Chapter 239

Evelyn Sinclair finished her meal with deliberate calm, surprising even herself with how composed she remained.

"I'm done," she said softly, setting down her chopsticks. "Thank you."

Her gratitude was polite yet distant.

Alexander Kingsley's briefly relaxed brow furrowed again.

An invisible wall seemed to stand between them.

The closeness they once shared had been built by Evelyn herself.

Now that he was willing to lower his pride and reach out, she had retreated to a safe distance.

Every "thank you," every intentional withdrawal, reminded him how much had changed.

Even holding their marriage certificate, he couldn't shake his unease.

Especially...

Alexander forced himself to look away from her abdomen.

When caring for her, he could gaze freely. But now that jealousy had taken root, he had to restrain himself.

He clenched his jaw.

"I'll take you home," he said, changing his earlier decision to part ways.

As the car left the parking lot, Alexander subtly shifted closer to the window.

The habitual movement went unnoticed by Evelyn.

But her gaze lingered briefly on his coat, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.

Something about Alexander seemed... off today.

Lost in thought, she inched slightly toward him.

Her fingers rested tentatively on the seat between them.

The small gesture betrayed her hesitation.

Just as she debated whether to move closer—

"Screech—"

A harsh braking sound tore through the air.

"Ah!" Evelyn lurched forward, tumbling into Alexander.

He caught her instinctively.

Instantly, his face went pale.

The sharp pain of his splint being pressed sent a jolt through him.

Worse, he worried the rigid edge might hurt her.

"What happened?" he asked through gritted teeth, voice steady.

The driver sighed. "Lord Alex, someone's running a scam..."

A pedestrian had darted out at the turn. Only the driver's quick reflexes had avoided a collision.

"Who is it?"

Bodyguards were already subduing the person outside.

Lewis Bright hurried over. "Lord Alex, is the young madam alright?"

Alexander withdrew his arm discreetly, waiting for the pain to subside.

Evelyn gasped. "Him?"

"Who?"

That single word made Alexander's expression darken.

"A colleague," Evelyn murmured. "Strange... was he waiting out here?"

"What colleague?" Alexander's voice turned icy.

Up ahead, the bodyguards had pinned Roman Young to the ground.

The driver scoffed. "Even came prepared with injuries. Professional scam artist."

"No," Evelyn instinctively defended. "Those are from being beaten by coworkers earlier. He must need to talk to me about something..."

Lewis recognized the young man from Ocean Palace's lobby.

"He's from Horizon Media's video department. Should we question him?"

"I'll go." Evelyn moved to exit the car.

"Do you want everyone to know about us?" Alexander demanded coldly.

He knew he was overreacting.

But his pent-up emotions were a powder keg, ready to explode.

Evelyn froze.

"Roman's been ostracized in our department. There must be a reason he stopped the car," she explained calmly, though she couldn't fathom his motives either.

"Lewis will handle it," Alexander finally conceded.

Lewis returned shortly. "He claims he wasn't paying attention and didn't see the car..."