at the screen. Chaos indeed.

"Decker Heir’s Epic Fail: Paid for a Rebound, Got Two Sisters Instead."

The details were brutal. The Decker son had been so delusional, he’d assumed both women were head over heels for him—only to find out they were sisters plotting against him. Every new leak was more explosive than the last, and netizens were eating it up.

Evelyn had expected the trending topics to vanish within hours, courtesy of the Decker family’s PR team. But strangely, the posts remained.

Which made her very curious.

Who, exactly, was making sure this story stayed alive?

"It's a three-way power struggle, each with their own agenda. Getting those topics taken down won't be easy," Nathan remarked, his voice low and measured.

"A three-way power struggle?" Evelyn arched an eyebrow.

"The Moore family, the Hayes family, and the Hart family."

"The Moores wouldn't want to suffer public humiliation, but do the other two families really want to escalate this?" Evelyn asked, surprise coloring her tone.

"Everyone has their own priorities. Once pride gets tangled up in the fight, no one can back down. I suspect they'll need some private negotiations before the topics disappear," Nathan explained, his fingers absently tracing circles on Evelyn's wrist.

Evelyn considered this for a moment. "Honestly, I'm more curious about how Vivian's parents reacted when she exposed Gwendolyn."

Since she didn't know the couple personally, she couldn't indulge in distant speculation about their private affairs.

So instead, she focused on the juicier gossip—Vivian and Gwendolyn's very public feud.

Nathan smirked. "They adore Vivian. Besides, the truth was bound to come out eventually. They've always preferred to keep things quiet, but it's not like they could hide this forever. Mrs. Hart took it in stride, but Mr. Hart..."

Evelyn nodded in understanding. After all, it was a child born from his ex-wife's betrayal—a living reminder of the man who had cuckolded him. No man could easily swallow that. Vivian had really put her father in an impossible position. The fact that she had publicly acknowledged Gwendolyn's identity must have taken immense courage. I wonder how they're handling it now? I should check in on them later.

Lost in thought, Evelyn's fingers unconsciously traced the defined ridges of Nathan's abs.

Suddenly, his muscles tensed beneath her touch. Evelyn blinked, snapping back to reality—but she didn't pull her hand away. Instead, she pretended to still be deep in contemplation, though her racing pulse betrayed her.

Oh no. My hand has a mind of its own. When did I even move it from his collar down to his waist?

But oh, what a glorious waist it was.

To indulge in scandalous gossip while enjoying the physique of an unfairly handsome man—this was truly the pinnacle of a perfect life. Could any other gossip enthusiast possibly be having a better time than me right now?

Evelyn was fully aware she was behaving like a shameless lecher. She knew she should stop—but Nathan's silent endurance, the way his breath hitched ever so slightly under her touch, only fueled her wicked desires.

She wanted to keep teasing him.

And more importantly, she wanted to do it without consequences.

Smug satisfaction curled in her chest—until she realized the man she was toying with had reached his limit.

In one swift motion, Nathan seized her wrist and pulled her flush against him, their breaths mingling in the scant space between them.